Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss Agree to Reported 5-Year, $21M Contract to Be Head Coach

The University of Mississippi announced Saturday that Lane Kiffin was named the new head coach of its football program.

Kiffin arrives to Ole Miss after spending the past three years as head coach of Florida Atlantic. He compiled a 26-13 record.

The 44-year-old Nebraska native has vast experience at both the collegiate and professional levels from a coaching career that spans more than two decades.

He's also served as head coach of Tennessee and USC. He led the Volunteers to a 7-6 mark during his only season in charge before leaving to accept the Trojans job in 2010. He never posted a losing record across three-plus seasons at USC but was still let go in the middle of the 2013 campaign with a 28-15 record overall.

In all, he owns a 60-34 record during eight years as a college head coach.

As Kiffin once again became a hot name on the coaching carousel, he said there was no reason to discuss the rumors with his Owls players.

"I've never addressed that," he told reporters Tuesday. "Maybe I'm wrong, but no matter where I've been, whatever's been going on, I've never addressed that with the team. It shouldn't really matter, I wouldn't think."

Kiffin didn't enjoy as much success in the NFL as he has in college. He lasted just 20 games with the Oakland Raiders across the 2007 and 2008 seasons before getting fired with a 5-15 record.

The former Fresno State quarterback replaced Matt Luke, who oversaw a steady decline of wins from six in his debut season of 2017 to five in 2018 and four in 2019 en route to a 15-21 record.

Kiffin got a taste of SEC football with the Vols in 2009 and as Alabama's offensive coordinator from 2014 through 2016. Now he returns with the goal of making Ole Miss consistently competitive with some of the nation's best programs.