Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin Hire Draws Lofty Praise After Five Seasons

Last week, CBS Sports' Shehan Jeyarajah ranked the top 25 college football coaching hires of the century. Ole Miss hiring Kiffin landed at No. 21 on this prestigous list. 

"Few would call Kiffin's tenure as quiet and consistent, but his Rebels have been exactly that. The Rebels have posted 10 wins in three of the past four years, including a school record 11 victories in 2023," Jeyarajah wrote. "Perhaps most impressive has been Kiffin's flexibility when it comes to building rosters, from leaning on quarterbacks like Jaxson Dart to building fearsome defensive fronts behind Walter Nolen and running the ball with Quinshon Judkins. Kiffin was all hype early in his career; now, he's all results."

Kiffin ranked ahead of notable hires like Jimbo Fisher at Florida State and was just behind Brian Kelly at Notre Dame. Topping the list, obviously, is Kiffin's former mentor Nick Saban, who was hired by Alabama ahead of the 2007 season.

All eyes will be on how the Rebels respond this season to losing eight NFL draft picks from last year's team. Austin Simmons will now be under center instead of Jaxson Dart, and the defensive line is almost unrecognizable from a season ago.

Suntarine Perkins will be called upon once again to wreak havoc for the defense, but outside of him, the group should look dramatically different. Kiffin can continue to pay back the investment made in him by putting together another successful year in 2025.