'I needed Oxford and Ole Miss': Lane Kiffin reflects back while also looking ahead to year three

When Lane Kiffin took the stage inside the SJB Pavilion on that December day in 2019 there was a feeling that maybe Ole Miss was the rehabilitation job and he would be out the door within a couple years.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, making the 2020 season — Kiffin’s first at Ole Miss — very strange and almost like it did not count to some degree.

Last year felt like Kiffin’s first true and real season in Oxford and it turned into one of the most historic years for the program.

The tires might have been kicked on Kiffin as some high-profile jobs opened up this past offseason, including LSU, Oregon, and even his former employer in Southern California. But eventually it was announced Kiffin was staying in Oxford and here for the foreseeable future with a new contract.

In the following months since, Kiffin has often times taken the podium and used his press conferences to reflect on his career and what led him to end up at Ole Miss.

Entering his third season with the Rebels there is a sense of peace and appreciation within Kiffin when he speaks about Oxford, Ole Miss and his tenure thus far.

“Now it’s a new year and as I thought about that I kind of thought maybe if you look at my background and where I’ve been, you know, and different places that this (next) statement may surprise you, it probably would surprise me if I had said it a long time ago,” Kiffin started. “I look at it as you look around town, there’s so much excitement about the program, season ticket sales, everything. I feel like I needed Oxford and Ole Miss a lot more than they needed me.”

Kiffin is not so much talking the talk but he is beginning to walk the walk that Oxford is a place he can see himself for a little bit.

The physical evidence can be attributed to the fact his oldest daughter moved to Oxford and enrolled in high school for her senior season.

Maybe to a lesser degree another example is the latest addition to the Kiffin family in Juice, which Lane got from Wildrose Kennel, a local place just outside of Oxford.

Roots are getting planted by Kiffin, something he has acknowledged to a certain degree is surprising even himself. All off these comments and actions should be music to Ole Miss fans’ ears.

“When I thought about it the other day I don’t know if I would have said that at the beginning,” Kiffin said. “Living in the different cities that I’ve lived in and as you guys know with Landry moving here and Juice and everything and how people are here, It’s been really awesome for me. (Oxford) has been a part of a lot of changes that have taken place, personally. I think it just didn’t happen in these two years by chance. I think a lot of it had to do with coming here.”

Of course Kiffin is aware that the good vibes can only continue if Ole Miss continues the success of 2021.

That was evident by how aggressive Kiffin and his staff his the transfer portal. That has been more than well-documented at this point.

Now, Kiffin’s third season is here with Troy coming to Oxford on Saturday for the opener. Ole Miss has won its last nine games played inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, dating back to South Carolina on Nov. 14, 2020.

“I enjoy it here. It’s been awesome,” Kiffin said. “It’s been really cool. Now we got to take off from last year and rebuild like we have and now we’ve got to perform on game days and keep our home winning streak alive.”