SEC football: Which first-year head coach will have the best 2020 season?
player. 841. . . . Lane Kiffin. 2
This is a tough call to make because Lane Kiffin can be so Jekyll & Hyde when it comes to his success. Kiffin is one of the best offensive minds in the nation, and that will bode well with some of the talent he’s inherited on that side of the ball at Ole Miss. But will that be enough?
Kiffin has a 35-21 (21-16 in conference play) record as a head coach in a Power 5 program, which is nothing to write home about. His best job of coaching probably came at Alabama where he was Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator. He’s yet to show he can put it all together as a head coach when facing elite-level talent and the top coaches in the game.
He also has one rough schedule to deal with during his first season in Oxford, with yearly SEC West foes LSU, Alabama, Auburn, and Texas A&M to deal with, as well as Baylor, Florida, and of course that yearly rivalry at the end of the season in the Egg Bowl.
Kiffin won’t fall flat in his first season, but he’s got a lot to prove and a huge chip on his shoulder to go with it.