Why Lane Kiffin could be poised to get Ole Miss

• Chris Low, ESPN Senior WriterAug 29, 2024, 07:00 AM ET

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  • College football reporter
  • Joined ESPN.com in 2007
  • Graduate of the University of Tennessee

OXFORD, Miss. — It’s just before 6 o’clock in the morning during the dog days of Ole Miss’ sweltering preseason camp, and Lane Kiffin is already on fire.

No, he’s not grading tape, drawing up new plays or even thinking much about football at all.

His endorphins are racing after an intense yoga session. As he transitions from yoga to prayer and meditation and finally to journaling, Kiffin reminds himself that this day, this week, even this season — the most anticipated at Ole Miss in more than 50 years — is not about him.

“When you’re making changes to be the best version of yourself, you learn to let go of control, to let go of your ego, to let go of the things that don’t matter,” Kiffin told ESPN. “Everything I ever wanted was on the other side of letting go, which is the exact opposite of how you think because you think you can’t let go of anything. You’re not trained that way, especially in football.”

Mention Kiffin’s name around college football, and you’re sure to get a wide array of reactions.

Offensive mastermind. Narcissist. Twitter troll. Unrelenting competitor. The ultimate antagonist. Unapologetically himself.

He’s also sober and says he hasn’t had a drink in three and a half years.

“Not drinking is just a part of my journey to where I am now, which is as fulfilled as I’ve been in coaching, and as important as all of that, is having peace and rhythm in my life,” Kiffin said. “I’m still not perfect, still have my moments. But there’s a freedom in not feeling like you need a drink to celebrate a big win or get over a tough loss. There’s a freedom of not having to have acceptance of what some guy writes about you or what the fans think of you or if you’re on the hot seat.

“There’s just a freedom in knowing that it’s going to be OK.”

Not since Archie Manning was carving out a legendary career more than 50 years ago has Ole Miss gone into a season with this level of expectation. Kiffin has said more than once that this is the best roster he’s assembled in his five years at Ole Miss. In the first year of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, the Rebels enter Saturday’s opener against Furman as the No. 6 team in the country. And Kiffin will look to show that this is indeed the best version of himself — and he’s built for the moment.

“Just because you build a talented roster doesn’t make you a great team,” said Jaxson Dart, entering his third season as Ole Miss’ starting quarterback. “So I think that’s kind of where we’re at right now, and we’ve got a coach who’s never been more connected with everybody in this building.

“Let’s go out and do it.”

Sober for the last 3½ years, Lane Kiffin said, “There’s a freedom in not feeling like you need a drink.” Todd Kirkland/Getty Images

DART IS HARDLY the only person who has seen an evolution in the 49-year-old Kiffin, one of the more polarizing figures in college football for much of his career, going back to his hiring as Tennessee’s coach in 2009 when he was only 33. He bolted Knoxville after 10 eventful months, with angry students and fans burning mattresses as he was whisked away from campus to take his “dream job” at USC, where he lasted less than four seasons before being famously fired at the LAX Airport following a 62-41 loss to Arizona State on Sept. 28, 2013.

Nick Saban hired Kiffin as his offensive coordinator at Alabama before the 2014 season, and while Kiffin was a huge part of revolutionizing the Crimson Tide’s offense, he acknowledges he was living a reckless lifestyle at the time. Kiffin also clashed repeatedly with Saban, at times purposely trying to get under his boss’ skin. In 2016, Saban fired Kiffin the week of the national championship game, following a lackluster 24-7 semifinal win over Washington, because he believed Kiffin wasn’t focused enough after landing the job as head coach at Florida Atlantic.

Kiffin remains grateful for his time under Saban and has apologized for some of his antics.

“I would have really struggled with myself as an assistant coach at that stage, and I told Coach (Saban) that,” Kiffin said. “I don’t think I would have put up with it as a head coach.”

After moving to FAU, Kiffin was seeking more purpose in his life outside of football. He invited Jon Gordon, a 17-time best-selling author of 30 books on leadership and teamwork, to meet with him in Boca Raton in 2017.

Gordon was brutally honest with Kiffin and told him one of the first things he needed to do was quit drinking.

“I even said, ‘If you don’t want to hear any of this, I’ll leave right now and go,'” Gordon recounted. “And Lane said, ‘No, stay. I need to hear it,’ and a friendship began. He wanted to get better and was humble enough to take those steps, to move closer to God. That’s why I think his story is so great because he’s an example and a testament to so many people that you can change. You can get better.”

Kiffin’s oldest daughter, Landry, is a sophomore at Ole Miss. She moved to Oxford from Los Angeles prior to her senior year of high school to be with her father. In fact, had it not been for Landry, her dad might be coaching at Auburn right now. Kiffin was leaning toward taking the Auburn job toward the end of the 2022 season when Landry came to him with a heartfelt message.

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“You left me one time for another job when you went to Alabama, and now I’m here with you and you’re going to do it again?” she asked her father.

