Skip to main content
Ole Miss

The Flagship: Brian Hadad tries to explain how State didn’t just hire Lane Kiffin-lite

Ben Garrettby: Ben Garrett11/27/23SpiritBen
THE FLAGSHIP-afi- copy
The Flagship is part of of the Talk of Champions podcast network

Ole Miss was only a bit player in a wild weekend for the college football coaching carousel.

Still, the Rebels’ in-state rival, Mississippi State, on Sunday made the one coaching move in 2023 that could make the Egg Bowl rivalry feel at least a little like the old days.

The Bulldogs hired former Ole Miss offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, whose history with fourth-year head coach Lane Kiffin is complicated, to say the least.

Ben Garrett (OMSpirit.com) and Brian Hadad (SuperTalk) discuss in this edition of The Flagship, a part of the Spirit’s Talk of Champions podcast network. 

Lane Kiffin has led Ole Miss to its only two 10-win regular seasons in the program’s history.

The most recent concluded with a 17-7 win over State in the Egg Bowl. The Rebels (10-2, 6-2 SEC) now await their postseason fate, which is likely a New Year’s Six or the Citrus Bowl. If they win, they’re secure their first-ever 11-win season.

As they say, imitation is the most sincerest form of flattery. Which always seems to be the case with Mississippi State when it comes to Ole Miss.

“They wanted to go offense, and he’s the best coordinator out there,” Hadad said. “In reality, his resume is better than Dan Mullen’s was when Dan Mullen got hired. Fits the bill of State needs excitement and offense. He’ll bring that. 

“Let’s just look at it in the most basic terms (and) take State and Ole Miss out of it. If you run a football team, do you want to have an exciting offense that wins a lot of games?

“That’s what Ole Miss is doing right now. They have an exciting offense and they win a lot of games.”

RELATED: Which Ole Miss football freshmen can redshirt? Which freshmen cannot?

You may also like