'What I always pictured': Lane Kiffin could see himself at Ole Miss for the long haul
Lane Kiffin is entering his third season as head coach of the Ole Miss football team. Though once thought of as a possible rehab job, Kiffin might be sticking around Oxford longer than some imagined.
During an interview with USA Today, Kiffin discussed the idea of Ole Miss being his long-term head coaching job, similar to Nick Saban and Alabama.
Planting roots down in Oxford for longer than proverbial cup of coffee is something that interests Kiffin these days.
“This is what I always pictured — a job like this,” Kiffin said. “A great football place, a place you can go there, stay for a long time, and don’t jump around. That’s what I’d always pictured that I wanted.”
Those words may be music to the ears of Ole Miss fans who are longing for some stability and consistent success in a football program that has had too many ebbs and flows since the Sugar Bowl run in 2016.
Kiffin got Ole Miss back to its second Sugar Bowl appearance in six years this past January. Becoming a mainstay in the New Year’s Six bowls or contenders in the College Football Playoffs is the next step under Kiffin’s regime.
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Kiffin trying to find that sustained success and creating a championship culture at Ole Miss has been evident with his activity in the portal.
After hitting the transfer portal hard and landing top targets in Southern California quarterback Jaxson Dart and tight end Michael Trigg it appears Kiffin has things heading in the upward trajectory entering the 2022 season.
Throughout Kiffin’s coaching career he has not stayed at any place longer than three full seasons. He was five games into his fourth year at USC before being infamously fired and left on the tarmac.
Oxford could be the first place Kiffin makes a long-term opportunity and a place he could create a legacy he has been wanting to make for himself. Ole Miss fans would be happy to accommodate if the success and wins keep rolling in.
Ole Miss Athletics Director Keith Carter and Kiffin agreed on a new contract in December, ensuring the latter would be in Oxford through at least 2026.
Being the coach that brings Ole Miss to prominence is feather Kiffin might not mind having in his cap once it is all said and done.
“That would be really cool to do,” Kiffin added.
