Lane Kiffin: Ole Miss football roster has ‘NFL vibe’

People have often said that college football is becoming more and more like the NFL, and Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin agrees. The Rebels head man had some interesting observations regarding the offseason process this year and how different it has been compared to the past.

Teams across the country are well into spring practice in a year that will mark several big changes, from conference realignment to the expansion of the College Football Playoff from four teams to 12. When speaking on the experience of the Ole Miss roster this season, Kiffin explained that the best way to sum up the difference was that it had an “NFL vibe.”

Even though the Rebels do have a lot of older players, many of them are transfers who are having to learn a new system. He noted that they still pick up on things quicker than a freshman would, but likened the situation to NFL free agency with high-profile players changing teams each season.

“It does (open things up), but then even though they’ve played other places and been experienced, they are new to ours,” Kiffin said. “It’s like they pick up better because they’re older. It is a very NFL vibe because we always have so many new players, but this I think more than ever are players that have played a lot, especially in this conference. So it kind of feels more like, ‘OK here’s free agency. Here’s all these pieces have experience and played — some in similar systems as ours.’ Then piecing it all together.

“Right or wrong, I’ve erred on the side of we’re gonna do a lot of mental work and a lot of practicing, but we’re not gonna do a lot of tackling and physical work just for the wear and tear of offseason and the season and potentially a lot of games. I’m not saying we’re gonna play a lot of games, but potentially the new format has a lot of games.”

As college football becomes more like the NFL, it has forced teams to have to think in different ways to stay ahead of the curve. One way the Rebels did so this offseason was by hiring Mike Williams, who brings more than two decades of experience working in the pros in a personnel role.

Kiffin alluded to the NIL and how that is changing the way teams have to think about making roster decisions. Part of Williams’ job will be to help determine values for certain players so that Ole Miss can determine what type of deal it is getting in return for the talent.

“Continuing to evolve to where it is and where I think it’s going,” Kiffin said of hiring Williams. “Just try to say, ‘this is what it is’ and look at things a different way. You need to have really good personnel people because now you’ve got all these investment pieces where people are paying players, so another really good evaluator that’s got NFL background and our boss signed off on with me is really important. You put somebody like that in and they’re scouting all the players around and your own players just like you would in the NFL.

“Here’s what it is guys, there’s times now you’ve got to make decisions. I don’t know what other people do. I hear other people be like, ‘we want these players’ and goes and pays them and tries to get them. We’re like, ‘OK, what is a player’s value?’ There’s great players that got paid, but here’s another side piece that isn’t necessarily good. Players around the country are at a place but then there may be other people wanting to come to that place. They’ve got to figure out are they gonna keep paying them that or go pay the new players just like the NFL. This whole thing is very much — every benefit has a cost. That’s one of them for the players.”

It’s clear times are changing in college sports and Kiffin’s comments only go to show how much. It’s certainly an interesting insight from someone who is right in the middle of the change, and also finding success in the process.

Ole Miss finished 10-3 this past season and will look to continue to build under Kiffin moving forward in this new world.