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A national take on what Lane Kiffin could build at Ole Miss
A national take on what Lane Kiffin could build at Ole Miss
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Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin (Photo: Bruce Newman, 247Sports)
The Ole Miss Spirit recently visited with CBS Sports College Football national writer and 247Sports Director of Scouting Barton Simmons to get his take on Ole Miss' hiring of Lane Kiffin, his staff build out and to get his his expectations for the Rebels on the field and in the recruiting arena moving forward...
THE SPIRIT: Barton, just right off the bat, what are your thoughts on Ole Miss' hiring of Lane Kiffin and what kind of fit do you believe he will be in Oxford?
SIMMONS: "I actually think it's a phenomenal fit. I think it's a fantastic fit. I think that Lane Kiffin knows the landscape of the SEC. I think he knows the recruiting pace it takes to stick with the pack, especially in the SEC West. I think that he has sort of an ambitious mentality on and off the field that kind of matches that Ole Miss fan base, which I think has really high expectations for his program, as well. I think it's a good match. I think the stops that he's made to get here prepared him for it pretty well and to be really equipped to be successful at Ole Miss."
THE SPIRIT: With the frenzied building out of his staff going on, settling into Oxford, re-evaluating prospects and what not, Ole Miss didn't particularly finish well on National Signing Day earlier this month. It was a short runway for them. What is your take on that?
SIMMONS: "I just think it's a new era in college football recruiting. With the early signing period, it's just so difficult to really come in as a new coach and make the kind of impact that you could have five or six years ago. When you think about not only the limited number of players that you have to recruit...to pull from...in January, that's certainly a factor, because so many have already signed. You also have to consider, because the process is accelerated and because that early signing period has moved everyone's timeline forward, you're trying to disrupt relationships that have been built for even longer. It's just unrealistic to have the same expectations of a new coach that we did just five years ago. I almost think you really can't cast any judgements based on what happened in February. I think you really start to evaluate these new coaches and evaluate Lane Kiffin based on what happens with 2021."
THE SPIRIT: Your perspective on what the expectations should be for Lane Kiffin and the staff he has assembled for this 2021 class?
SIMMONS: "I think the expectations should be a top 25 class. And I think that Lane Kiffin is capable of bringing in, certainly a top 25 class, but I think he's capable of bringing in something a lot loftier than that. With that said, I just think the landscape of recruiting has gotten so competitive. So many people and programs and coaches have such a strong understanding of how to do it, and how to do it at a high level, you're not just going to able to out-effort someone into the top 10 or top 15 in the current landscape that we're working in. I think a realistic expectation is top 25 and consider anything beyond that a bonus."
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Chris Partridge (Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
THE SPIRIT: What are your thoughts on the staff Kiffin has assembled at Ole Miss? There are some notable recruiters on this staff. Who stands out to you and why?
SIMMONS: "I think it's a really impressive staff from that angle. For one, it's a staff that appears to have, certainly some Mississippi ties, but really has a very national feel to it in terms of the regions they'll be able to go into. Coaches like (offensive coordinator) Jeff Lebby and his background in the state of Texas, (co-defensive coordinator) Chris Partridge and his background in the northeast and what he's done recruiting the state of Georgia, (defensive backs coach) Terrell Buckley has a lot of experience recruiting the state of Florida...Those are the sort of national ties that I think are going to be really beneficial.
"If there's a guy that really sticks out that was hired that really caught my attention it would be Chris Partridge. Pulling him from Michigan with the sort of aggressive demeanor and mentality he brings to the recruiting trail, the different regions he's been really successful in...that was a clear indicator to me that Lane Kiffin had a strong plan in place for being able to hit the road hard."
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Matt Lindsey (Photo: 247Sports)
THE SPIRIT: Kiffin recently hired Matt Lindsey from South Carolina to serve in a general manager role.
SIMMONS: "To pull a guy like that who was so highly regarded from South Carolina, I think speaks to the priority that is going to be put on recruiting efforts."
THE SPIRIT: Going outside the realm of recruiting, Lane Kiffin has a reputation of being an excellent X and O guy and brilliant game day coach. With the talent returning on his roster, what should the on-the-field expectations be for the Ole Miss fan base this season, in your opinion?
SIMMONS: "Offensively, I feel like this is a team that's going to be able to score a lot of points. You look at what Lane Kiffin did just over the course of his career, he's been a quality offensive coach at a number of spots. I think even when you look at what he did at FAU with Kendal Briles, that was a really impressive offense. And now he's kind of married up with another Briles protege in Jeff Lebby. It feels like a really good combination when you consider the running back personnel, the quarterback talent they've got, certainly they've got some offensive linemen with experience that are returning that are really good players. I just think from a personnel standpoint it's a diverse group and Kiffin and this staff have shown the ability to tailor an offense to a diverse skill set. I have pretty high expectations for what that offense will look like.
"What does that mean in terms of wins and losses? It's a little bit tougher to say because the defense is probably going to take some time, and you're still playing in the rough and rugged SEC West. I think in the short term I do expect points, and I think the win-loss record is going to be kind of somewhere in the middle of the road. But I do think if they can kind of continue to build on what will be, in my opinion, offensive success early, and grow and use that as a foundation, I think you'll really see some incremental growth over the next couple of years within that program."
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Monte Kiffin, on the sidelines with Lane Kffin, while they were at USC. (Photo: NFL)
THE SPIRIT: One thing Kiffin has done while building this staff is add a tremendous amount of offensive and defensive analysts. What's your opinion on that and what are the different roles analysts fill in college football?
SIMMONS: "When you look at the national landscape and the programs that are competing at the highest level, those back-end analysts are kind of a commonality. They do really devote a lot of resources to having support behind the scenes. Those guys are critical for game-planning, for scouting, for digging into playing winning football. To hear that Kiffin is devoting some resources to that is a strong indicator, too, that he has a plan and that Ole Miss is granting him the resources needed to execute it. I think that's critical."
THE SPIRIT: Among those analysts added to the staff is Lane's father, the legendary Monte Kiffin.
SIMMONS: "In terms of Monte Kiffin, he's getting pretty long in the tooth at this point, but he's a legend in the game. He's a guy that is one of the best defensive minds that you're going to find. I certainly know he is capable of bringing a ton of inside perspective and certainly a vast depth of experience to the table."
SOURCE: Johnson, David. "A national take on what Lane Kiffin could build at Ole Miss." OMSpirit - 247Sports.com, 14 February 2020,
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