Reports: Chris Kiffin Leaving Ole Miss to Return to NFL

OXFORD, Miss. — Numerous reports indicate Ole Miss co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Chris Kiffin is leaving Oxford and heading back to the Cleveland Browns, as first reported by Chris Low of ESPN.

Chris Kiffin is leaving @OleMissFB to return to coach in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns, sources tell ESPN. Kiffin joined his brother @Lane_Kiffin last month as the Rebels’ co-defensive coordinator, but had a change of heart and decided to get back into the NFL.

— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) February 10, 2022

Chris Kiffin, 40, accepted the job in Oxford back in mid-January, joining his brother, head coach Lane Kiffin, at Ole Miss.

Reports suggest that Kiffin’s decision to return to the NFL is related to the more preferable work schedule in the pros as opposed to college.  We do not know if Chris Kiffin will return to his same position as the defensive line coach, only that he will reportedly resume his tenure as an assistant with the Browns.

The younger Kiffin had been expected to join Chris Partridge as co-defensive coordinator for the Rebels. Partridge served in that Co-DC capacity with D.J. Durkin, who left Ole Miss for A&M earlier this year.

When Lane Kiffin was head coach at Florida Atlantic, Chris Kiffin served as the Owls’ defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2017. Upon leaving FAU, Kiffin was the pass-rush specialist with the San Franciso 49ers from 2018-19.

Kiffin spent 2012-2016 as the Rebels’ defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator under Hugh Freeze. He then left Ole Miss to join Lane at Florida Atlantic as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2017. Following that, Kiffin was hired as a pass-rush specialist coach with the San Francisco 49ers from 2018-19.