- As Rebels embrace expectations, it’s not Dart nor the hot names from the Portal that will tell the tale.
It fascinates that Lane Kiffin was at the podium today representing Ole Miss football at SEC Media Days in Dallas.
College football, thankfully, took our Mississippi minds off COVID for a minute in 2019 and 2020 when Mike Leach, Deion Sanders and Kiffin were hired at Mississippi State, Jackson State and Ole Miss.
Through Leach’s unfortunate passing and Sanders’ next big thing, Kiffin is the only one left. It was a widely held belief that he would be the first to bolt.
Leach had a history of settling in wherever he was, and Sanders, well no one really knew what to make of him that time. They still don’t.
But Lane Kiffin’s history was of short stays and movement. Add to that the fact that he had little history in the Southeast, only his run as Nick Saban’s OC, and no history with Ole Miss.
It was hard to argue that he’d be at Ole Miss for any amount of time. Now here he is, just the third Ole Miss coach since Billy Brewer to start a fifth season with the Rebels.
David Cutcliffe lasted six seasons before giving way to Ed Orgeron then Houston Nutt.
Hugh Freeze started a fifth season in 2016, but his tenure ended in flames just prior to training camp in 2017.
Stability search
Ole Miss football has craved stability since the John Vaught Era and hasn’t found it.
Kiffin may not be a long-range answer, but he has navigated changing times and has the program more stable than it’s been for any reasonable amount of time since Vaught.
The Rebels never won the SEC West outright, but now the SEC West is gone, and that stigma will carry less and less clout as the years go by.
Kiffin has the Rebels as a trendy pick to make CFB’s first expanded 12-team field.
Making the playoffs becomes the bar. If Kiffin can get the Rebels there enough the bar will shift to winning a national championship.
It’s heady stuff to even think of the Rebels in this conversation, but here they are.
They’ve got big expectations not only because of Kiffin but because of an experienced star at quarterback in Jaxson Dart.
Wide receiver Tre Harris, preparing for just his second year in the SEC, gave reporters a veteran answer on the question of expectations.
“We understand there’s a lot of expectations on us this year. But at the end of the day we understand that everything that we worry about, we can only control what we can control. We all are just worried about the guys inside of the facility. We understand that each and every day we have to get better,” he said.
It’s a statement to Dart, to his experienced linemen, receivers and tight ends – and to Kiffin’s transfer portal and roster management – that Ole Miss could lose a player the caliber of Quinshon Judkins and still be having these conversations.
Kiffin returns a capable running back in Ulysses Bentley and has added intriguing pieces around him.
But the offense runs through Dart.
As Kiffin is so deftly showing it’s not hard to find people who can run and catch.
You better be elite behind center to have a chance to compete at a high level.
‘Monumental’ return at QB
Dart gives the Rebels that chance this season.
Having him back is “monumental, to be completely honest with you,” Harris says. “The amount of work he puts in is really incredible. He doesn’t stop working. He’s definitely taken the leadership role to a maximum.”
Kiffin gives the Rebels that chance most seasons.
His in-season flirtation with Auburn in 2022 showed that he’s had wandering eyes during his Ole Miss tenure.
But Ole Miss AD Keith Carter has given Kiffin resources. Major work has been done on the Ole Miss football building, and more is planned for Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. He has money for assistant coaches, enough that he was able to add Defensive Coordinator Pete Golding to his staff.
He has a rocking collective to help him compete for players.
His own $8.75 million annual salary ranks among the top 10 for 2024. If Kiffin were to leave that level of commitment will make it easier for Ole Miss to find a quality candidate to continue Kiffin’s success.
Always be looking ahead.
The Rebels have been here before and have fallen short. For some in the fan base falling short has become so expected that disappointment has earned its own acronym – WAOM for “We Are Ole Miss.” That used to drive Ross Bjork crazy. I’m sure it does for Keith Carter too.
Kiffin, though, should not have the shortcomings of previous Ole Miss football attached to him for the 2024 season.
The 2022 season had a sour finish, but even that team won eight games. Kiffin delivered a 10-win regular season in 2021 and an 11-win season with an impressive Peach Bowl victory over Penn State – one of the nation’s top defenses – last year.
As cherished as last season was for Ole Miss fans the Rebels were still clearly the lesser team in their losses to Alabama and Georgia.
How the tale will be told
They need big wins to reach 2024 goals, but it’s how they compete against elite-level SEC talent that will write the story for this season.
For Kiffin, the important factor in this team is not Dart’s ability nor that of coveted transfers like defensive tackle Walter Nolen. It’s chemistry.
In the age of fast fixes “bonding and them coming together” can be overlooked, he said. Winning is more than grabbing hot names from the portal.
He sees in this team “a good mixture” of portal darlings and experience – Ole Miss experience.
“You have so many players coming back which we didn’t have two seasons ago. They know our expectations, know how we want things, what our culture is.”
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