Lane Kiffin on why he took Ole Miss job: 'Because it was in the SEC'

Lane Kiffin is getting ready to begin his fourth head coaching stint in college football, one that takes him back to the SEC.

After getting his start as a head coach for the Oakland Raiders when he was 31, Kiffin went to college and coached at Tennessee. He left the Vols after a year for USC, but was fired in the middle of his fourth season. 

Kiffin rebuilt his reputation as an offensive coach under Nick Saban at Alabama before going to Florida Atlantic for three seasons. And now, at age 45, Kiffin is back in SEC country.

So why did Kiffin choose to go to Ole Miss? He explained to CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd.

“To me, there’s college football, then there’s the SEC plus a few teams — Clemson and Ohio State,” Kiffin told Dodd. “It’s not like I took this job to go to the Power Five. It was because it was in the SEC, a place that had won. It’s not like going to one of these places that never won or hasn’t won for 25 years. Five years ago, they were in the Sugar Bowl.”

Kiffin knows quite well what Ole Miss is capable of becoming. The Rebels beat Alabama two years in a row when Kiffin was a coach for the Tide.

Rebuilding at Ole Miss won’t be so easy. They haven’t had a winning season since 2015 and went 4-8 last season. Oh, and did we mention they’re in the same division as LSU, Bama, Auburn and Texas A&M? 

Kiffin will more than have his work cut out for him.