Lane Kiffin remembers Coach Mike Leach, talks about those dreaded cowbells, and discusses the Rebels’ history-making opportunity
OXFORD, Miss. — As Ole Miss prepares to travel to Starkville on Thursday night, head coach Lane Kiffin joined announcer David Kellum in their weekly “RebTalk” show to break down the upcoming matchup.
With the tragic passing of former Mississippi State coach Mike Leach last December, this will be the first Egg Bowl that Kiffin will not be coaching against his friend during his tenure at Ole Miss.
Lane spoke fondly about Leach, including how incredibly smart the coach was.
“He was an amazing person and always had such great stories. Always enjoyed being around him. I feel like he was brilliant in kind of a different way than maybe the coachspeak thing. He was really brilliant in that he could have a system, run the same system for whatever 20-30 years and it still work. He came into the SEC and threw for 600 yards on LSU that time. Nobody has done that. Not Nick Saban on defense. Nobody runs the same stuff. Everyone that has lasted that long has evolved and changed and he never did. He had such a great system and had a way to teach it and coach it that no one could completely figure it out….(He was a) very unusual coach, with a Pepperdine law degree. That’s very unusual. A lot smarter than the rest of us.”
Lane Kiffin on Mike Leach
As Kiffin noted what is at stake on Thursday night, he recognized this year’s squad is in full control of making history and added that there was a special alum in town to talk with the team before the last regular-season game.
“I have to remind myself, or people do, that say, ‘Hey, finish this game out, and that’s two of the last three seasons that are 10 regular season (wins),’” Kiffin said.
“If that’s never been done somewhere before, that’s a pretty cool thing to do, not just once but twice. That means there’s a lot of guys in your organization doing a lot of really good things. There’s been a lot of great players. Eli Manning was here today at practice. AJ Brown and all these great players and none of them have ever won 10 regular season games. That means these kids must be doing something good.”
Coach Kiffin on winning 10 regular-season wins if the Rebs beat State
Through the Rebs’ preparation for the hostile, cowbell-ringing environment of Mississippi State, Kiffin says the loud speakers at practice have done as much as they can to prepare his offense for the auditory distraction.
Coach Kiffin asked David Kellum why the cowbells have not been banned or revoked since they are an artificial noise maker, and when Kellum informed Kiffin about the ‘ring responsibly’ rule, Lane responded exactly how an Ole Miss fan would.
“Well that’s a dumb rule. Nobody’s going to follow that.“
Lane Kiffin on the rule that allows State to ring cowbells
Even though Davis-Wade Stadium only holds about 60,000 people, the cowbell ring is something that is almost impossible to prepare for, especially in a rivalry game when the No. 12 team in the country is in town.
There’s no doubt Mississippi State and its fans would love to try and keep Ole Miss from marking 10 regular-season wins. The Bulldogs will be looking for their sixth win that would push them to become bowl eligible.
Tune into ESPN at 6:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving night to watch as Coach Kiffin and his Rebels go for their second 10-win season in three years. Hotty Toddy!
