Lane Kiffin: 'I didn't do a very good job' of keeping team together during last year's second half slump
NASHVILLE — Lane Kiffin is taking ownership of the way Ole Miss concluded the 2022 season that saw the team drop five of its final six games, including the Texas Bowl.
Plenty has been said of how Ole Miss had a schedule that allowed for the 7-0 start it had but from there only one win — at Texas A&M — was all that happened from late October to December 28 in Houston.
Players have acknowledged what they viewed as the problems that led to the wheels coming off last year, starting at LSU, and what could have been better. A chance to go 9-1 with an Alabama win turned into a tough loss at home and started the four straight losses.
During his main stage appearance at the Southeastern Conference’s Media Days Kiffin put the disappointing ending of last year on his shoulders.
“That was a great run for a season and nine games there,” Kiffin said. “I didn’t do a very good job over the year of keeping our team together. Not as an excuse, but I said it up here a year ago, you know, the challenges when you have such a roster overhaul and so portal-heavy. And I’ve said I’ve always been concerned about culture issues when you do that because you don’t have kids that have been there very long.”
Frequent roster turnover with the advent of NIL and the transfer portal was a topic Kiffin honed in on for the bulk of his opening comments and the ensuing questions.
Building a chemistry and a culture is becoming more difficult for programs to ascertain when it comes to longevity. Kiffin has banged that drum over the past two years at Ole Miss while becoming one of the more vocal coaches in what NIL has done to college football and what it could continue to turn it into.
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“It’s created a lot of issues and roster changes,” Kiffin said. “I’m not complaining about it because we take advantage of free agency, but at the same time, I don’t think that’s really good for college football. These massive overhauls of rosters every year, really, is not in the best interest of college football.”
Ole Miss had one of the highest number of players enter the portal this offseason, making this year another challenge in chemistry.
Kiffin and his staff did their best to bring in players to try and fill the void left players who graduated, headed for the NFL early or bolted for the portal.
When it comes to the locker room itself, quarterback Jaxson Dart told The Ole Miss Spirit last weekend that this summer has been very productive in trying to rectify issues of creating a culture and meshing a new roster ahead of camp.
“I feel like as a team we’ve come along really fast,” Dart said. “It’s tough when you feel like half your team is brand new at times. I feel like people are buying in really fast and I think this year it’s been established that we need to create a great culture because culture is what replicates success.”
