What Lane Kiffin's first Ole Miss press conference says about his LSU, Florida decision

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

OXFORD — A lot has changed for Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter since they took the stage for Kiffin’s introductory press conference on Dec. 9, 2019.

Kiffin was the new Ole Miss football coach. He had the reputation of being a talented-but-volatile coach who revived his career in three seasons as Nick Saban’s Alabama offensive coordinator followed by three years as Florida Atlantic coach.

Carter was a new athletic director, on the job for less than a month and making his first major decision. He’d only met Kiffin during the hiring process.

The press conference in the Sandy and John Black Pavilion went 22 minutes. Kiffin’s humor showed through. He even made a tarmac joke, alluding to the end of his tenure at USC, which actually happened in an office at the airport.

Six years later, Carter is trying to keep Kiffin, who is a top candidate at LSU and Florida.

Meanwhile, the No. 6 Rebels (10-1, 6-1 SEC) play in the Egg Bowl at Mississippi State (5-6, 1-6) on Nov. 28 (11 a.m. ABC). Carter said in a statement that a decision on Kiffin’s future is expected to be announced the next day.

“Certainly we’re going to be linked,” Carter said in the Kiffin introductory press conference. “We talked about locking arms and doing this thing together. I even mentioned to him when we were meeting, I still haven’t signed my contract yet. I’m going to be here a long time. I plan on being here a long time, as does he.”

Lane Kiffin looked like a different person before first Ole Miss season

The first takeaway is a visual one. Kiffin looks like an entirely different person.

Kiffin was a long ways from becoming the slimmed-down, hot yoga regular he is now. It’s a testament to the life changes Kiffin has made in Oxford. In six years he has cut out alcohol and transformed his body. It’s would be an impressive life change for anyone, but especially someone making his living in such a demanding field.

When Kiffin arrived, he needed to borrow his navy blue suit, powder blue dress shirt and red-and-blue striped tie.

“I had some really good suits, but then I went to Alabama and I gained some weight,” Kiffin said in the press conference. “Those don’t fit anymore. This isn’t even my suit. This is actually (agent) Jimmy Sexton’s suit. He’s lost weight, so we’re kind of even now.”

Ole Miss football met Kiffin’s requirements of a long-term job

As Kiffin swigged some water, he was asked if he considers Ole Miss to be a long-term job.

“Yes,” Carter cut in.

Kiffin reassured Carter’s position and laid out why Ole Miss was a destination worth staying at. How long is long term, though? He didn’t give a timeline. Six years is a long time in college football coaching.

Kiffin said he thought a poor performance after leaving FAU would hurt his chances of landing another head coaching job. He wanted to pick his spot, and Ole Miss fit the bill.

“It had to be a place that really felt things were aligned in order to be somewhere that you can really win,” Kiffin said. “I have zero reason to leave here because you are in the best conference there is in football. You’ve got great leadership and you’ve got the ability to recruit great players. And you’ve got an awesome fanbase.”

Lane Kiffin did at Ole Miss what he said he would

Kiffin mimed a roller coaster with his hand, and said it was something he wanted to avoid.

He highlighted the potential at Ole Miss as one of the reasons he left Florida Atlantic, but that his job would be to take a program that could spike with big wins and turn it into a consistent winner. Ole Miss had missed four consecutive bowl games before Kiffin became coach.

Kiffin has taken Ole Miss to bowl games in each of his five complete seasons. The Rebels have a chance to reach the CFP this season, which would be the first time in school history. Ole Miss is 31-6 over the past three seasons.

“I always kind of said, that’s a premier job that a times has performed like that and at times, hasn’t,” Kiffin said then. “That’s partly why we are here today. It’s our job to bring it back to where it’s been before and sustain.”

Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Lane Kiffin LSU, Florida clues from first Ole Miss press conference

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos