Ole Miss making significant effort to keep Lane Kiffin from Auburn

Oct 15, 2022; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin walks off the field during a timeout during the first quarter of the game against the Auburn Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Lane Kiffin has been heavily linked to the head coaching job at Auburn, but Ole Miss does not intend to let him go easily.

The Rebels have made a new contract offer to Kiffin that would make him one of the ten highest-paid coaches in college football, according to Richard Cross of SportsTalk Mississippi. Ole Miss is now waiting to see if Auburn makes a formal approach for Kiffin.

Lane Kiffin has a received a new contract offer from Ole Miss that would make him one of the ten highest paid coaches in college football. It's now a waiting game to see if he will receive an offer from Auburn. More details this afternoon on @SportsTalkMiss starting at 3.

— Richard Cross (@RichardCrossSTM) November 17, 2022

The size of Ole Miss’ offer was unclear. As Brandon Marcello of 247Sports noted, it would not take a significant salary bump to move Kiffin into the top ten highest-paid coaches.

Lane Kiffin would only need a $300K bump to move from No. 12 to No. 10.

If Auburn offers Kiffin in the next 10 days, the salary is not going to be what draws him to Auburn or what keeps him at Ole Miss. https://t.co/R0mPMUS9QA

— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) November 17, 2022

Kiffin has so far ducked questions about the Auburn job, but the links have been consistent ever since the Tigers fired Bryan Harsin on Oct. 31. If Kiffin wants the Auburn job, there is probably very little Ole Miss can do to keep him from taking it.

Perhaps against the odds, Kiffin has found himself in high demand after going 23-10 at Ole Miss. The Rebels are thrilled with the work he has been doing, but are certainly at risk of losing him to an SEC rival.