Lane Kiffin earns automatic contract extension thanks to win over Oklahoma
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss didn’t have the smoothest of days against Oklahoma despite a 22-10 halftime lead, but they eventually left Norman with a 34-26 victory to improve to 7-1 on the season.
Not only did Kiffin walk off the field celebrating a win — not without a little trash-talk — but he triggered an automatic one-year extension to his coaching contract, USA TODAY’s Steve Berkowitz notes.
In 2022, Kiffin signed a contract extension with Ole Miss through 2028. It’s a unique one since Kiffin’s contract extends one year every Dec. 8, provided he wins at least seven games in the preceding season. As such, his contract now runs through Dec. 31, 2031.
A more lucrative contract could be in the works, too. Ole Miss AD Keith Carter said on Oct. 17 that he’d like to give Kiffin a similar deal that Indiana’s Curt Cignetti received. Cignetti signed an 8-year extension the day before with an average annual salary of $11.6 million.
Carter’s hopes of a big deal for Lane Kiffin have taken on new urgency, given that he has been reported as a top candidate for the vacant Florida job. Kiffin addressed the rumors with his team on Friday, he told the SEC Network’s Laura Rutledge.
“That’s a product of having a program with a lot of players and coaches doing a really good job,” he said on Saturday before the game.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
