Lane Kiffin addresses Auburn rumors following the Egg Bowl

Mississippi State knocked off Ole Miss in an Egg Bowl classic on Thanksgiving by a 24-22 score, turning the focus to Lane Kiffin and Auburn as the rumors about the Rebels head coach being a serious candidate to take the Tigers job continue to swirl.

Kiffin addressed the rumors himself following the game in response to a question about whether he intended to be the coach at Ole Miss next season.

“Yes, I do,” Kiffin said, according to David Eckert of the Clarion Ledger.

The third-year Ole Miss coach had to deal with the talk of him potentially taking the Auburn job throughout the week leading into the annual Egg Bowl rivalry game.

A report surfaced Monday that Kiffin planned to step down as Ole Miss’ coach on Friday following the Egg Bowl to head to Auburn as the program’s next head coach. It didn’t take long for that story to take the Internet by storm.

Kiffin, a popular presence on social media, didn’t waste much time responding.

He quickly refuted that report directly, then trolled the reporter with a graphic from his Twitter account.

Ole Miss dealt with Lane Kiffin, Auburn distractions throughout week

Given the reports swirling concerning potential interest from Auburn throughout the week, Lane Kiffin ended up addressing the topic multiple times.

He held a team meeting on Tuesday, where he informed players that he hadn’t accepted a job at any other school. ESPN’s Chris Low first reported on that meeting.

Still, Kiffin felt the need to reassure his players again on Wednesday evening. According to a report from On3’s Matt Zenitz, Kiffin told players that, ‘unless something significantly changes, he’s planning on staying as the head coach of the Rebels.’

And again Wednesday in a production meeting with the ESPN broadcasters calling the Egg Bowl he reiterated that stance.

“If you’ve been around social media, you’ve been around this part of the country, you know the story with Ole Miss by now,” ESPN broadcaster Matt Barrie said on the air just before the Egg Bowl. “Their head coach Lane Kiffin and his connection to the Auburn job.

“We are not here to speculate tonight, we are not here to validate Internet reports. All we can do is tell you is what Lane told us in our meeting yesterday. He looked us in the eye and said there has been no job taken and there has been no discussions about taking another job. That is what Lane told us in our meeting.”

In three seasons at Ole Miss Kiffin has compiled a 23-12 record, with a 14-11 mark in SEC play.