Lane Kiffin comments on Auburn speculation following Egg Bowl loss

Taylor Jones
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The Ole Miss Rebels dropped its third-straight game on Thursday night, losing 24-22 to arch-rival Mississippi State in the famously named “Egg Bowl.”

The Rebels held a 16-7 lead, but Mississippi State scored 13 unanswered points to take the 24-16 lead with 7:58 remaining in the game. Ole Miss cut the lead down to two points on a Jaxson Dart touchdown pass to receiver Dayton Wade with 1:25 left in the game. However, a failed two-point conversion sealed the win for the Bulldogs.

Following the game, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin was asked about the recent speculation surrounding his tie to the vacant head coaching position at Auburn.

He was asked if he anticipated being the head coach at Ole Miss next season, to which he casually responded “yes, I do.”

He then was asked if the distraction of this week’s report by WCBI sports reporter Jon Sokoloff played a factor in his team’s performance on Thursday night. Kiffin took time to fire back at Sokoloff, who was in the room during Kiffin’s postgame press conference:

“I think that when it was falsely reported by Jon (Sokoloff), who is now famous, congratulations, that you can just write whatever you want. I would do it, too, I think. Because you are never held accountable and you get to become famous, and maybe you will be right. Jon did it, so then I had to have a team meeting to say that his article was wrong. I would love (to know) these unnamed sources from Jon. So, yes, I had to deal with… I had to have a team meeting because of that. When there is other stuff in chat rooms and all that… but when a reporter writes it, it changes the game.”

Amid the Auburn rumors, Ole Miss has reportedly offered a contract extension to Kiffin. Does he plan on signing the new deal? If so, when does he plan on getting it done? Again, Kiffin responded with an open-ended answer.

“I’ve signed three (contracts). Does the fourth one mean you’re never leaving? I don’t know,” Kiffin said. “I’m much more focused and worried about the game than whether I sign another contract. I’m not acting ungrateful for that. But everybody thinks you sign a contract, well, a year ago you said the same thing, and here we are again.”

In his words regarding his status with Ole Miss, he never mentioned publically that he has turned down an offer from Auburn, or is even considering leaving Ole Miss for Auburn, or any other open job within college football. Kiffin appears to still be the top candidate for the Auburn job, so the next several days will be the most important to follow in the coaching search saga.

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Story originally appeared on Auburn Wire