E60’s “The Many Lives of Lane Kiffin” will debut on ESPN at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 24. The documentary will focus on the polarizing, yet fascinating, nature of the Ole Miss Football head coach. Media members had early access to the documentary.
In the documentary, Ryan McGee, a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine, speaks with Kiffin about his career in coaching — which began when he was a quarterback at Fresno State.
Fresno State slotted Kiffin as the second string quarterback for multiple seasons. Eventually, when it looked like it was his turn to earn the starting job, Fresno State brought in future NFL No. 1 overall pick David Carr, who ultimately took the starting role.
After not wearing a mandatory knee brace to practice one day because he believed all of his reps were going to Carr, the quarterback coach called Kiffin into his office. The two spoke for 30 minutes, and when Kiffin walked out, he was no longer a player. Instead, he was an assistant wide receivers coach.
Kiffin had short stints as a position assistant with Colorado State and in the NFL with Jacksonville Jaguars. His first big role came when the University of Southern California hired him as tight ends coach.
Kiffin quickly rose through the ranks and eventually became the offensive coordinator for the Trojans under head coach Pete Carrol. After a few successful seasons, the Oakland Raiders hired Kiffin as their head coach.
Kiffin’s stint in Oakland was less than ideal. In the 2007 NFL Draft, he and owner Al Davis decided to select quarterback Jamarcus Russel, who many regard to be one of the biggest busts of all time, with the No. 1 pick. In his first season as head coach, Kiffin won just four games.
Davis was displeased. After a 1-3 start to his second season, the Raiders fired Kiffin.
His next head coaching position came from the University of Tennessee. In his first press conference, Kiffin was fiery and confident, almost to the point of arrogance. He stated that he was looking for UT traditions, which included “singing Rocky Top all night long after we beat Florida next year.”
Tennessee fans were elated, and Kiffin did not disappoint in his first season. The Volunteers finished 7-6 with some high-quality wins. Kiffin, it seemed, was in the process of turning the program around.
Yet shortly afterward, Kiffin shocked the Volunteer faithful when he called a surprise press conference and shared the news that he was taking the head coaching position at the University of Southern California. Enraged Tennessee fans burnt mattresses in the streets of Knoxville, Tenn., and threw objects at his house while he and his family were inside.
Perhaps, then, it was karma coming around to bite him when, in his first season at Southern California, the university came under heat from the NCAA due to Heisman running back Reggie Bush illegally accepting money from an agent in 2005. For Kiffin’s first two seasons, Southern California was banned from bowl games and lost 30 scholarships.
Regardless, the Trojans were hugely successful under Kiffin. Southern California finished 8-5 and 10-2, and in Kiffin’s third season, the Trojans were ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP Poll.
This was when Kiffin’s luck ran out. The Trojans stumbled that season, finishing 7-6. In the offseason, Kiffin fired defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, his father and a legendary coach in his own right. After a 3-2 start the next season, Kiffin was fired around three in the morning after a plane ride following a loss against Arizona State.
Legendary Alabama head coach Nick Saban then took a chance on Kiffin and hired him as the Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator. In his time there, Kiffin won a national championship. In 2016, he was hired as the head coach of Florida Atlantic University. In three seasons with the Owls, he won two conference championships, and Ole Miss hired him as head coach in 2019.
The documentary details how, despite having some reservations about slow, quiet life in Oxford, Kiffin eventually came to love Mississippi life.
“I came here judgey of people and how it was, how slow it was,” Kiffin said in the documentary. “When I stopped judging, I realized, ‘Wait, maybe they’re on to something. Maybe slower is just a better way to live.’”
One large change Kiffin made was giving up alcohol. When his son Knox and daughter Landry Kiffin moved in with him, he recognized an opportunity to focus on family.
After several successful seasons, Auburn began calling Kiffin regarding a head coaching position. But Landry Kiffin, a student at Ole Miss, knew exactly what to do to keep her father in Oxford. She made a slideshow explaining why Kiffin should remain at Ole Miss, and when she was finished presenting it to him, Kiffin teared up.
“Sometimes you need your kids to point some things out to you and just remind you of some things,” Lane Kiffin said. “That was very impactful. I’m not saying I was going. I don’t know that. I was deciding, but that made the decision for me.”
Coach Kiffin truly has many different lives. Towards the end of the documentary, he shared his thoughts on the kind of person he was — and, now, the person he is trying to become.
“I feel like a lot of my life decisions were all about me, and I’m really trying to not make it about me (anymore),” Kiffin said.
Kiffin has been at Ole Miss for six years now, which is the longest he has ever coached a single program. “The Many Lives of Lane Kiffin” airs on ESPN on Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m., and an extended version will be available on the ESPN app.
