Lane Kiffin profile: 5 things to know about the FAU coach

OXFORD — The Ole Miss coaching search is in full swing, and there are plenty of names swirling around as potential candidates to replace Matt Luke.

One is Lane Kiffin, by far the most familiar and polarizing name in the search.

Kiffin, previously the head coach at Tennessee and Southern California, is in his third year as the head coach at Florida Atlantic after working as Alabama's offensive coordinator. This year, he has led the Owls to the Conference USA championship game for the second time.

In case you need a refresher on his history, here are five things to know about Kiffin.

1. Lane Kiffin has a long history
Kiffin’s journey through the college and professional coaching ranks has been long and twisting.

Kiffin grew up in a football family, the son of longtime NFL assistant coach Monte Kiffin.

The younger Kiffin came to prominence as an offensive assistant on Pete Carroll’s USC staffs from 2001-06, leading the Trojans to back-to-back BCS Championship berths, before taking over as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2007.

In 2009, Kiffin took the top job at Tennessee and in 2010 he returned to USC, where he worked as head coach until 2013. From 2014-16, Kiffin was Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator at Alabama before leaving to take the head coaching job at Florida Atlantic.

2. Lane Kiffin’s offense still produces
In three years at Florida Atlantic, Kiffin’s offenses have averaged 35.5 points per game. This comes on the heels of a historic stretch at Alabama where Kiffin’s offenses averaged 455 yards per game, qualified for three College Football Playoffs and won one national championship.

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Kiffin was one of the primary recruiters involved in attracting Jalen Hurts to Alabama and was offensive coordinator when Alabama earned a commitment from Tua Tagovailoa.

3. Lane Kiffin has coached productive QBs
In addition to Hurts, Kiffin has coached a long list of productive college quarterbacks.

Kiffin’s current quarterback at Florida Atlantic, Chris Robison, has thrown for 22 touchdowns and five interceptions this year.

When Kiffin was head coach at USC, quarterback Matt Barkley threw for 39 touchdowns and seven interceptions when the Trojans went 10-2 in 2011.

He was also the offensive coordinator for the Trojans in 2005 when USC went to the BCS Championship game behind the arm of Matt Leinart and the legs of running back Reggie Bush.

4. Lane Kiffin has been involved in multiple controversies
When Kiffin arrived as the head coach at USC, the Trojans were on NCAA probation related to illegal benefits given to Bush from agents while Kiffin was offensive coordinator.

After Kiffin left Tennessee, the Volunteers were put on NCAA probation because of improper benefits given to a recruit by former Kiffin assistant Willie Mack Garza. 

5. Lane Kiffin is ready to make the jump again
Kiffin has been a central figure in the coaching search season this year. His name has been connected frequently to the coaching vacancy at Arkansas, and he’s also been rumored as a potential candidate for Missouri. Given Kiffin’s experience in the SEC and the prominence of his name, this shouldn’t be a surprise.

SOURCE: Suss, Nick. "Lane Kiffin profile: 5 things to know about the FAU coach." Mississippi Clarion Ledger, 5 December 2019, https://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/college/ole-miss/2019/12/05/lane-kiffin-ole-miss-football-arkansas-coaching-search-florida-atlantic-fau/2618253001/

Contact Nick Suss at 601-408-2674 or nsuss@gannett.com. Follow @nicksuss on Twitter.