Hot coaching commodity Lane Kiffin has a tough decision to make: stay or go?

Twelve years ago, coach Lane Kiffin was humiliated, having been ejected by USC athletic director Pat Haden on the tarmac at 3 a.m. moments after the Trojans arrived from Phoenix after being crushed by Arizona State, 62-41.

Well, maybe it wasn’t the amphitheater, maybe it was just Trojan lore, maybe the sudden shooting happened in a small room next to the amphitheater.

Either way, the memory was burned into Kevin’s heart and mind, helping to motivate him toward increased success on the field and seemingly honest balance in his personal life.

Now the tables have turned. Kiffin, 50, led Ole Miss to a No. 5 national ranking and a 10-1 record, marking the fourth year in the last five in which the Rebels have won at least 10 games. He seems to have abandoned the reputation of isolation and the first attitude that pursued him as a Failed NFL coach At age 32, and as an assistant at Alabama, Nick Saban left his position days before the national title game because he was too focused on his next job.

Yet, here we are again, Kevin clearly thinking the unthinkable. Would he really give up on Ole Miss on the eve of the College Football Playoff for Florida or Louisiana State, fellow SEC schools and established national powers searching for head coaches?

Kevin’s ex-wife Layla — they are on friendly terms — and his 17-year-old son Knox were recently flown on private jets to Gainesville, Florida, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to check out the livability and positive vibes of the potential next entry on Kevin’s resume.

Ole Miss is well aware of Kiffin’s impending decision and clearly wants to know the answer before the Rebels’ regular-season finale on Nov. 28 against Mississippi State. But Kiffin denied rumors that Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter had given him an ultimatum to make a decision before then.

“Yes, that’s not true at all,” Kiffin told ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday. “There was no ultimatum, or anything like that at all. So I don’t know where that came from, like a lot of things that come out there. Like I said, man, we’re having a blast. I love it out here.”

In fairness to Kiffin, the urgency of making a decision now rather than at the end of the season is a function of today’s college football recruiting calendar and transfer portal. The high school signing period begins on December 3 and the transfer portal opens on January 2.

The first round of the CFP will be on December 19-20. The quarter-final matches will be held on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Florida and LSU can’t wait that long to hire a coach.

What should he do? Most seasoned critics believe he should not budge.

“Kevin should stay and see out the season; try to win, try to get to the Final Four or beyond, make memories, and forge the deep connections that coaching is supposed to be about,” said longtime columnist Dan Wetzel. He wrote for ESPN.

The reasons to move to LSU or Florida are that both schools are located in talent-rich states and have huge fan bases and deep traditions. The ceiling is higher and the stands are fuller than in Oxford, Miss. Coaches at those entrenched powers in the SEC also tend to be years in depth. Who knows when a similar opportunity will come?

Kevin’s predicament is understandable. However, Old Miss officials clearly remember 2022 when Auburn fawned over Kiffin and allowed the issue to continue and sabotage a potentially great season. The Rebels were 8-1 when the rumors started and then lost four in a row.

No one at Ole Miss wanted another collapse because Kiffin — once again — had a roving eye. His decision is difficult and he will not wait.