The SEC landscape could be shaken up after the hiring of Lane Kiffin by the Ole Miss football program. The move marks Kiffin’s return to the SEC as a head coach and plenty of people were willing to share their thoughts on the Rebels’ decision.
One of those to sound off on Kiffin was ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who made the comments on his ESPN podcast.
While Herbstreit admits he believes that Kiffin can help the Rebels, he also noted there is plenty of risk. However, after a recent appearance on ESPN from Kiffin, Herbstreit seems to believe that the head coach has continued to mature throughout his career.
“Ole Miss is rolling the dice here,” Herbstreit said, via 247 Sports. “I think there’s tremendous upside on he can do and what he can do as a play caller and the job he’ll do in recruiting. He’s going to shake it up a little bit in Oxford. He’s going to shake it up in the SEC West. We had him on our selection show the other day, and he said all of the right things.
“He sounded mature (on our show), but I hope he doesn’t bring his act that he had at FAU. I just don’t think that’s in his best interest. I don’t think it’s in Ole Miss’ best interest. Maturity and go recruit. Go work hard. Nobody’s ever going to question his ability to call plays or with quarterbacks. He’s extraordinary in that area. I just hope he doesn’t try to be cute with some of the things he says publicly that I don’t think helps him or the team that he’s coaching. I hope that’s behind him. If it is, I think it’s an interesting hire and a big opportunity for him.”
As a college head coach, Kiffin holds an overall record of 61-34. He helped turn around the FAU football program over the past three years and led the program to two Conference-USA titles.