Lane Kiffin coaching circus: Will he stay, or will he go?

ATHENS — Lane Kiffin’s coaching circus is running full tilt on the final Saturday of the college football season, and it could be coming to a stadium near you soon.

Kiffin’s Ole Miss Rebels could be playing Georgia in the SEC championship game at 4 p.m. Dec. 6 if Auburn upsets Alabama as a 5½-point underdog in Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. game. The Tide will play in the SEC title game with a win.

It’s a sure bet Kirby Smart and his staff have already started game-planning for Ole Miss or Alabama, and it’s a sure thing the Georgia coach appreciates doing that work in the shadows.

If the Rebels are the team on deck for UGA in the SEC title game, this is one week Smart won’t have to work hard to avoid distractions.

Fact is, the No. 4-ranked Bulldogs have been flying under the national radar most of the season, quietly improving the defense, even as quarterback Gunner Stockton had his struggles in a 16-9 rivalry game with Georgia Tech on Friday.

Smart will be counting on Stockton to show up at his best in the SEC championship game, just as he has in most all other clutch moments this season.

Kiffin, however, may or may not be on the sidelines for Ole Miss should Georgia play the Rebels.

Kiffin said after Ole Miss’ 38-19 win over Mississippi State on Friday that he’ll consult Nick Saban and Pete Carroll, the national championship coaches he worked under at Alabama and USC, on what to do.

The College Football Playoff selection committee has indicated it would take Ole Miss’ coaching situation into account should Kiffin not be coaching the program when the final rankings are released Dec. 7.

David Pollack, a former Georgia All-American and ESPN “College GameDay” analyst, is predicting Kiffin will stay at Ole Miss.

“The most Lane thing in the history of the world would be staying,” Pollack said on his “See Ball, Get Ball” podcast. “He could have shut this down at any time, but he loves this, and I think it’s what makes Lane awesome, he loves attention, he loves to be a part of the fun of it.

“My head tells me he’s going to LSU, my heart tells me he’s going to Ole Miss.”

Cam Newton, a former Westlake High School and Auburn star who led the Carolina Panthers to the Super Bowl in 2016, says Kiffin should stay at Ole Miss.

“Winning a national championship at LSU, you’re just another good coach,” Newton said on ESPN’s “First Take.” “Why? Because Ed Orgeron has done this, Nick Saban has done this, Les Miles has done this.

“If you take your talents to Gainesville, Florida, and you become a Florida Gator, hey, Urban Meyer has won a national championship, Steve Spurrier has won a national championship.

“So if you stay right where you are, you will be the greatest coach that has ever done it.”

Kiffin took over an Ole Miss program before the 2020 season that had not had a winning season since 2015 (10-3) — the year before Hugh Freeze resigned after going 5-7 in 2016.

Former Rebels coach Matt Luke was 6-6, 5-7 and 4-8 his three seasons before being let go, and Kiffin started modestly enough in the 2020 abbreviated COVID-19 season with a 5-5 overall mark.

Since then Ole Miss has gone …

• 10-3 overall, 6-2 in the SEC 2021

• 8-5 overall, 4-4 in the SEC in 2022

• 11-2 overall, 6-2 in the SEC in 2023

• 10-3 overall, 5-3 in the SEC in 2024

• 11-1 overall, 7-1 in the SEC in 2025

“I got to do some praying and figure this thing out, I can get to that tomorrow (Saturday),” Kiffin said at his postgame news conference. “I live life about one day at a time. Maybe that doesn’t help you, but I’ve learned to live that way for about six years now, five years. That helps me.”