Could we have seen Lane Kiffin at Auburn before 2022?

Auburn tried to land Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin this offseason.

After the Tigers fired the disaster that was Bryan Harsin, there was a bit of a chaotic search for a new head coach on the Plains.

Initially, before Auburn hired Hugh Freeze, they wanted Lane Kiffin.

For a number of reasons, the deal was never closed between the two parties, leaving the Tigers scrambling once more for a head coach on the market.

Although Auburn seems comfortable with Freeze now, could there have been a world where Lane Kiffin ended up coaching at Auburn anyway?

The Drive on ESPN 106.7 FM in Auburn, Alabama speculated late in their show on Thursday afternoon about whether or not we could have seen Kiffin in orange and blue long before even Bryan Harsin was a thought.

Back in 2016, Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn received a contract extension through 2020. The timing of the extension was a bit odd, considering Auburn had just finished a disappointing 7-6 campaign the season prior.

Hosts Bill Cameron and Dan Peck speculated over which names would have been the most interesting surrounding Auburn if the Tigers were interested in moving on from Malzahn.

Lane Kiffin would have been in the mix.

"If Auburn had called Gus' bluff after the 2017 season and said 'we're not giving you the big contract, go get it from Arkansas if you really want it that badly,' and Auburn has an opening after '17 because they let Gus walk..." Peck said.

"I wonder if Gus would have walked," Cameron pointed out.

"I don't think he would have either," Peck responded. "But had you let him and you have an opening, Lane had just had a season at FAU. At that point in hindsight, if you're penciling a spot where Lane Kiffin would have made sense, that might have been the move."

Auburn is off to a 3-2 start underneath Hugh Freeze and already has a top 15 recruiting class for 2024.

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