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Robin Kiffin, mother of Lane Kiffin, dies at 81

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•06/19/25•

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Lane Kiffin
Matt Pendleton | Imagn Images

Robin Kiffin, the mother of Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, died this week, he announced via social media. She was 81 years old.

Kiffin shared a photo of his mom on his Instagram story earlier this week and paid tribute. She and Lane’s father, Monte, were married for more than 50 years before his death last year.

“Will miss you Mom,” Lane wrote, as shared by the Clarion Ledger. “Thank you for everything and say hi to Pops. I’m glad your broken heart can now be healed with him again.”

Kiffin has also been sharing tributes on his X (formerly Twitter) account. He posted multiple pictures of family members with his mom with heart emojis, and also shared a photo of the sky saying both Robin and Monte Kiffin are looking down on him.

No cause of death was released for Robin Kiffin. Her passing comes a little less than a year after her husband, Monte, passed away.

Monte Kiffin played at Nebraska in the early 1960s and went on to play a brief professional career after going in the 15th round of the 1964 NFL Draft. He got his coaching start at his alma mater in 1966 as a graduate assistant before moving up to defensive coordinator from 1969-76.

After a stint as the defensive coordinator at Arkansas, Kiffin became the head coach at NC State, amassing a 16-17 record during his three years in Raleigh during what turned out to be his only head coaching opportunity. He then headed to the NFL level with the Green Bay Packers as their linebackers coach in 1983 before stints with the Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets and New Orleans Saints in the same role.

In 1995, Kiffin got his first NFL defensive coordinator position with the Saints, but left after a year. That’s when he headed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he made his mark as their defensive coordinator from 1996-2008. During that time, the Bucs won Super Bowl XXXVII and later inducted Kiffin into their Ring of Honor. Kiffin also developed the Tampa 2 defense during his time with the Buccaneers, which is a huge part of his legacy.