Lane Kiffin Makes Touching Tribute to Father at SEC Media Day

Lane Kiffin Makes Touching Tribute to Father at SEC Media Day originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Ole Miss football program has been completely revitalized under head coach Lane Kiffin over the last five seasons. The Rebels have now won 10 or more games in three of the last four campaigns after a four-year postseason drought before he arrived.

Kiffin and his staff are gearing up for another big season, but they will have to do so without 18 of their starters from last year's squad. Ole Miss produced eight draft picks in 2025, and several more landed on NFL rosters as undrafted free agents.

Heading into this season, the Rebels will now rely on sophomore quarterback Austin Simmons to lead the program to its first-ever College Football Playoff. That journey, in a way, began at SEC Media Day on Monday.

Amid all of the festivities occurring in Atlanta, Georgia, on Day 1 of the event, Kiffin took the time to honor his late father, Monte, who passed away last summer at the age of 84. Lane Kiffin wore a suit that featured pictures of his father on the inside lining.

"My guy Mark, in Oxford, made me this jacket," Kiffin said. "It's pictures of my dad and me, and all the different places that he coached. It's pretty awesome."

Lane Kiffin's custom jacket honors his dad 🥹❤️@OleMissFB | @Lane_Kiffinpic.twitter.com/BlSSzT0ItL

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) July 14, 2025

Monte Kiffin, before his passing, worked at Ole Miss as a Player Personnel Analyst under his son for four seasons. He was also a defensive assistant at Florida Atlantic for Lane before the two made the move to Oxford in 2020.

His most notable coaching stint was when he served as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defensive coordinator from 1996 to 2008. He was pivotal to the franchise's Super Bowl XXXVII victory and was the mastermind of the highly successful "Tampa 2" defensive concept.

He also made stops with the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints and Southern California. Lane Kiffin will look to add a championship to his resume this season as he continues to follow in the footsteps of his father, an iconic figure in the coaching landscape.

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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 14, 2025, where it first appeared.