Ole Miss announced Tuesday that it has agreed to a contract extension with head football coach Lane Kiffin following the Rebels' 8-4 season. Kiffin informed his team of the extension prior to last week's Egg Bowl rivalry game vs. Mississippi State. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed; however, Sports Illustrated reports the deal averages around $9 million per year for six years with a rollover option for a seventh season.
"We appreciate Chancellor Glenn Boyce, Director of Athletics Keith Carter and the entire Ole Miss administration for their commitment and support of our football program," Kiffin said in a release. "With the support from our collective and a new state-of-the-art facility, we will be able to build off what we have achieved so far and offer more opportunities to our student-athletes. I have a tremendous amount of gratitude for our fans, players and staff and am extremely excited to take this team to the next level. Hotty Toddy!"
Kiffin, 47, has guided Ole Miss to a 23-12 record in three seasons leading the Rebels. In 2021, the Rebels earned a berth in the Sugar Bowl and posted a 10-2 regular season record -- the first double-digit win regular season in program history. He followed that up with an 8-4 record this season and posted the nation's No. 3 overall rushing offense (261.42 yards per game) behind Air Force and Army.
"Coach Kiffin is establishing a program that can sustain success and contend for championships," athletic director Carter said in a statement. "We are investing in our football program like never before. The greatly increased salary pool for assistant coaches and support staff is competitive with any of our peers, and from a facility standpoint, the $45 million renovation of the Manning Center will conclude this summer. In addition, the remarkable support of Rebel Nation has produced tremendous momentum in NIL. We will continue to equip Coach Kiffin with these and the other resources necessary to compete and win at the highest level and build on the accomplishments of the last three seasons."
Kiffin's success with quarterbacks has been well-documented. He lured Jaxson Dart from USC prior to this season, helped Matt Corral become a third-round draft pick last season and was Alabama's offensive coordinator in 2015 when Jake Coker led the Crimson Tide to the national title.
The new contract comes just one week after news broke that Kiffin was considered a frontrunner for the then-vacant job at Auburn. Kiffin shot those rumors down shortly after the 24-22 loss to Mississippi State when he publicly stated that he is staying at Ole Miss.
Lane will continue to stock the roster
The sour taste left in the mouths of Rebels fans after Kiffin's questionable clock management in the waning moments of the Egg Bowl will be washed away relatively quickly knowing that he has transformed this team into a destination program, especially among players in the transfer portal.
Just take a look at the impact players he has lured to Ole Miss through the transfer portal. Starting quarterback Jaxson Dart was a part-time starter at USC before taking over the Rebels, running back Zach Evans was a former blue-chip recruit who transferred to Ole Miss from TCU prior to the 2022 season, defensive end Jared Ivey joined the Rebels from Georgia Tech and Malik Heath moved across the state from Mississippi State.
It isn't the Xs and Os, it's the Jimmys and the Joes. Now that Kiffin has even more stability, that recruiting effort will likely bring in even more talent to the program.
Continued quarterback development
Kiffin has had success developing quarterbacks throughout his entire career, including this year with Dart. Prior to Dart, Matt Corral evolved as one of the most dangerous players in the country last season. Corral earned second-team All-SEC honors behind Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young after throwing for 3,349 yards, rushing for 614 yards and accounting for 31 touchdowns.
Chris Robison threw for 3,701 yards in 2019, Kiffin's last season at FAU, and led the Owls to the Conference USA title. He was part of three straight SEC championship teams at Alabama with three different starting quarterbacks -- Blake Sims (2014), Jake Coker (2015) and Jalen Hurts (2016) -- and won a national title with Coker at the helm. Matt Barkley topped the 3,000-yard mark in two of Kiffin's full seasons at USC, and Jonathan Crompton tossed 27 touchdowns and threw for 2,800 yards at Tennessee in 2009.
Simply put, Kiffin has been successful grooming star quarterbacks for more than a decade, and that will only continue now that he's locked down in Oxford.
