Ole Miss Football’s Lane Kiffin Named Semifinalist for George Munger College Coach of the Year

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – (Release) Ole Miss head football coach Lane Kiffin has been named a semifinalist for the 2023 George Munger College Coach of the Year Award, as announced by the Maxwell Football Club on Thursday.

Kiffin is one of 14 semifinalists for the award nationally, as well as one of just three from the SEC alongside Alabama’s Nick Saban and Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz.

Kiffin has guided the 2023 Rebels to a 10-2 regular season and a New Year’s Six berth to play in the Peach Bowl, his fourth straight bowl bid in as many opportunities since taking over in 2020, and his second NY6 appearance in the last three seasons. This year marked just the second 10-win regular season in Ole Miss history, joining a 10-3 campaign under Kiffin in 2021 that ended with a Sugar Bowl berth. Additionally, Kiffin now stands alongside legendary Ole Miss coach John Vaught as the only head coaches in program history to chart multiple 10-win seasons.

Offensively, the 2023 Rebels put together another electric resume under Kiffin, whose Ole Miss teams since 2020 rank second overall among all FBS schools in total offense at 497.4 yards per game. This year, Ole Miss ranks within the top-15 of the FBS in passing efficiency (11th, 162.2), yards per completion (12th, 14.4) and total offense (15th, 455.4 YPG), while ranking fourth in the SEC and 19th nationally at 34.8 points per game. Ole Miss has done so with a balanced attack, ranking fourth in the conference in both passing (276.6 YPG) and rushing (178.8 YPG).

The Rebels also take extraordinarily good care of the football this year, leading the SEC in both turnover margin (+9) and fewest turnovers (7), the latter of which ranks third among all FBS schools. Impressively, Ole Miss has done all this with one of the fastest offenses in the nation, ranking second in the SEC and eighth in the FBS at 23.3 seconds per play this season.

The Ole Miss defense, meanwhile, has wreaked havoc both in the backfield and in the passing game all season long, ranking as one of the nation’s best in both sacks (2.8/game; No. 5 SEC, No. 16 FBS) and in interceptions (12; No. 1 SEC, No. 22 FBS).

Finalists will be announced on Dec. 21, and the winner of the 2023 George Munger Award will be announced on Wed., Jan. 10, 2024. The Munger Award will be formally presented at the 87th Maxwell Awards Gala, which will be held on Fri., March 8, 2024 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia. Event tickets will go on sale Dec. 15.

2023 George Munger College Coach of the Year Award • Semifinalists

Alabama – Nick Saban

Arizona – Jedd Fisch

Florida State – Mike Norvell

James Madison – Curt Cignetti

Liberty – Jamey Chadwell

Louisville – Jeff Brohm

Missouri – Eliah Drinkwitz

New Mexico State – Jerry Kill

Northwestern – David Braun

Ole Miss – Lane Kiffin

SMU – Rhett Lashlee

Texas – Steve Sarkisian

UNLV – Barry Odom

Washington – Kalen DeBoer

(Featured image: Courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics)

Courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics