Ole Miss Rebels Reach 4-Year Anniversary of Massively-Successful Lane Kiffin Hire
Dec. 7, 2023 marks four years to the day that Lane Kiffin was hired as the head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels football program. My, how time flies.
Kiffin came to Oxford with the deck stacked against him in more ways than one. Ole Miss was fresh off NCAA probation and had been embarrassed on national television in the annual Egg Bowl thanks to the Elijah Moore unsportsmanlike conduct penalty costing the Rebels the game.
Between the 2016 and 2019 seasons, Ole Miss posted a record of 20-28 and had not reached a bowl game. Oh, and Kiffin's first season on the job would happen to be during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and soon after, NIL and the transfer portal forever changed the landscape of college athletics.
Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin celebrates a pass interference call as Auburn Tigers take on Mississippi Rebels at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. Mississippi Rebels defeated Auburn Tigers 28-21.
© Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK
How did he and Ole Miss respond? Here's a rundown.
Since Kiffin was hired, the Rebels have:
- Posted a 33-15 record (with a bowl game in 2023 still pending).
- Earned bids to two New Year's Six bowls.
- Posted the only two 10-win regular seasons in program history.
- Earned a chance at 11 wins in 2023.
- Taken heavy advantage of the transfer portal and boosted NIL initiatives.
- Returned to the national spotlight.
In layman's terms, "that'll play," and a large credit for all of these feats goes to Lane Kiffin.
Let's be honest: there are multiple major sports on campus at Ole Miss, but, like the rest of the country, the real moneymaker runs through the football program. Football is the "face" of not only your athletic department, but also your university, and the Rebels have certainly seen an uptick in morale since Kiffin was hired.
There have been some bumps along the way for Ole Miss fans (including the speculation surrounding Kiffin and the Auburn job a season ago), but the reality is that the Rebels are in prime position to compete for a spot in the new 12-team College Football Playoff in 2024, and they have a legitimate argument as one of the Top 15 college football programs in the country, as of today.
The hiring of Lane Kiffin was considered somewhat-flashy at the time, but Ole Miss needed a splash hire, and it got one. It just so happens that this splash has now been in Oxford for four years, and so far, it's been a huge success.
If he can get Ole Miss to 11 wins in 2023 with a win in the Peach Bowl, the good news just keeps coming.
