Lane has put together a really impressive coaching staff. This guy is building something impressive.

Ole Miss Staff Tracker – 2019-20




After a 15-21 record in three seasons and a controversial ending in their Egg Bowl loss, Matt Luke was let go as the head coach of his alma mater in early December. 

In a quick and effective search, FAU’s Lane Kiffin was hired about a week later to revitalize the Ole Miss program and fan base. The early returns show that he’s done just that, and the hire of Mike Leach at rival Mississippi State has a whole lot of folks with no vested interest in the game looking forward to the Egg Bowl matchup between the two coaches full of personalities. 

Kiffin quickly targeted a number of quality coaches to bring with him to Oxford, including Jeff Lebby, DJ Durkin, and Chris Patridge to fill his coordinator roles.  

Kiffin was also able to retain Freddie Roach after reportedly being in the mix for the same job with the New York Giants. He was also able to beef up their strength department with four hires that will serve as associate directors of strength and conditioning. 

On January 18th, Kiffin completed his staff by officially retaining Derrick Nix and Freddie Roach and announcing the addition of Terrell Buckley to coach the corners. 

Below is a look at Kiffin’s full staff. Salaries will be updated once they’re released. 




LANE KIFFIN     HEAD COACH

OFFENSE                  
Jeff Lebby                Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks (Salary TBA)                 
Joe Jon Finley         Tight Ends / Pass Game Coordinator (Salary TBA)                 
Randy Clements      Offensive Line / Run Game Coordinator (Salary TBA)                 
Derrick Nix               Wide Receivers (Salary TBA)                 
Kevin Smith              Running Backs (Salary TBA)

DEFENSE                 
DJ Durkin                 Co-Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers (Salary TBA)                 
Chris Partridge         Co-Defensive Coordinator / Safeties (Salary TBA)                 
Freddie Roach         Assistant Head Coach / Defensive Line / Recruiting Coordinator (Salary TBA)               
Terrell Buckley         Corners (Salary TBA)

SPECIAL TEAMS                  
Blake Gideon          Special Teams Coordinator (Salary TBA)

STRENGTH                
Wilson Love             Director of S&C (Salary TBA)               
Corey Miller             Associate Director of S&C (Salary TBA)               
Lance Ancar            Associate Director of S&C (Salary TBA)               
Jawarski Beckum    Associate Director of S&C (Salary TBA)               
KJ Florence             Associate Director of S&C (Salary TBA)

SOURCE: Samuels, Doug. "Ole Miss Staff Tracker – 2019-20." The Scoop, 18 January 2020, https://footballscoop.com/news/ole-miss-staff-tracker-2019-20/

Ole Miss names Deke Adams defensive line coach

Ole Miss head football coach Lane Kiffin announced Friday that 24-year coaching veteran Deke Adams has joined the coaching staff as defensive line coach. 

Adams, a native of Meridian, Mississippi, spent the 2019 season in the same capacity at Mississippi State. Prior to Mississippi State, Adams served the two seasons as defensive line coach at North Carolina in what was his second stop in Chapel Hill.

A 20-plus year coaching veteran who has played a key role in the development of six NFL draft selections since 2013, including two first-round picks, Adams first joined the UNC staff in 2012 as the defensive line coach under head coach Larry Fedora.

He coached All-American defensive tackle Sylvester Williams, who was selected 28th overall by the Denver Broncos in the 2013 NFL Draft. The Tar Heels ranked third in the ACC with 97 tackles for loss, and Adams’ group was responsible for 40 of them. Williams and Kareem Martin were one of the ACC’s most dominant defensive line duos, combining for 29 TFLs. Martin ranked third in the conference with 15.5, while Williams finished sixth with 13.5.

Adams spent the 2016 season as East Carolina’s defensive line coach. Prior to ECU, he worked under Steve Spurrier for three years at South Carolina from 2013-15 and helped guide the Gamecocks to a pair of bowl wins in 2013 and 2014.

At South Carolina, Adams coached defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. Adams’ unit also featured defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles, who was both a first-team All-SEC and All-America choice with Clowney. Quarles and Clowney became the first South Carolina duo since Del Wilkes and James Seawright to earn All-America honors in the same season.

Before his first stop at North Carolina, Adams spent the 2009-11 seasons at his alma mater Southern Miss as defensive line coach on Fedora’s staff. During his first season in Hattiesburg in 2009, Adams inherited a young, but talented unit that improved throughout the season. The Golden Eagle defense finished the season ranked 18th nationally in sacks and 24th in tackles for loss after checking in at 93rd and 68th, respectively, in those two categories a season prior.

