Lane Kiffin updates status for Ole Miss home opener

Lane Kiffin is back.

Well, not quite yet. But the Ole Miss head coach says he will be on the sidelines with his team when Austin Peay comes to Oxford on Saturday for the Rebels’ first home game of 2021.

After missing the Ole Miss opening victory over Louisville due to a positive COVID-19 test last week, the face of the Rebels says he his fully healthy and ready to be back with his team.

“I will be back for the game, so excited about that,” Kiffin said Wednesday during a weekly appearance on the SEC coaches teleconferernce.

The Ole Miss front man gave more insight into his health and feelings heading into the home opener.

“I have no symptoms, I’m great now,” Kiffin continued. “That was strange obviously not being there (for the game Monday), winning and not being in the locker room and stuff was strange. But everything happens for a reason and I think it was good to watch it on TV instead of them panning to me after every score. For them to put the credit on the players and assistant coaches and Coach Lebby was awesome to see, because they deserve it.”

One important note from Kiffin’s update is that as of now, he still can’t have any contact with his team. In typical Kiffin fashion, he joked about how the Rebels were practicing while he was on the call announcing he would be able to come back this weekend.

Ole Miss will host Austin Peay at 7:30 PM ET on Saturday night.

Watching from home

Kiffin had a memorable 2021 season opener, to say the least.

The Rebels’ coach spent Monday night at home — still in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 — and watched the game on television. He merely sent tweets throughout the night as his Ole Miss team pounced on Louisville, winning by a final score of 43-24.

So far, so good for Ole Miss — and, as Kiffin pointed out, maybe there’s no reason to fix what’s not broken.

“They played like that without me on the road, I’m good with it. I’ll just stay here,” Kiffin said via postgame Zoom, joking that he’d stay home permanently. “I’m already here; I don’t have to travel back. I can already watch Austin Peay film right now.”

In Kiffin’s absence, Ole Miss did not have an acting head coach, he said. Kiffin pointed out over Zoom that there is no rule requiring a replacement under a circumstance where the head coach is unable to attend a game. He said he didn’t want to take one of the current coaches “out of the role they’re already in,” so he ultimately decided not to select a temporary replacement.

“I think head coaches get too much credit on things,” Kiffin said.

Jokes aside, Kiffin appeared excited to get back on the field for Ole Miss’ Week 2 matchup with Austin Peay. The Rebels, after entering the season unranked, earned a No. 20 ranking in the latest Week 1 AP Poll, and they’ll look to make it 2-0 as they return to Oxford.

“It was actually more stressful,” Kiffin said of his experience watching the game from home. “I thought it would be the other way around, but when I’m on the game, and there’s a headset, it’s not very stressful because you’re just in the moment.”