Abc’s Dave Pasch Questions Ole Miss Ad For Forcing Lane Kiffin’s Hand On Decision

The biggest story of the college football regular season will likely come to a close this weekend as Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin determines his professional future.

Now that Kiffin and the Rebels have taken care of business in the Egg Bowl against rival Mississippi State, all attention turns to whether Kiffin will remain in Oxford long-term. The mercurial offensive guru is expected to choose between coaching LSU or sticking around at Ole Miss, with athletic director Keith Carter supposedly demanding that Kiffin make his choice this weekend.

In the waning moments of the Rebels’ win on Friday, ESPN announcer Dave Pasch appeared to question the AD’s handling of the situation, casting doubt upon whether forcing Kiffin into a decision before the end of the season is best for the program’s chances to compete for a championship.

“There’s been no ultimatum, but clearly it is a decision that is more by the administration than it is by Lane Kiffin in terms of the timing being tonight or tomorrow morning,” Pasch said. “You wonder if that pushes Lane Kiffin in another direction.”

After Marty Smith reports Ole Miss will match any offer for Lane Kiffin, ESPN announcer Dave Pasch takes aim at Ole Miss AD Keith Carter for forcing Kiffin into a decision:

“Clearly it is a decision that is more by the administration than it is by Lane Kiffin in terms of the… pic.twitter.com/PhqgOCOPl3

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In a postgame interview with ABC/ESPN’s Taylor MacGregor, Kiffin indicated he has not made a final decision.

But Pasch believes Carter’s approach may be misguided, given that Kiffin could very well bring some of his coaches to Baton Rouge. The Rebels could head into a potential SEC Championship Game appearance or College Football Playoff home game with a carved-out staff.

Pasch believes this is an unforced error by Carter.

“It’s ridiculous enough to think about the possibility of a head coach not being there to coach his team in the CFP, but you’ve got staff members — if he does leave — that he’s going to want to take with (him) that may be on the same timeline as him, meaning he wants them to go to work now if he can’t coach the team,” said Pasch.

However, one need look no further than Kiffin’s own history to understand why Carter would want to eliminate the distraction of his flirtation with LSU. Nick Saban infamously fired Kiffin in the lead-up to the 2017 national championship game as Kiffin worked to become the next head coach at FAU.

Carter appears to have determined that the best thing for Ole Miss is to move on from this saga, no matter which way Kiffin decides.

But with the massive platform of ABC’s Egg Bowl broadcast, Pasch undermined that strategy and effectively took Kiffin’s side. It’s a tact we’ve seen from quite a few college football broadcasters recently.

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