Lane Kiffin Enters New Chapter at Ole Miss - Outkick

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If you’ve paid any attention to Lane Kiffin over the last few years, you might’ve noticed something different about him. No, not his coaching habits or how he develops a quarterback, but more so off the field, where changing some habits have led to a different lifestyle for the Ole Miss head coach.

Coming off years where he would be in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, Lane Kiffin has turned a corner in his personal life that he credits to growing up and family. A lot can be said for the Ole Miss coach, but his candor isn’t something that has disappeared. Whether it’s how he goes about life now or waking up on Monday morning and sending out a motivational tweet, Kiffin undoubtedly feels like a new man at Ole Miss.

Lane spoke on that growth during a press conference Monday with local reporters and I decided to follow up with the head coach on Monday evening to further discuss his new outlook on life.

After seeing a tweet from Brianna Wiest, the head coach decided to throw in a few motivational words for folks out in the world looking to start a change in their life.

When asked about some changes in his personal life and what made him want to comment on the tweet, Kiffin summed it up at the media gathering on Monday as using his social media platform for good use.

“I just saw that this morning and thought it was really cool, you know I do those things early in the morning sometimes. Maybe there’s somebody out there that needs some motivation and going through some stuff. The ability to use the platform as a head coach, on Twitter with that many people is really valuable. So, I just thought that was really cool what she said.

“I think we all go through things,” Kiffin added. “I’ve been through a lot, I think they’re well-documented, you know divorce, firings. So now being here, daughter moving here, you kinda get out of that world, you get back in it, some things change. I didn’t think I’d be watching a Nicholas Sparks movie on Sunday night, last night with six high school girls there sitting on the couch and a dog. So I guess maybe things have changed.”

Speaking with Lane Kiffin on Monday night, he made it clear that he’s also following God’s lead in this new phase of his life — alluding to Morgan Wallen’s “Don’t Think Jesus,” a song about a man abandoning his way to pursue a higher calling.

Kiffin discussed holding staff bible studies and finding the right church for his family.

“I go to a country church lead by a pastor named ‘fish’ that I bring Landry and friends to every Sunday morning. Matt Corral came in-season last year as well.”

He also mentioned how he was moved to tears when he first heard a song sent to him by country artist Morgan Wallen.

“Morgan Wallen sent his song ‘Don’t Think Jesus’ before it came out because we have talked about our journeys and changes,” Kiffin shared in our discussion. “He said, ‘I think you will love this song’ and I said ‘not only do I love it, I believe it and listen to it every day in the shower.'”

Kiffin also said this in terms of his relationship with God, “I can’t believe he didn’t give up on me”.

The transformation has been spiritual and physical. On the physical side, Kiffin mentioned that he does Pilates, Hot Yoga and ‘Hotworx’ to keep up with his cardio, while tacking on a strict dietary cleanse, which includes no alcohol, which he thought would only last ten days, but has now turned into seventeen months.

To keep up with this regimen, Kiffin has become a morning person, usually attending workouts as early as 6 AM.

“Players love it and say it inspires them to see a coach not just talk about, but show it.”

So how does he stay motivated?

Kiffin mentioned that his friends keep him accountable and motivated by sending him pictures of how looked two years ago compared to now. The coach shared one of those pictures during our conversation.

Speaking of that Nicholas Sparks movie, it was actually called ‘The Longest Ride’. Kiffin also said they have a group chat that is named ‘Modern Family’, which Lane is called ‘Sparky’ by his daughters and her friends.

Sharing a few pictures tonight of that group chat, you can tell how much he enjoys the banter about movie nights, which have become a staple point of the week.

“Me and Landry’s five girlfriends. We have a Sunday ‘Modern Family’ movie night. They named me ‘Sparky’ because they say when it’s my pick, I always pick Nicholas Sparks movies.”

One of the things that stands out to me the most about Kiffin is that he actually embraces it all, not worrying about what it might look like on social media platforms. He’s simply having fun with his family and getting to spend time with them, even during the crazy days of fall camp. Prioritizing the bigger things in life, while also running a football team can be hard to do, but he finds the time, just like coaches all across the country.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with sitting down and watching ‘The Longest Ride’ or whichever movie Sparks has put out recently, but it shows you that Kiffin is comfortable talking about these things now. He’s a regular on his daughter’s Tik-Tok account, which usually brings out a few laughs or goofing off with his dog ‘Juice’, who the players seem to enjoy.

Whatever the current ingredients are, Kiffin seems to have a more laid-back approach to life off the field, which it looks like he’s enjoying. Whether it be on Twitter, Instagram, Tik-Tok or just a weekly press conference, we’re seeing a different side to Lane Kiffin that he now feels comfortable enough to show.

It took some years for Lane to get to this stage, but I imagine the ones closest to him are enjoying the Sunday night movie sessions and funny videos.

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