Lane Kiffin shares advice he gave Jaxson Dart ahead of first NFL start with Giants

Fresh off a massive SEC win over No. 4 LSU on Saturday, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin turned his attention to the NFL ahead of former Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart‘s first professional start Sunday. Kiffin joined ESPN‘s Sunday NFL Countdown earlier this morning to discuss his pupil’s first-career NFL start for the New York Giants at 1 pm ET Sunday vs. the Los Angeles Chargers.

During his segment on ESPN, Kiffin revealed the advice he gave Dart earlier this week in preparation for his opportunity as the Giants’ QB1 after New York coach Brian Daboll made the early-season change, benching Russell Wilson for the franchise’s 25th overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft this past April.

“Just to take it easy, relax. This guy’s played a lot of football (in college) for a rookie, played in a lot of big games. So, really just take it one snap at a time and don’t try to do too much,” Kiffin said Sunday morning before taking a little dig at his former QB. “(But) I’m watching him warmup right there and he looks like he’s trying to throw the ball through the wall already. So I don’t know if he even listened to me.”

Dart takes over as the Giants’ starting quarterback four games into his NFL career amid a 0-3 start for New York with the veteran Wilson at the helm. Dart has yet to throw a pass in the NFL but has two career rushes for zero yards while appearing in a change-of-pace role the past two games.

The 22-year-old Dart reset the Rebels offensive recordbooks during his three-year career in Oxford, overtaking New York Giants legend Eli Manning as Ole Miss’ all-time passer with 10,617 passing yards along with program record for total offense (12,115 yards) passing efficiency (162.8), and rushing yards by a quarterback (1,498 yards), among other marks.

Kiffin and 13th-ranked Ole Miss (5-0, 3-0 SEC) are riding high following Saturday’s 24-19 home win over No. 4 LSU (4-1, 1-1 SEC), a result that is sure to shake up the AP and USA Today Coaches Top 25 polls to be released later Sunday.

Russell Wilson expected to become trade target after Giants bench him for Jaxson Dart

Following the New York Giants’ decision to bench him for rookie Jaxson Dart, Russell Wilson said he did not request a trade. That might not stop teams from calling and the rumors from swirling, though.

Wilson is expected to become a trade target this year, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported. He’s likely to become one of the top candidates for a move along with Atlanta Falcons QB Kirk Cousins if a quarterback-needy team is looking for a veteran.

The Giants signed Wilson to a one-year, $10.5 million contract in free agency this offseason. Through three games this year, he has completed 59.1% of his passes for 778 yards and three touchdowns, to three interceptions. Of course, his biggest performance came against the Dallas Cowboys when he threw for 450 yards and three touchdowns in an overtime loss.

Daboll appears to be looking for a spark on offense by switching to dart amid an 0-3 start to the year. Outside of the Cowboys game – a 40-37 shootout – New York hasn’t reached double-digit points in a game this year.

— On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this report.