The feeling is mutual: Lane Kiffin appreciative of Oxford and Ole Miss
OXFORD, Miss. – The list of places Lane Kiffin has lived as a head football coach reads like a “which one does not belong,” question on an elementary school standardized test.
Oakland, Los Angeles, Boca Raton, Oxford.
Yet the “different” choice on that list could turn out as the best choice Kiffin ever made.
Back when Kiffin was hired as the Rebels’ head coach in December of 2019, little did anyone know he, Oxford and Ole Miss would mesh so well.
“Maybe if you look at my background of where I’ve been in different places, this statement might surprise you — it probably would have surprised me if I had said it a long time ago — but I look at it as you go around town and there’s so much excitement about the program, season ticket sales and everything, but I feel like I needed Oxford and Ole Miss a lot more than it needed me.”
Lane Kiffin on Oxford and Ole Miss
“And so I enjoy it here, it’s been awesome and it’s been really cool,” Kiffin said. “And now we got to take out from last year and rebuild…We have and go perform on game days and keep our home winning streak alive. I mean I don’t know the stats but it’s got to be one of the longer ones around.”
Ole Miss has won nine consecutive games at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, to be exact. The Rebels’ last loss at home was in controversial fashion Oct. 24, 2020, to Auburn.
Ole Miss looks to extend the winning streak Saturday against Troy.
“I just think maybe that statement might not surprise people,” Kiffin said of his fondness for Ole Miss and Oxford.
“Just when I thought of it the other day, I don’t know I would’ve said that in the beginning, just living in the different cities I’ve lived in. As you guys know, here with (daughter) Landry moving here and Juice (the new pet) and everything, just how people are here,” he explained.
“It’s been really awesome for me. It’s been part of a lot of changes that have taken place personally. It just didn’t happen in these two years by chance, I think a lot of it had to do with coming here.”
Lane Kiffin
Love at first sight
Kiffin seemed comfortable from the moment he arrived. When his plane touched down in Oxford, thousands of fans were there to greet him. Suddenly, Kiffin found himself being cheered, encouraged and even having his picture taken with a baby.
Lane Kiffin already kissing babies and being told “get you a burner phone” in Oxford pic.twitter.com/JSZIBL4UuZ
— Pick Your Poison (@pickpoisonpod) December 8, 2019
When he was asked about that photo op, Kiffin used some self-deprecating humor.
“It was a lot better than another tarmac experience I had,” Kiffin quipped in reference to once being fired at an airport.
To make a joke like that, Kiffin must’ve already felt comfortable. Who could blame him? He was now in Oxford. He was not in the metropolitan areas of his past coaching stops. For the first time in his head coaching career, Kiffin is in a true college town (no offense, Knoxville).
The residents are not the only ones who believe that, just peruse the national media and they will back up that claim.
Oxford has been named the top college town in America by ESPN. Travel and Leisure magazine lists Oxford in its list of top ten coolest college towns. Smithsonian called it one of the top 20 small towns in America. USA Today rates Oxford as one of the 100 best small towns, and it is on Money magazine’s list of the top 100 places to live.
Kiffin seems to agree with those assessments. He can be seen taking Juice for walks and like the Norm character from the television show “Cheers,” it seems everybody knows the Yellow Lab’s name and the puppy has become one of the most popular Rebels.
The people of Oxford know Kiffin’s name as well and they welcome him. He even turned on the official Christmas lights in Oxford this past year.
Lane “Griswold” Kiffin turns on the Canopy of Lights to signal in the holidays. Note Kiffin’s magical powers of turning the lights on before plugging it in. #OleMiss pic.twitter.com/nqidzNFojJ
— Jake Thompson (@JakeThompsonOn3) November 11, 2021
Unlike the other stops in the coach’s career, the hamlet in north Mississippi is inviting. It is calm, peaceful, and serene.
From The Grove to Rowan Oak, to The Square, this is the kind of atmosphere where both Kiffin and Ole Miss can thrive. He no longer has to deal with the L.A. freeways, or the brutal Oakland NFL fan base or the tourists of south Florida.
Kiffin is now in Oxford. The town and Ole Miss seem to suit him as well as he does them. He belongs here.
Welcome home coach.
Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.
He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.
A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.
Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.
He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.
Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.
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