Report: Lane Kiffin targeting Michigan assistant for Ole Miss DC

New Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin is still working on hiring a defensive coordinator, and he reportedly has his eye on an assistant from the Big Ten.

ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren tweeted that Kiffin is targeting Michigan special teams coordinator and safeties coach Chris Partridge to run the Rebels’ defense.

The tweet read, “According to a source, Lane Kiffin is targeting Chris Partridge as defensive coordinator at Ole Miss. Partridge has been one of Michigan’s best recruiters and has had multiple job offers in the past.”

Kiffin was hired at Ole Miss to replace Matt Luke on Dec. 7, the day Kiffin led Florida Atlantic to a 49-6 win over UAB in the Conference USA championship game. Luke went 15-21 in three seasons with the Rebels.

Partridge, 39, was initially hired at Michigan in 2015 as the program’s director of player personnel. He coached the Wolverines’ special teams and linebackers in 2016 and 2017 before being moved to safeties prior to the 2018 season.

Michigan has recruited well in the time Partridge has been on staff. The Wolverines have pulled in three top 10 recruiting classes, according to 247Sports team rankings, during his tenure at Michigan.

The Wolverines defense ranked seventh nationally in yards allowed during the 2019 regular season. Michigan was ranked 19th in scoring, allowing 19.5 points per game.

No. 14 Michigan (9-3) faces No. 13 Alabama (10-2) in the Vrbo Citrus Bowl from Orlando, Fla., on Wednesday.

Partridge was asked during Big Ten Media Days last summer about his mindset as a recruiter.

“We really just have that focus. Things that we have been working on, things that we have been training on, that moment-to-moment, day-to-day (approach) with the choices we make,” Partridge said. “If you put yourself into their situation, 18 to 22 years old, there are going to be a lot of choices even before the season starts. What to eat, what time to go to sleep, so many different things.”

Kiffin has been a head coach four times in his career. The first time was in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders (2007-08). The Raiders fired Kiffin, and the coach then took over the Tennessee Volunteers program. He would spend just one season with the Volunteers, unceremoniously departing for the USC Trojans coaching job. Kiffin spent three seasons and five games at USC (2010-13) before he was fired by the program. That led to Alabama coach Nick Saban hiring Kiffin as the team's offensive coordinator.

Kiffin left Alabama for the Florida Atlantic job prior to the 2017 season. In three seasons, the coach had a 26–13 record at Florida Atlantic, including two appearances in the Conference USA title game.

“You don't win in this conference just by being a good coach,” Kiffin said after his hiring. "You win in this conference by having really good assistants to get really good players. There's too much talent in this conference to think coaching alone does that.”

SOURCE: Buckley, Clint. "Report: Lane Kiffin targeting Michigan assistant for Ole Miss DC." 247Sports.com, 30 December 2019, https://247sports.com/Article/Report-Cowboys-likely-moving-on-from-Jason-Garrett-141254048