Don't Be Fooled, Lane Kiffin's New E:60 Piece Is A Resume Update For Next Job

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin spent the first part of his career as a football coach being viewed as college football's "bad boy" within coaching circles.

By his own admission, Kiffin didn't do a lot at the time to dispel those narratives.

He was brash, arrogant, and clashed with a lot of other coaches at the time, most notably Alabama head coach Nick Saban while both were with the Crimson Tide.

Since then, though, Kiffin has done a remarkable job cleaning up his once tarnished image.

He's doing hot yoga now and making TikTok's with his daughter, all while he short-circuits scoreboards across America.

This redemption tour for Kiffin culminated in a new E:60 segment from ESPN on how he has finally found inner peace in Oxford.

You can find the whole thing for yourself, but I included just a snippet below to give you an idea of what the vibes were throughout the piece.

Let me get this out of the way: I am incredibly happy for Lane Kiffin.

He's clearly at peace, he's in the best shape of his life, he's given up alcohol (and that isn't easy for anyone), and he seems like he's doing a superb job of being both a kick-ass head coach and a kick-ass dad.

But I would be remiss if I didn't mention that this feels like a setup for something bigger.

If anything, this E:60 segment just showed me that Kiffin is finally ready to take on that big job that has eluded him for so long.

After flaming out at Tennessee and USC, the latter of which he called his "dream job," Kiffin was viewed as immature and not ready for big-boy football.

This mini-documentary feels like the Rebels head coach saying, "Look at me, I've done a lot of growing up."

Sure, Kiffin still ribs his opponents, but he does it in a more tongue-in-cheek manner these days.

More lighthearted ball-breaking rather than malicious attacks.

I have no doubt in my mind every word Kiffin says in this nearly seven-minute segment is sincere, but I also don't believe for a second that Oxford is the last stop on his coaching journey.

Will he leave this year? I can't say for sure.

There is a certain job down in Gainesville that is almost assured to have his name on it come December of this year, and the prevailing theory is Kiffin has been wanting this one for a while.

But there is also a world where Kiffin feels he still has too much to accomplish at Ole Miss, and maybe the timing just doesn't match up this go around.

Whether 2025 is his last year in the Magnolia State or not, rest assured, I believe Kiffin is starting to plant the seeds for a return to one of the premiere college jobs in the country.

Where and when that is remains to be seen, so I guess for now, we will just have to wait and see what the future holds for Lane Monte Kiffin.