The metamorphosis has been remarkable. From sideshow carnival barker, to the elite of the game.

That’s right, everyone. Lane Kiffin is an elite coach.

The best part of the evolution from play-caller and jester to the coach with every answer and every right move, is how Kiffin’s elevation of Ole Miss to the nation’s elite won’t end this season.

Or next year. Or the year after that.

For those Auburn fatcat boosters who watched in awe Saturday afternoon of what Kiffin has built at Ole Miss and are dreaming of him doing the same at Auburn, I have some bad news.

Ole Miss is a better job, and it’s not really that close.

Ole Miss is a better job because Kiffin has made it that way — and he’s not leaving, and certainly not for the pit that is Auburn.

So before we get all sideways about where Kiffin is headed after unbeaten Ole Miss moved to 7-0 with a 48-34 win over Auburn, or how Auburn will give him an offer he can’t refuse, understand this: Kiffin has made Ole Miss unique because Ole Miss has made him a better coach and person.

“He’s a completely different guy than he was a few years ago,” an Ole Miss staffer told me last week. “There’s no ‘me’ in him (anymore). He’s grounded, he’s solid.”

And he’s not going anywhere.

Why would he? Why would Kiffin, a coaching nomad since the NFL’s Oakland Raiders made him head coach at 31 years old and he failed spectacularly in less than 2 seasons, willingly walk away from the perfect fit?

Tennessee? Left after 14 months and with double-digit NCAA violations in his wake.

USC? Fired on the tarmac at LAX after an ugly loss to Arizona State was the final straw in a brief run of few hits and unthinkable misses.

Alabama OC? Changed the Tide offense for the good, won a national title and eventually left for the FAU job — and was asked to leave early, 10 days before the national title game, because, yeah, it’s just not working.

Before the national title game.

FAU? The change began here but didn’t completely turn until Kiffin arrived at Ole Miss and changed on and off the field.

I told him at SEC Media Days in July that he looked at peace and looked happy. His response: Living well on and off the field is the key to everything.

You really think he’s going to leave his calm center, his Shanti, and go jump into the flaming fireball of Auburn football for money? He’s making $7.25 million annually at Ole Miss and is signed through 2025.

How much money does one need? What’s the price tag for constant aggravation and agita — especially when it’s no easier to win at Auburn than Ole Miss.

College football has dramatically changed in the past 2 years, a shift so momentous, it has allowed those who couldn’t imagine playing for it all to suddenly rock the establishment of Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State. Name, image and likeness and unfettered player movement have created free agency in college football — and without a salary cap.

Kiffin doesn’t like it and has spoken out against it. But he also understands it’s the way to the nation’s elite for Ole Miss.

Earlier this month, there was a fundraising event at The Inn in Oxford, and the subject matter was just what you’d think: the NIL world and how to keep up with the ever-changing college landscape.

The same change that allowed Kiffin to upgrade the Ole Miss roster this offseason with as many as 13 starters from the transfer portal. Not just plug-and-play guys, but elite impact players.

Guys like QB Jaxson Dart, a former 5-star recruit from USC who threw for 448 yards last week against Vanderbilt, and ran for 115 against Auburn.

Like TB Zach Evans, a former 5-star recruit from TCU who was 1 of 3 players who ran for more than 100 yards against Auburn.

Or TE Michael Trigg (USC), DE Jared Ivey (Georgia Tech) and LB Troy Brown, the team’s leading tackler, who was an unknown star at Central Michigan and has become an elite SEC player.

This is how it works now in college football. If you have a coach who can sell a vision and a product, and your NIL bank is full, any program can make a significant move. Even in the big, bad SEC.

So if you’ve found your center in bucolic Oxford, if you have players and a system set and you’re winning games and doing things they haven’t seen in decades — and they’re paying you $7.25 million annually — why would Kiffin walk away and willingly jump into a world of uncertainty?

Kiffin is 4 wins from setting the school record for wins in a season (11), and considering the current state of the SEC West, is there any doubt Ole Miss can play with — and beat — any other team?

If Kiffin wins 11 games this season, the political weight in the state of Mississippi legislature who graduated from Ole Miss may try to change the current rule limiting public contracts to 4 years to lock in Kiffin for the long haul.

They won’t need it.

He’s not going anywhere.