Adams’ final season with the Golden Eagles in 2011 saw his front four allow only 112.6 rushing yards per game, which ranked 22nd in the nation. He helped Southern Miss to the Conference USA title and an eventual 12-win season after a Hawaii Bowl win over Nevada.

Prior to Southern Miss, he coached linebackers at Louisiana-Monroe, while also serving as the coordinator of player development. Prior to his time at Louisiana-Monroe, he spent the 2006 and 2007 seasons at North Carolina A&T.

Adams was elevated to interim defensive coordinator during his first season at North Carolina A&T after two games before earning the job on a permanent basis following the final contest. He coached the Aggies’ defensive line in 2006 and had responsibility for the linebackers in 2007 in addition to his coordinator duties.

Adams spent the previous four years at Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) University from 2002-05, coordinating the defense and coaching the defensive line in his last season.

He coached in the junior college ranks at Pearl River (Miss.) Community College from 1998-2002, serving as the linebackers coach during his first three seasons before he was named co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach in addition to his role as recruiting coordinator in 2001.

Adams began his coaching career in 1997 as the defensive line coach at Jacksonville (Ala.) State.

A three-year letterman, Adams played a key role as part of the Golden Eagles’ “Nasty Bunch” defense. He wrapped up his collegiate career in 1994 with 76 tackles, five tackles for loss, one sack and one interception. In the classroom, he was a four-year member of the Southern Miss Dean’s List. He earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology and sports administration in 1995 before following with a master’s degree, also from USM, in 1996.

SOURCE: Oxford Eagle Contributors (Via Brad Sheffield / Ole Miss athletics). "Ole Miss names Deke Adams defensive line coach." The Oxford Eagle, 24 January 2020, https://www.oxfordeagle.com/2020/01/24/ole-miss-names-deke-adams-defensive-line-coach/ 

Meet the Ole Miss coaching staff: Lane Kiffin, coordinators and position coaches

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Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss coaching staff were greeted with a standing ovation when introduced at The Pavilion during a basketball game. Mississippi Clarion Ledger

OXFORD — Barring any unexpected changes, Lane Kiffin has finalized what the 2020 Ole Miss football coaching staff will look like.

For the first time since 2011, the Ole Miss coaching staff doesn't have any Ole Miss alums on it. Rather, Kiffin has built a staff based on his connections and relationships in the industry, as well as on the schemes and recruiting prowesses of his assistants.

Here are a few things you should know about every member of the Ole Miss coaching staff, beginning with Kiffin himself.

Lane Kiffin: Head coach
Kiffin's path to Ole Miss is well-known: Former Southern California assistant. Oakland Raiders head coach. Tennessee head coach. USC head coach. Alabama assistant. FAU head coach. Along the way he's coached everyone from Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush to Amari Cooper and Derrick Henry to Devin Singletary.

At 44 years old, Kiffin is still the third youngest head coach in the SEC behind Missouri's Eliah Drinkwitz (36 years old) and Georgia's Kirby Smart (also 44 years old, but seven months younger than Kiffin). 

Jeff Lebby: Offensive coordinator, QBs coach
An Oklahoma alum who cut his teeth coaching at Baylor, Jeff Lebby comes to Ole Miss after a two-year stint at Central Florida. Lebby was the Knights' offensive coordinator in 2019 when they totaled the No. 5 scoring offense in the FBS averaging 43.4 points per game.

Prior to UCF, Lebby spent one year as the head coach at NAIA school Southeastern University. Before that, Lebby spent seven years as a coach on Baylor's staff, working every role from running backs coach to passing game coordinator to offensive recruiting coordinator.

Randy Clements: Run game coordinator, OL coach
A longtime collaborator with Lebby, Randy Clements will coach offensive linemen and coordinate the Ole Miss running game. Clements and Lebby worked together at Baylor and Southeastern. Most recently, Clements spent 2018 at Houston and 2019 at Florida State.

Clements worked at Baylor from 2008-16 as an offensive line coach, co-offensive coordinator and run game coordinator. Prior to that, Clements worked five years at Houston and 12 years at Stephenville High School in Texas, the alma mater of Ole Miss' Class of 2020 quarterback signee Kade Renfro.

