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Kiffin says winning Egg Bowl helps Ole Miss recruiting (1:58)
Lane Kiffin says "there's not a batch of emotion successful the relationship" betwixt Ole Miss and Mississippi State, who are astir to look disconnected successful the Egg Bowl. (1:58)
5:08 PM ET
Chris LowESPN Senior Writer
- College shot reporter
- Joined ESPN.com successful 2007
- Graduate of the University of Tennessee
Amid speculation he's leaving for the Auburn head-coaching job, Ole Miss manager Lane Kiffin met with his players Tuesday and assured them that helium hasn't accepted a occupation astatine immoderate different school, sources told ESPN.
Kiffin arsenic a regularisation doesn't respond to coaching rumors, but sources told ESPN that helium felt arsenic if helium owed it to his players and their parents to formally code the concern aft a study surfaced Monday by WCBI-TV successful Columbus, Mississippi, that Kiffin planned to measurement down Friday and caput to Auburn. WCBI-TV besides reported that Auburn had yet to officially connection the occupation to anyone.
"He told the players his absorption was connected Mississippi State and thing other and that immoderate reports retired determination astir his accepting different connection were wholly false," sources told ESPN.
Ole Miss faces Mississippi State connected Thursday nighttime successful their yearly Egg Bowl rivalry successful Oxford.
Sources told ESPN that Kiffin and Liberty's Hugh Freeze are astatine the forefront of Auburn's coaching search. Auburn and Alabama play Saturday successful their Iron Bowl rivalry crippled successful Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Cadillac Williams, a erstwhile prima moving backmost astatine Auburn, has led the Tigers to 2 consecutive wins arsenic interim manager aft replacing the fired Bryan Harsin.
Kiffin, successful his 3rd play astatine Ole Miss, guided the Rebels to their archetypal 10-win regular play a twelvemonth ago. Ole Miss is 8-3 this play but has mislaid 3 of its past 4 games, including a 42-27 setback past play astatine Arkansas, a crippled successful which it trailed 42-6 astatine 1 point.
Kiffin was asked afterward astir being viewed arsenic Auburn's apical people and said helium was excited astir the aboriginal astatine Ole Miss.
"So I don't cognize astir each that worldly retired there, No. 1 [candidate] stuff," Kiffin told reporters aft the Arkansas loss. "Maybe if they watched the archetypal half, I wouldn't beryllium No. 1 anymore."
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