Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin: SEC a 'Super Conference'; Compares to NFL with Texas, Oklahoma

The Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners are slated to join the SEC from the Big 12 in 2024, and Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin is excited about the competition their additions will bring to the conference.

Kiffin said in Nashville during the SEC Media Days, per Steve Samra of On3:

"Texas, Oklahoma coming in is amazing. I already look at our schedule, or when they put out our one for 2024, and I actually joked to Steve Sarkisian yesterday about the scheduling, and I was like, 'Well, I don't know why any coach would want to go to the NFL. Like, we're in it now.' So I mean, our schedule is like playing in the NFL in the SEC now, especially adding those two. So hats off to the commissioner for getting that done, and making the super conference of all time."

"And really the way it's set up, it's really like it's kind of like everybody else, and then that, when you put together the competitiveness of the schedule compared to any other conference."

Kiffin also elaborated on his relationship with Sarkisian, who is the head coach at Texas:

"I've had a great relationship with Sark. I've kind of said before, we kind of both grew up fast, being the USC experience and being a part of Coach [Pete] Carroll's staff, and all the great players there. You know I think 34 straight wins, and if we tackle Vince Young, you know three straight national championships. So that was really cool to go through that with him, and then we've just always stayed close."

"I think he's doing awesome there. You know, the way he's flipped the roster and recruiting at such a high level, and signing Arch [Manning], I think the future is extremely bright for Texas football."

Texas and Oklahoma are slated to play one final season in a 14-team Big 12 that will include new additions in BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston, before departing for the SEC.

Once the Longhorns and Sooners make the switch, the SEC will include 16 teams, the others being Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Alabama, Texas A&M, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, Ole Miss, LSU and Arkansas.

The SEC will become the pinnacle of college football, if it wasn't already. The conference has delivered a national champion in each of the last four seasons and six title winners since 2015.

Things are going to get more difficult for Ole Miss once the highly-talented Longhorns and Sooners join the SEC. The Rebels finished the 2022 season with an 8-5 record, falling to powerhouses such as LSU and Alabama before a loss to Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl.

Still, Kiffin doesn't appear to be too worried, and it seems that he prefers the higher level of competition.