Ole Miss football will welcome new head coach Lane Kiffin onto the Rebels sideline September 6 so OHT takes a closer look at our new leader in Oxford.
Ole Miss football and Rebels fans have been waiting for a new and productive change to happen within the program for several years and finally it has come. On December 7, 2019 it was announced that Lane Kiffin would be the 39th head coach for the Ole Miss Rebels. Needless to say, Rebel Nation was thrilled with the hire and rightly so.
Rebels fans were already familiar with the Kiffin family because of Lane’s brother Chris Kiffin who was on the staff at Ole Miss for a number of years. Of course, many Rebels fans may also be familiar with Lane’s father who is NFL defensive genius named Monte Kiffin. The Kiffin family has been involved with football on multiple levels and all are very good coaches. Enter Lane Kiffin who we will get to know a little better here.
More On Lane Kiffin
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You may only know what you may have seen or heard about Lane Kiffin through ESPN and the SEC Network but there is more to the Rebels new head coach. When we say a coach has experience there is none more so than Lane Kiffin. Kiffin began his coaching career at Fresno State under Pat Hill as a student assistant in 1997-1998. Kiffin played quarterback the three prior seasons at Fresno State.
In 1999 Kiffin served as a graduate at Colorado State before moving to the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars as a defensive quality control assistant under Tom Coughlin. Kiffin then went to USC to coach tight ends and wide receivers in 2001 before taking over as the Trojans offensive coordinator in 2005 where he would coach through 2006.
Kiffin’s first head coaching gig came when he joined the Oakland Raiders organization in 2007 where he would coach two seasons before becoming head coach at Tennessee in 2009. In 2010 Kiffin would return to USC to take over the head coaching job where he would remain for three plus seasons. After Kiffin’s departure from USC he joined Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama where he would spend three seasons as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He was instrumental in developing a number of great quarterbacks and part of a national championship team.
Kiffin’s most impressive head coaching performance came when he left Saban’s staff for the head coach position at Florida Atlantic taking over an FAU program that had won a total of nine combined games over the previous three seasons. Kiffin proceeded to take the Owls to new heights over the last three years, including two Conference USA titles and two 10-win seasons.
Lane Kiffin Coaching Timeline
- 1997-98: Fresno State (SA)
- 1999: Colorado State (GA)
- 2000: Jacksonville Jaguars (DQC)
- 2001: USC (TE)
- 2002-04: USC (WR)
- 2005-06: USC (PGC/OC)
- 2007-08: Oakland Raiders (HC)
- 2009: Tennessee (HC)
- 2010-13: USC (HC)
- 2014-16: Alabama (OC/QB)
- 2017-19: Florida Atlantic
- 2020-?: Ole Miss
There is little doubt in Rebels fans minds Lane Kiffin can and will replicate the outstanding success he had with the other programs he has been associated with in the past. The great news is Kiffin has adopted an Ole Miss football team which is loaded with great young talent in players who already have experience. We welcome coach Lane Kiffin to the Ole Miss family, Rebel Nation and Oxford and look forward to seeing him on the Rebels sideline. Get on board the ‘Lane Train’ and always Hotty Toddy!