Landry and her friends created a slideshow, complete with music, showing all of them together with Kiffin at Ole Miss. Meanwhile, the school was prepared to sweeten his deal. (He wound up signing a new six-year contract in November 2022 that was extended another year in December 2023 and pays him $9 million annually through the 2029 season.)

In addition to that big contract, what helped seal the decision for Kiffin was that he didn’t want to leave his daughter, not to mention the support from Ole Miss fans, athletic director Keith Carter and the “Grove Collective,” which was committed to dive into the deep end of the NIL pool.

“I think he’s where he needs to be right now, not just for me, but for him too,” Landry said. “It’s a different version of my dad for sure. He’s more involved with everything, more aware, and it wasn’t always this way. It’s been awesome to see. We all love seeing him like this.”

Pete Golding was Saban’s defensive coordinator at Alabama for five seasons before Kiffin hired him away prior to the 2023 season. Golding had never coached with Kiffin and made the move for family reasons. His wife, Carolyn, is an Ole Miss graduate, adjunct professor at the university and grew up in the Mississippi Delta. They wanted their three kids to be closer to her family.

Golding said the unique way Kiffin runs his program has been eye-opening after being part of Saban’s regimented model.

“You’re at Bama for so long and think that’s the only way you can do it and win,” Golding said. “Lane’s who he is and has seemed to find the perfect balance.”

The newfound balance in Kiffin’s life has also had an impact on Golding, who was arrested on a DUI charge in 2022 while coaching at Alabama.

“What I’ve appreciated about him the most is the way he’s turned his life around,” Golding said. “It’s been an inspiration for me. He’s been through a lot of things I’ve gone through. I had no damn clue what to expect when I got here, but this dude ain’t the Lane Kiffin I was hearing stories about at Alabama.”

NOBODY IS SUGGESTING Kiffin has suddenly become a choir boy. He still revels in trolling coaches and media members. There’s an old saying among his friends, former coaches and players, even family members, that “Lane is going to Lane.” His mother nicknamed him “Helicopter” as a kid because he would go from room to room stirring up things.

Auburn coach Hugh Freeze has been a frequent target of Kiffin’s on social media, most notably Kiffin trolling Freeze when reports surfaced that Auburn was taking control of Freeze’s social media accounts after he was hired.

In the last year, Kiffin has mocked LSU’s Brian Kelly and Missouri’s Eliah Drinkwitz for dancing and playing electric guitar, respectively, with recruits. And at SEC media days in July, Kiffin told ESPN’s Paul Finebaum on air, “Really, I don’t know what you’re good at.”

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Kiffin remains unpredictable, whether he’s in his office designing plays or at a news conference calling out his sponsors. It’s entertaining, but also makes his bosses and legal representatives a tad nervous anytime he’s behind a microphone.

Last week, Kiffin ended his news conference by picking up a bottle of Coca-Cola that routinely sits on the podium for advertising purposes — Coca-Cola is an official corporate sponsor — and asked, “Does anybody drink Coke?” as he proceeded to trash the soft drink.

“One hundred and thirty percent of your sugar for the entire day is in this one bottle,” he said.

KIFFIN HAS JOKED that he looked like an anaconda who swallowed a deer during his first season at Ole Miss. But he’s slimmed down considerably since he quit drinking and took up pickleball.

“He won’t play me one-on-one because he knows I will beat him, so he always wants to play doubles,” Dart said.

Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. met Kiffin at Alabama in 2015 when Weis was just 24 and working as an analyst. Weis said the changes in Kiffin go beyond his physique.

Kiffin has “never been more connected with everybody in this building,” said Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart. Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire

“Just a different guy. Not less competitive. He’s still competitive as hell,” Weis said. “There’s a lot more to him now than just football. You see it every day, whether it’s going over and helping out an equipment guy or helping one of our players with a problem off the field.”

Running backs coach Kevin Smith was on the plane with Kiffin when he came from Florida Atlantic to Ole Miss on Dec. 8, 2019, one of only two assistants Kiffin brought with him from FAU. Smith, who has been with Kiffin all but one season at Ole Miss, understands how his boss might not be for everybody.

“I don’t agree with everything LK does or says,” Smith said. “Who says we have to agree on everything? But when he screws up, he’s one of those people who can reflect and own it. He’s more of a thinker now. Trust me, I’ve seen him change. He’s taking care of his mind, taking care of his body, which I think is what kind of catapulted him to be more patient in life and as a coach.”

Smith, a record-setting running back at UCF, said Kiffin has been an example for him. Smith was struggling with his own demons. He gained a lot of weight, hitting 270 pounds, and said he was drinking way too much. Now he’s given up alcohol and credits Kiffin for his metamorphosis.

“I’m like, ‘If he can do it, then I can do it,'” Smith said. “And to watch him do it is what really inspired me, the way he changed his life, not just the drinking part. And then he brought me along too. He’s the one who got me working out. He’s the one who sat me down and we’d have talks every night, just me and him. I can’t tell you how much he’s influenced me, and I’m glad I’m right by his side.

“I’ve got his back. We all do.”

KIFFIN’S FATHER MONTE died July 11 at 84 after dealing with dementia. Monte was always around the Ole Miss football complex and known affectionately as “Pops.” They shared a deep connection.

Since Monte’s death, Kiffin said he has often thought about something Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said about his dad. Kiffin and Sarkisian coached together at USC and Alabama.

“It’s like Sark said, my dad cared about the people no one else really cared about,” Kiffin said. “He invested in everybody no matter who they were.”

Following his father’s death in July, Kiffin (shown with son Knox) has vowed to be more connected with his family. AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis

Kiffin knows he will never be his dad, but he vows to be more like him, especially when it comes to family. Landry already is at Ole Miss and loving sorority life as a Kappa Kappa Gamma. Kiffin said the plan is for his son Knox to move to Oxford next summer and play football at Oxford High as a sophomore. He’s a quarterback. His daughter Presley will be a freshman at USC next year and plans to play volleyball.

Kiffin’s younger brother Chris also recently moved to Oxford with his family — they live on the same street as Kiffin. Kiffin hired Chris, who has coached in the NFL the past six seasons, most recently as the Houston Texans linebackers coach, as an analyst on the Ole Miss staff. It’s the third season the brothers have worked together.

“I know that’s what Dad would want, as many of us as possible to be together,” Kiffin said.

KIFFIN HAS STOCKPILED a staff of analysts, personnel directors and other football-based hires with a variety of backgrounds, including former head coaches Joe Judge (New York Giants) and Zach Arnett (Mississippi State).

Judge, who had no previous ties with Kiffin, had planned on taking the season off from coaching while visiting some campuses to refamiliarize himself with the college game.

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“This was my first stop this spring, and I was planning on being here for three days, but by the middle of the second day, they were asking me if I would be interested in a deal,” said Judge, who worked for Bill Belichick in the NFL and Saban with Alabama. “And by the time I was getting ready to leave, there was something about it that was really good here, what they were doing, the energy. It was fun.”

For example, Kiffin often ended practices in preseason camp with a variety of basketball games, rolling a portable hoop into a team meeting room. One day he said he would scrap a scheduled walk-through if a stocky graduate assistant made a dunk. The players lowered the hoop as low as it would go, with some linemen hanging on the rim to pull it even lower, and the graduate assistant rammed it home. The place went wild, with Kiffin wearing the biggest grin of all.

“I’ve been to a lot of team meetings in my life,” Judge said. “I’ve never had one end in full contact basketball like that and then a dunk contest. It’s laid back, but when it’s time to work, you work here.”

Judge, who played at Mississippi State under Sylvester Croom, said what Kiffin has created — with the portal, his high-powered offense and culture — has elevated Ole Miss’ standing as a national brand.

“There have been a lot of good players from the state of Mississippi and all the Mississippi schools have had good players in the past, but he’s put a national element to this being a fashionable place for players to go from all around the country,” Judge said. “You can call a kid in California and Texas and Ohio, and when they hear Ole Miss is interested, that instantly makes them interested. It’s become an intriguing place to be.”

Kiffin isn’t running away from the lofty expectations this season. The general feeling around the program is that it’s College Football Playoff or bust for the Rebels.

Kiffin has taken Ole Miss to heights the program hasn’t experienced in decades. Prior to his arrival, Ole Miss had won 10 games in a season only three times in the previous 50 years. Kiffin has guided the Rebels to double-digit wins in two of the past three seasons. Last year was the first 11-win season in school history, capped by a 38-25 win over Penn State in the Peach Bowl, and Ole Miss finished with its highest ranking in the AP poll (No. 9) since 1969.

What Kiffin hasn’t done consistently as a head coach is beat the best teams on his schedule. He’s 6-25 against teams that finished the season ranked in the final AP poll. Two of those wins came last season against LSU and Penn State. To be fair, the only current SEC head coaches with a winning record against teams ranked in the final AP poll are Georgia’s Kirby Smart (28-12) and new Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer (8-2).

The heightened expectations won’t change Kiffin’s aggressive approach.

“It’s not like we’re all of a sudden going to start going for it on fourth-and-2 inside our own territory,” Kiffin deadpanned. “That’s who we are. That’s what we do, go for it.”

When Kiffin took the Rebels’ job, he said he didn’t come to Ole Miss to be good. He came to be great. In his fifth season, this is his best chance yet to make good on that proclamation.

He realizes there will be questions along the way: How will the Rebels handle the hype? How will they respond if they lose to somebody they’re not supposed to? Will Kiffin hang around if a blue-blood job like Florida opens up?

Kiffin isn’t getting ahead of himself. He’ll deal with what’s right in front of him and let go of everything else. In one of his most recent journals, he wrote: “Ego was being replaced with self-respect, resentment and hatred were being replaced with tolerance and understanding. Fear was being replaced with trust, loneliness and self-pity with gratitude and love.”

As Kiffin put the preseason in his rear-view mirror, he treated himself to a night out on the town — by going on a neighborhood golf cart ride with his 10-year-old nephew Cookie.

“Times have changed,” Kiffin said.