Joe Jon Finley: Pass game coordinator, TEs coach
A five-year NFL veteran, Joe Jon Finley comes to Ole Miss as tight ends coach and passing game coordinator after spending the last four years coaching at SEC schools Missouri and Texas A&M. He also spent one season working in an administrative capacity at Baylor with Lebby and Clements.

In 2017, Missouri's tight ends caught more touchdowns than any other tight end group in the FBS. In 2019, Texas A&M tight end Jalen Wydermyer made USA TODAY Sports' freshman All-America team.

Kevin Smith: Running backs coach
The one position coach who Kiffin brought with him from FAU, Kevin Smith will handle the running backs. Smith, former UCF and Detroit Lions running back, set the FBS single-season record with 450 carries in 2007 and went on to run for 2,346 yards and 17 touchdowns in the NFL.

At FAU, Smith coached Buffalo Bills starting running back Devin Singletary when Singletary rushed for 32 touchdowns in 2017. That was the most rushing touchdowns any FBS player had in a single season since Smith himself ran for 29 touchdowns in 2007. 

Derrick Nix: Wide receivers coach
The one offensive holdover from Matt Luke's 2019 staff, Derrick Nix is shifting from his role as running backs coach to receivers coach for 2020. Nix is in his 13th year on Ole Miss' staff, having spent the last 12 as running backs coach.

Nix has coached Ole Miss running backs ranging from Dexter McCluster to Scottie Phillips and everyone in between and has served on staffs under Houston Nutt, Hugh Freeze, Luke and now Kiffin.

Chris Partridge: Co-defensive coordinator, safeties coach
Chris Partridge comes to Ole Miss after five years at Michigan. Partridge served as linebackers coach, safeties coach and special teams coordinator at various points in his Michigan tenure. Prior to Michigan, Partridge worked as the head coach at Paramus Catholic High School in New Jersey, mentoring the likes of first-round picks Rashan Gary and Jabrill Peppers.

Partridge is also considered a top recruiter. In 2016, Scout.com named Partridge the national recruiter of the year. In 2017, 247Sports bestowed the same honor upon him.

DJ Durkin: Co-defensive coordinator, LBs coach
Ole Miss is D.J. Durkin's first coaching job since his controversial exit from being the head coach at Maryland. Durkin's Maryland tenure ended with him being placed on administrative leave and later fired in relation to an investigation into the "toxic" culture at Maryland and the death of player Jordan McNair. 

Durkin spent two seasons as the coach at Maryland and led the Terps to one bowl game. Prior to Maryland, Durkin worked with some of the top minds in college football, working under Jim Harbaugh, Urban Meyer and Will Muschamp. He's also an ace recruiter who was named the national recruiter of the year in 2012 by Rivals.com.

Terrell Buckley: Cornerbacks coach
After spending the last four seasons at rival Mississippi State, Terrell Buckley is coming over to Ole Miss in 2020 to coach cornerbacks. A 14-year NFL veteran and one-time Super Bowl champion, Buckley coached at Florida State, Akron and Louisville before landing at Mississippi State.

Buckley has helped mentor multiple NFL cornerbacks, including Jaire Alexander, Xavier Rhodes, Patrick Robinson and Jamal Peters.

Deke Adams: Defensive line coach
A longtime college assistant, new Ole Miss defensive line coach Deke Adams spent the 2019 season coaching with Buckley at Mississippi State. Before Mississippi State, Adams coached at North Carolina, East Carolina and South Carolina.

While at South Carolina, Adams was the position coach for Jadeveon Clowney, a former No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. Clowney's cousin Demon Clowney committed to and enrolled at Ole Miss in the last week.

Blake Gideon: Special teams coordinator
Blake Gideon comes to Ole Miss by way of Houston, where he spent 2019 coaching special teams and nickelbacks. Prior to that, Gideon worked at Georgia State and Western Carolina and spent time in quality control and graduate assistant capacities at Florida and Auburn. In one year at Florida, Gideon overlapped with Durkin, then the Gators defensive coordinator.

Gideon started four years as a safety at Texas from 2008-11. He finished his career with 234 tackles and 10 interceptions, including six as a sophomore in 2009.

SOURCE: Suss, Nick. "Meet the Ole Miss coaching staff: Lane Kiffin, coordinators and position coaches." Mississippi Clarion Ledger, 28 January 2020, https://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/college/ole-miss/2020/01/28/ole-miss-coaching-staff/4541486002/

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