I'm just going to go ahead and put this out there — I don't think Lane Kiffin is unhappy at Ole Miss and I don't think he's looking for a way out of Oxford. I think he loves being the head coach of the Rebels.

But I think Kiffin badly wants to be the next Nick Saban. He wants a few rings of his own as a head coach. And that's unlikely to happen at Ole Miss. For that reason, I think there are five specific jobs that could get Kiffin to leave Ole Miss in his rear view mirror. And I don't think one of those jobs is Alabama or Georgia. Kiffin said recently that he'd never follow Saban at Bama because of how hard it would be to live up to what Saban has accomplished.

“What could you possibly do right if you don’t win the national championship every year?” said Kiffin to USA Today recently. “‘You’re going to follow Nick Saban at Alabama?’ No, that would not be a good decision for anyone.”

Here are the five jobs that I think could entice Kiffin to leave Oxford. The good news for Ole Miss fans is that only one of these jobs might come open in the near future.

1. Tennessee Vols

There's little doubt in my mind that Kiffin would drop everything and run to Tennessee if the Vols called him up and asked him to come back. The way Kiffin interacts with the UT fan base is different than the way he interacts with other fans. He loves poking the Vol fan base, but it comes from a place of love. At least it feels like it does.

Kiffin hasn't explicitly said he regrets leaving Tennessee in early 2010 for USC, but some of his comments can certainly be interpreted that way.

"If that one specific dream job (USC) wouldn’t have happened, I would have stayed at Tennessee and had a great run there," said Kiffin last week to USA Today.

The Vols are hoping they don't have an opening for a long time after Josh Heupel led Tennessee to a 7-6 record and the No. 7 scoring offense in the nation last year in his first season on Rocky Top.

2. Florida Gators

I think it's clear at this point in Kiffin's career that he wants to win a national championship and he wants to do it at a school in the SEC. Florida is one of only six SEC programs to win a national championship in the last 50 years.

It's easier to land elite talent at Florida than it is at Ole Miss. From what I understand, Kiffin was willing to listen to the Gators after Dan Mullen was fired last year, but Florida never gave him a call.

3. LSU Tigers

Outside of Tennessee, I think LSU would be Kiffin's preferred destination in the SEC. LSU is probably the easiest place in the nation to win a national championship. The last three Tigers coaches — Nick Saban, Les Miles, and Ed Orgeron — have won national championships. And two of those coaches (Miles and Orgeron) were fired after they won a natty. The fertile recruiting grounds in the state of Louisiana provide an endless supply of elite talent. Kiffin's offensive prowess combined with the ability to land top 5 classes at LSU would equal instant success.

4. Auburn Tigers

I don't think this is a job that Kiffin covets. But if he was offered — and this is the one job on this list that might be open after the 2022 season — I'm confident he'd think long and hard about it. Auburn is in that group of six SEC programs that's won a national championship in the last 50 years. If Kiffin truly wants to win a natty, he'll have a better shot doing it at Auburn than he will at Ole Miss.

5. Miami Hurricanes

The one school outside of the SEC on this list. Miami just seems to fit with Kiffin's personality. It's cool, it's in South Beach, and there's lots of flash. Kiffin was seemingly always drawn to the bright lights of Los Angeles, so why wouldn't he want to go to the Los Angeles of the East Coast?

(And yes, I'm aware of Kiffin's recent comments to USA Today about wanting a job in a college town, but actions speak louder than words.)

Kiffin is also well aware of the challenges that NIL deals present for programs with unwilling boosters. Miami is all about spending cash on recruits these days. If Kiffin went to the U, he'd bring some swagger back and he'd have plenty of NIL backing. As a result, he'd probably have a top-five recruiting class within two years.

Featured image via Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports