Lane Kiffin contract extension announced by Ole Miss football; Rebels told before Egg Bowl
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss officially announced a contract extension for football coach Lane Kiffin on Tuesday afternoon.
The news comes after weeks of media reports linking Kiffin to the vacant head coaching position at Auburn, which was filled by Hugh Freeze.
Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger first reported Kiffin's new deal is expected to average a salary of $9 million per year, with a base length of six years and rollovers extending it to seven. Mississippi state law prevents state employees from signing contracts longer than four years, but Dellenger reported the contract is run through Ole Miss' private athletics foundation.
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The release announcing the new contract indicated that Kiffin's players were told about the contract extension before their Egg Bowl defeat to Mississippi State last Thursday.
"Coach Kiffin is establishing a program that can sustain success and contend for championships," Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter said in the news release. "We are investing in our football program like never before. The greatly increased salary pool for assistant coaches and support staff is competitive with any of our peers, and from a facility standpoint, the $45 million renovation of the Manning Center will conclude this summer."
Ole Miss finished Kiffin's third regular season in charge with an 8-4 record. He is 23-12 overall with the Rebels.
Carter also touted the progress Ole Miss has made from an NIL perspective.
The Grove Collective, which collects and distributes NIL funds to Ole Miss athletes, recently announced that it had surpassed $10 million in funding.
Walker Jones, a former Rebel who help runs The Grove Collective, previously told The Clarion Ledger that he believes few coaches are better suited to operate in modern college football than Kiffin.
"People forget he was a head coach in the NFL," Jones said earlier this month. "He grew up watching his dad coach many years in the NFL. So he's got that NFL mindset, kind of free agency, roster management, how to rebuild your roster from year to year. That's really what his mindset is. I think the traditional recruiting model probably wasn't always Lane's strength. I think this new world of how recruiting is now impacted by NIL plays to his strengths. It's not traditional anymore."
Kiffin is set to sign the No. 26 recruiting class in the country, according to 247Sports. That would mark the third consecutive year that Ole Miss inks a top-30 class.
Kiffin's win percentage is .657, which ranks fourth behind TS Hammond, NP Stauffer and John Vaught.
"With the support from our collective and a new state-of-the-art facility, we will be able to build off what we have achieved so far and offer more opportunities to our student-athletes," Kiffin said in the statement. "I have a tremendous amount of gratitude for our fans, players and staff and am extremely excited to take this team to the next level."
David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Follow him on Twitter @davideckert98.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Lane Kiffin's contract extension announced by Ole Miss football
