There has been plenty of noise surrounding the possibility of Lane Kiffin bolting Ole Miss football for Auburn. But the latest reports from the Ole Miss side say Kiffin informed his team Wednesday evening that unless something significant changed, he would return as the Rebels’ head coach in 2023.

While that certainly doesn’t shut the door on the Lane Train stopping in the Plains for the future, it’s definitely a huge swing toward Ole Miss that looked near impossible to happen just a day or two ago.

With an announcement one way or the other likely coming either Friday or Sunday, let’s look into things from the Ole Miss football perspective, and look at why Lane Kiffin should NOT leave Oxford.

2. Ole Miss football salary

A week ago, Ole Miss reportedly put an extension offer out to Lane Kiffin that would’ve come with a significant pay raise. Under his current contract, Kiffin makes $7.25 million in base salary, while his extension would raise his pay to $9.5 million, with escalators that would take him to somewhere in the neighborhood of $10.5-11 million. His base salary would tie him with Ohio State’s Ryan Day for fifth-most in college football.