‘This is just the start’: Ole Miss, football coach Lane Kiffin agree on new contract

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

Last SlideNext Slide

Ole Miss football announced on Saturday that it has agreed on a new contract for coach Lane Kiffin after his first season as head coach.

“I appreciate Keith’s leadership and his commitment to building a winning football program,” Kiffin said. “While I’m proud of what our team accomplished this season, we have higher aspirations for Ole Miss Football. This is just the start, and I look forward to continuing to build a championship program.”

The school’s announcement does not provide details on whether Kiffin will be receiving a raise in pay. Mississippi laws do not allow university employees to be on contracts longer than four years, so Kiffin’s extension can only be a one-year extension rolling over his four-year contract to 2024. 

Kiffin’s initial deal signed in 2019 began with a base salary of $3.9 million for 2020 that increased by $100,000 every season, meaning he will be paid $4.2 million in 2023. In total, Kiffin’s four-year contract as signed in 2019 was worth $16.2 million. 

“This is an investment in the future of Ole Miss Football,” Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter said in a statement. “We hired coach Kiffin with the hope of revitalizing our football program, and in just one short year, he has done just that. His innovative offensive approach has shattered SEC records, and with a top-20 recruiting class coming in, the future is bright under Coach Kiffin’s leadership.”

The bonus structure in Kiffin’s contract includes incentives for winning the SEC ($400,000), making specific bowl games ($50,000-$250,000) and winning non-conference regular season games against Power 5 opponents ($100,000).

Outback Bowl: For Lane Kiffin, Tampa is where he began learning to coach from dad, Monte

Ole Miss went 4-5 in Kiffin’s first season and plays in the Outback Bowl against Indiana on Saturday. Ole Miss ranks No. 3 in the FBS in total offense and ranks in the top three in the SEC in nearly every offensive statistic. 

Contact Nick Suss at 601-408-2674 or nsuss@gannett.com. Follow @nicksuss on Twitter.