Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss sell gets off to rocky start
Things have suddenly got a little more serious for Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss.
Hired by Ole Miss as the excellent salesman who gets offensive talent from all over the country to play for him as well as the bright mind of offensive schemes, Kiffin was suddenly hit by the news he probably wasn’t happy with.
Four-star dual-threat QB Robby Ashford, decommitted today, and his tone didn’t exactly sound like he wanted to be contacted by Kiffin again. Right now, Ole Miss stands 11th in the SEC and 32nd in the nation. He’ll also try and hold onto an Ole Miss team who were furious at Luke’s firing.
While Ashford probably saw John Rhys Plumlee as the defacto starter and thought that his chances of starting were less-than-stelllar, it’s hardly great news for the Rebels coach.
On Sunday, Kiffin’s ‘ministry’ in Oxford started as we hope it goes on.
He was welcomed like the Second Coming, where he kissed a baby, was told to buy a burner phone in the same video (I hope it’s a reference to Hugh Freeze’s dalliances with escorts rather than Ole Miss’ much-feted efforts at paying athletes), made a quip about how his runway experience was a lot better than a previous one (he was fired on the tarmac by USC), and said that he had to put on agent Jimmy Sexton’s suit for the press conference because of weight issues.
Kiffin has been the SEC before. He made fun of the Alabama fanbase at Tennessee before leaving suddenly to USC – much to the consternation of his players, who probably would have not let him let the locker room alive if it hadn’t been either for the media or the fact that murder gets you the death penalty in the Great State of Tennessee. Then there was his adventures at Alabama, where he did what Nick Saban wants all coordinators to do and shut his mouth. He did it aptly, and also put together a wonderful offense that scourged defenses all over the South. He left for Florida Atlantic before the National Championship Game, annoying Nick Saban so much about the manner of his departure that he didn’t get to wear the Crimson in The Big Game. At Florida Atlantic, he went 26-3 and took home two Conference USA titles in three years, showing aptitude for a fun offense.
In terms of staff, he brings over Kevin Smith as running backs coach, but that’s about all there is. Kiffin is also rumored to be bringing the offensive side of the ball to Oxford alongside running backs coach Kevin Smith, who was already named for the position. Red Cup Rebellion – the Ole Miss site – mentions that Kiffin is looking at Kendal Briles and current UCF OC Jeff Lebby for his offensive coordinator job, while Mike McIntyre might well keep his job as defensive coordinator.
It won’t be known if Chris Kiffin, FAU’s former defensive coordinator will come to Oxford to coach again, particularly as he was slammed with a show-cause penalty in 2017 for recruiting violations while he was in Ole Miss.
Lane Kiffin said about his conversation with Chris in the press conference: “He said, ‘I think that you’ll kill it there. I’ve coached for you and see where you’re at.’ FAU had won three games three years in a row, so those seniors never won more than three games. In our first year, we won 11 games so he was there to see that so he really excited me. I have confidence, I know we’re going to win but he really cemented that by some things he said.”
Ole Miss fans will hope Chris is right.