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FOOTBALL: Ole Miss, Kiffin agree to contract extension

OXFORD, Miss. – In the midst of another record-breaking football season, Ole Miss will continue the historic momentum that has been established under Lane Kiffin's leadership, as the two parties have agreed on a contract extension, it was announced Tuesday by Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics Keith Carter.

In his four years at the helm, Kiffin has guided Ole Miss to its first two 10-win regular seasons, four consecutive bowl berths and two New Year's Six bowl appearances in the past three years. The Rebels are 21-2 over their last 23 games in Oxford, including perfect home records in both 2021 and 2023.

"Our football program is experiencing unprecedented success under Coach Kiffin, and we could not be more excited about what the future holds under his leadership," Carter said. "In just four years, he has established our team as a sustained winner that is on a trajectory to championship status. With our continued investment in the program and the tremendous support of the Grove Collective, the Ole Miss family is committed to providing Coach Kiffin the resources needed to compete at an elite level."

"We're doing things here that have never been done before, and with the commitment that our leadership and supporters are making, we have the opportunity to build on the foundation that has been established over the last four years," Kiffin said. "I'm grateful to Chancellor Boyce and Keith for their support, and we look forward to continuing on our path to becoming a championship program."

This year, Kiffin has guided the 11th-ranked Rebels to a 10-2 regular season and a New Year's Six bid to play in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against Penn State on Dec. 30. Kiffin now stands alongside legendary Ole Miss coach John Vaught as the only head coaches in program history to chart multiple 10-win seasons.

Offensively, the 2023 Rebels put together another electric resume under Kiffin, whose Ole Miss teams since 2020 rank second overall among all FBS schools in total offense at 497.4 yards per game. This year, Ole Miss ranks within the top-15 of the FBS in passing efficiency (11th, 162.2), yards per completion (12th, 14.4) and total offense (15th, 455.4 YPG), while ranking fourth in the SEC and 19th nationally at 34.8 points per game. Ole Miss has done so with a balanced attack, ranking fourth in the conference in both passing (276.6 YPG) and rushing (178.8 YPG).

The Rebels have also taken extraordinarily good care of the football this year, leading the SEC in both turnover margin (+9) and fewest turnovers (7), the latter of which ranks third among all FBS schools. Impressively, Ole Miss has done all this with one of the fastest offenses in the nation, ranking second in the SEC and eighth in the FBS at 23.3 seconds per play this season.

The Ole Miss defense, meanwhile, has wreaked havoc both in the backfield and in the passing game all season long, ranking as one of the nation's best in both sacks (2.8/game; No. 5 SEC, No. 16 FBS) and in interceptions (12; No. 1 SEC, No. 22 FBS).

Last season, Kiffin's Rebels rode one of the nation's most explosive rushing attacks to an 8-5 record and a bid to play in the Texas Bowl. Ole Miss was No. 3 nationally in rushing offense (256.6) and No. 8 in total offense (496.4), helped greatly by talented true freshman running back Quinshon Judkins. Judkins set the Ole Miss single-season record in both rushing yards (1,567) and rushing touchdowns (16).

In 2021, Kiffin guided the Rebels to a 10-3 record and an appearance in the AllState Sugar Bowl. The team was a perfect 7-0 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, which was part of a 14-game home win streak under Kiffin. The Rebels finished the season ranked No. 11 in both the AP and AFCA Coaches Poll—the program's highest final ranking since 2016.

In his first year at Ole Miss in 2020, Kiffin quickly turned the Rebels into an offensive powerhouse. Averaging a school record 555.5 yards of offense per game, the team finished with a 5-5 record in the COVID-shortened campaign, concluding with a victory over No. 7 Indiana in the Outback Bowl.

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Here's Monday's thread. It was a day.


Hello on this bright, cold Tuesday morning. It's another day on Walter Nolen watch. Will he commit today? Ole Miss certainly hopes so. Will he? I just don't know. There were lots of rumors Monday, but most of that appeared to be just that -- rumor. Georgia is recruiting Nolen and has made an offer, but per multiple sources, it's nowhere close to the best offer on the table for Nolen. Texas A&M might still be in the mix, though at least one source was quite skeptical regarding that late last night (after 11 p.m., when I got home from Brandon High School).

As an aside, holy cow, Brandon High School's football facility is impressive. Wow. I'd never been there before.

Back to Nolen. I believe Nolen was ready/is ready to commit to Ole Miss. I believe his mother shares that sentiment, per sources. There are others in his life, however, who are reluctant to pull that trigger. And it's worth noting that while tomorrow is National Signing Day, that has nothing to do with portal prospects. Nothing. In fact, if Nolen wanted to extend this another month, he could. Would Ole Miss be that patient? I don't know. Probably.

Other players will get into the transfer portal in the coming days and weeks. I am on alert on a couple already. I know Ole Miss would love nothing more than to get this thing with Nolen wrapped up, but it takes two -- and in this case, maybe four -- to tango.

If you're in need of drama today, I guess Braylon Burnside will provide it. I'll tell you up front I think he's signing with Mississippi State Wednesday, but there are excellent sources who either believe Ole Miss leads or it's a 50-50 battle for the four-star athlete from Starkville, Miss. We'll see.

More when/if we get it.
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