Love him or hate him, there aren’t many personalities in college football more unique than Lane Kiffin.

And if you want a reminder, look no further than his sideline interview during the Gator Bowl on Thursday night.

As Ole Miss cruised to a comfortable 52-20 win over Duke, the Rebels head coach dutifully answered ESPN’s Taylor McGregor’s questions early in the fourth quarter. And after the sideline reporter asked about star quarterback Jaxson Dart’s final game for Ole Miss, Kiffin gave an interesting answer regarding the senior signal-caller’s eligibility.

“It’s great, he’s playing great. “You never know, maybe we’ll apply for a waiver so he can come back another year,” Kiffin said before smiling wryly at the camera.

“Are you pushing for this?” McGregor followed him.

“Maybe,” the head coach replied, before quickly wiping his smile away with a sudden look of obvious disgust.

While Kiffin would certainly be happy to bring Dart back to Oxford for another season, many on social media were quick to point out the likely underlying meaning of the comment. Last month, a federal judge in Tennessee issued a temporary restraining order allowing Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia to seek another year of eligibility with the Commodores.

Considering the 23-year-old quarterback plays in the same conference that Kiffin coaches in, it was hardly hard to make such a connection. And he wasn’t finished there yet.

Since the interview took place at the start of the fourth quarter, McGregor asked the Rebels coach how he wanted his team to finish the contest. Not only did Kiffin make it clear that his team would continue to give it their all, but he also left little to the imagination as to why.

“Let’s finish strong here,” Kiffin said. “Let’s make a statement about our team and how we played and how we play against the ACC.”

McGregor couldn’t help but laugh.

“I think we know what it was about, Dave,” she said, tossing it to Dave Pasch and Dusty Dvoracek in the broadcast booth.

Lane Kiffin made what many perceived as an attack on Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia during his Gator Bowl interview.

“Maybe we’ll file a waiver so (Jaxson Dart) can come back another year.”

Kiffin added: “Let’s make a statement about our team and how we played and how…” pic.twitter.com/4R6CioY1TC

– Awful Announcement (@awfulanncreasing) January 3, 2025

Kiffin, of course, has spent most of the last month bashing the ACC as part of his unsuccessful effort to get Ole Miss into the College Football Playoff. Lest you think that SMU would secure final berth in the 12-team playoffs or that the SEC’s postseason inadequacies would cause Ole Miss’ head coach to bite his tongue, you sure as hell don’t know. that Kiffin, who has never shied away from voicing his opinions, will be on social media or in real life.

(Terrible announcement on Xvia ESPN)