Lane Kiffin will return as Ole Miss' football coach next season and is signing a contract extension with the Rebels, he told ESPN on Saturday.

Kiffin said he had meetings with both the team and his staff before Ole Miss' 24-22 loss to Mississippi State on Thursday to tell them that he was staying and that it would be announced after the game.

Kiffin was a prime candidate at Auburn, and his name had circulated for weeks in connection with the Tigers job.

"I didn't want it to be about me staying before the game, but about the team," Kiffin told ESPN. "I didn't want it to be a distraction to where everybody was talking about me staying versus the players, which is why I wanted them to know it would be announced after the game."

Ole Miss is expected to make an official announcement sometime this weekend.

Sources told ESPN that Kiffin's new deal will take his average annual salary to the $9 million range. He made $7.25 million this season.

In three seasons at Ole Miss, Kiffin is 23-12. The Rebels won their first seven games this season but lost four of their last five. A year ago, Kiffin led Ole Miss to its first 10-win regular season in school history.