"It has been very challenging" - Lane Kiffin grows emotional on death of his mother Robin and father Monte at SEC media days

After wrapping up the 2024 season with a solid 10-3 record, Lane Kiffin and his Ole Miss program are preparing to kick off the upcoming season with fresh enthusiasm. For now, Kiffin is spending quality time with his children in Oxford. His brother, Chris Kiffin, also joined the Rebels’ staff as an analyst in 2024 and is living in Oxford with his four children.

However, Kiffin has also faced profound personal loss, having lost both of his parents within a year. Speaking at the SEC Media Days in Atlanta, Georgia, he reflected on this difficult period:

"Losing both parents in the last year has been very challenging. But, just thinking on the way over here. My mother and how grateful I am to her, and it reminds me of coach's wives, and to all coach's wives on all levels, how you really are the glue that holds everything together in these families.

Expand Tweet

"With coaches like my dad that work so much and the moms doing everything at home, and so just really grateful to both my parents for that. They spent a lot of years, and spent a lot of time taking us to a certain level. I think when you're now experiencing that, which is strange, losing both parents that you're really the highest on the family tree now of what's left."

Lane Kiffin’s father, Monte Kiffin, who was renowned as a longtime NFL and college defensive coordinator and creator of the famed “Tampa 2” defense, passed away on July 11, 2024. Lane’s mother, Robin, died on June 17.

Lane Kiffin opens up about his time in Oxford

Since taking over as Ole Miss’s head coach in 2020, Lane Kiffin has compiled a 44-18 record with the Rebels and led them to five bowl games, including two appearances in New Year’s Six bowls. Beyond this on-field success, he has also developed a deep appreciation for the Oxford community.

During Monday’s SEC Media Days, Kiffin reflected on his time in Oxford:

"It's been an awesome time. Not to kind of dig too much into it, but even this weekend with family and stuff and just losing our parents, you know, and you just can't -- you got no idea what's going to happen. I was talking to our kids about that.

"I owe so much to Oxford and the people there. It's just been awesome."

Ole Miss is set to kick off their season at home against Georgia State on August 30.

About the author

Maliha is a High School Sports news and listicles writer at Sportskeeda. A post graduate in Management Information Systems, it was her love for writing and sports which led her down the path of sports content creation. An experienced NBA and NFL writer, she covered the two sports extensively at SportsZion and SportsKnot before joining SportsKeeda.

Maliha is a huge Baltimore Ravens fan and is in awe of quarterback Lamar Jackson's dual-threat abilities. She also admires Tom Brady and her all-time favorite coach is 3-time Super Bowl champion Andy Reid. She is a big advocate of high school sports and believes that elite athletes reach a top level owing to the discipline, hard work, team dynamics, resilience, adaptability and self-confidence learnt by playing sports in high schools. Aaron Rodgers leading the Green Bay Packers to victory on his debut against the Minnesota Vikings is one of her fondest NFL memories.

Maliha places a high emphasis on accuracy in her content. She does thorough research, always double checks facts, and only uses information from most relevant and credible sources for her articles. When not writing, she likes to read history and biographical books.

Know More

Edited by John Maxwell