Urban Meyer: Leaving Ole Miss ‘might haunt’ Lane Kiffin

As Lane Kiffin tries to keep any and all decisions on his future at Ole Miss quiet until after the Egg Bowl, Urban Meyer is left wondering why the head coach would even consider leaving.

Meyer has been in a similar situation before when he left an undefeated season with Utah for Florida in 2005. The difference, however, is Meyer left for the chance at winning a national championship, which he did with Florida in 2006 and 2008, and again with Ohio State in 2014. Kiffin, meanwhile, has Ole Miss already primed for a championship run, but he might throw it away to leave for LSU or Florida.

Meyer joined Colin Cowherd’s Fox Sports Radio and FS1 show Tuesday afternoon and admitted he’s become friends with Kiffin. But even Meyer, who has been in the position of leaving one coaching job for a perceived better one, doesn’t understand how Kiffin could go through with leaving Ole Miss.

“That might haunt Lane…how do you walk in that meeting and say, ‘Hey guys, I’m not only leaving, I’m gonna be playing you next year?’ I don’t know” – Urban Meyer on Lane Kiffin pic.twitter.com/WN494PfFbV

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 25, 2025

“This is uncharted waters,” Meyer told Cowherd. “To leave a team that could potentially – you tell me, other than Ohio State maybe, you have A&M, Ohio State, Indiana – I’m telling you, Ole Miss is right there. That might haunt Lane the rest of his – just personally – how do you walk in that meeting and say, ‘Hey guys, I’m not only leaving, I’m gonna be playing you next year?’ I don’t know.

“At this point in his life, money can’t be the deciding factor. It cannot. There’s no chance he would leave because of a couple more million bucks. I would say there’s no chance, there’s got to be some other reason, if he does leave.”

Whether he stays or leaves, Kiffin is already going to be making a lot more money next season. LSU has reportedly offered Kiffin upwards of $100 million over seven years. With LSU prepared to make Kiffin one of the sport’s highest paid coaches, Florida and Ole Miss are reportedly willing to match the offer.

College football coaches usually only ditch their teams for one of two reasons, money or a better chance at winning. But if Kiffin leaves Ole Miss after the Egg Bowl, he’ll be throwing away a chance at coaching in the College Football Playoff this season. Leaving Ole Miss ahead of a chance to play for an immediate title would imply winning isn’t the most important thing to Kiffin. So, if it’s not money, and it’s not winning, why is Kiffin looking to leave?

Kiffin has Ole Miss in position to win now, which is probably what is making this such a difficult and polarizing decision. Because a decade ago, no one would have questioned any coach for leaving Ole Miss to join Florida or LSU. And despite having Ole Miss primed to make a title run this season, that doesn’t mean Kiffin believes they can necessarily compete as regularly as LSU and Florida are expected to.