OXFORD -- Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin met with the media on Tuesday in advance of Saturday night's home opener.
Here's a transcript of what the Rebels' coach said, interspersed with commentary on what he meant and perhaps he implied during the session with the press.
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Opening Statement…
"Unusual week. Kind of having to put three days into one. We're only going to practice once this week, so that's highly unusual and quick turnaround. Don't have practice update for you since I'm not out there, so practice is still going. A little unusual not being able to give you a whole lot of info on that. Good to play at home, hope our crowd comes out. Hope people don't sit at home and say ‘Well, we'll just wait for SEC games' Having a crowd is impactful to our players and for their performance. It's impactful for recruits when they come into the stadium. Really urge fans to come out. Excited for the first walk that we've had through The Grove. First time actually stepping foot in The Grove. I'm personally excited for that. We need people to come out. Everyone wants a top 25 program, well let's put an atmosphere together like a top-25 program so players feel that, and recruits see that as well.”
What he meant: All over the country, people are having a hard time getting fans to attend in person. Oxford is no different. There seems to be concern about Saturday’s attendance. Otherwise, Kiffin isn’t going this strong. He’s particularly worried about how a sort-of empty stadium might look to recruits. He’s got momentum, a ranking and an improving team. Now he’s hoping the atmosphere is reflective of that.
On progressing through COVID…
"I feel great, zero symptoms. I feel 100 percent. I guess you don't need doctors with these Whoop bands, looking at the numbers before, crazy that before I even knew I had it, recovery percentages were down in the 20's. Then the day after I got it, my recovery was at one percent. This morning I was at 90, so kind of crazy. There's a Whoop commercial for you. I actually remember reading that the PGA Tour was using them to find COVID before it was happening, so that's crazy but I'm doing great.”
What he meant: That is a really good commercial for Whoop. Healthy, vaccinated people aren’t having tough bouts with the virus, but it’s still good to get a warning something might be off. I’m now interested in a Whoop brand. Kiffin can sell; that’s for sure.
On Scotty Walden and challenges as a young coach…
"Well I think the first time, the Raiders part was extremely challenging since you had players that were older than you when you're dealing with the NFL. In general, I think relying on people that have done it before and having a good staff around you. There's no recipe to create experience and I've learned that's life. That's coaching, parenting, whatever your job is. It takes experience to go through things and learn how you'll handle them. You can read, you can kind of channel what you remember from people you've worked with when things come up. A lot of times you've got to go through it and figure it out on your own. I would say just really utilizing people's opinions and people that have done it before.”
What he meant: The late Al Davis really screwed Kiffin over in Oakland. He didn’t want to draft Jamarcus Russell but Davis insisted on it. He wanted to draft a wide receiver, sign a veteran quarterback and go from there. Had Davis listened to him, who knows how things might have turned out? He’s right about experience though, especially in parenting. You don’t know what the hell you’re doing that first time through. As you go, you get a little better and you learn to listen to those with some experience. Coaching, like life, is complicated.
On Caden Costa's performance…
"That was awesome. He got the start off with a chip shot. Knew he was really talented obviously. It was great to see him go in and perform like he did and gave us more confidence as the game grew. You never know with a true freshman what's going to happen in regard to how they practice. Probably him and Tysheem Johnson were the really bright spots of the guys that went in and looked like they've been doing it for a long time.”
What he meant: Kiffin might not be the coach today if it weren’t for some crazy kicking stuff, but it’s damn nice to have a reliable kicker for the next few years. Trusting the kicker and getting the three points when they’re there to be gotten is a a very calming feeling. Oh, and everybody didn’t rave about Tysheem Johnson for six months for nothing. The young man can play.
On targeting penalties...
"No, we're not [going to keep playing the same way] and getting penalties. Unusually, this was the first time I was able to see the calls better, watching TV (rather) than (if) I was in the game or watching the coach's tape. We've obviously emphasized it and talked a lot about it this morning in the team meeting. Rules are what they are. You can disagree with them all you want, but they're rules so you have to change … The game isn't in slow motion, so when people want to say, 'Oh it's easy to enforce the rule,' well guess what? The game is not played in slow motion or rewind so when that happens in a split second and the guy lowers his helmet, so the target moved, it's a little difficult, so when someone says the rule has been in place forever and it should be really easy to coach, well, it ain’t in slow motion and we don't get instant replay to change our mistakes. The player can’t go back when he screws up his assignment or does the wrong thing, he doesn’t get instant replay to change. That was kind of a long-winded answer for you.”
What he meant: On one hand, the rules are the rules and you have to follow them. But (and this is a big but), some parts of the rule are insane. When the running back lowers his head at the last second, a perfectly good tackle becomes an “illegal” one. You know targeting when you see it, and that should be called, but ejecting players after the benefit of very slow-motion replay is simply not good for the game. What started out as a diplomatic answer moved into what Kiffin really thought, which is likely the calls on Mark Robinson (especially) and Lakia Henry Monday night in Atlanta were questionable at best.
On Twyone Malone...
"I hope [to see him become a factor on the line]. He was set back with an injury and really hadn't practiced very much. We anticipate him practicing more and playing this week. We need him.”
What he meant: Ole Miss needs defensive linemen. Stat.
On improvements from Week 1 to Week 2...
"Penalties, way too many penalties. Crucial penalties in the game that cost us a lot of yards and point. Defensively I'd like to see us finish the game better. We gave up two fourth downs where we weren't aligned right that were touchdown. I think we let up a little bit. You look at the yardage in the first half to the second half. We got to finish better.”
What he meant: Up 26-0 at halftime, Ole Miss’ defense let up. Finishing games is a skill learned over time, but there has to be more urgency to bury an opponent.
On Austin Peay...
"They've played really well since that coaching change last year in the strange season with the spring season. They're playing really good. They are challenging on defense and offense, so they play really really hard. We're going to have our hands full, and we have to improve from week one to week two and we have a lot shorter of a week than they do.”
What he meant: His team got back in early Tuesday morning and is basically practicing once this week. Monday night was good exposure. Saturday is just about surviving.
On defense in the second half...
"Unfortunately, that happens sometimes. Not an excuse, it shouldn't happen. But it's the same thing when you look at the score and you have 42 points at half. Well, you don't usually score 84 points so sometimes it happens a little bit. We self-inflicted a little bit, two fourth downs that we can stop them, and we're not aligned right, and they score two touchdowns, and then we kept drives alive with crucial penalties. The good thing was we limited explosive plays for the most part even in the second half.”
What he meant: That game was never close. Anyone who acts as if it was is crazy. Ole Miss got bored and wasn’t quite as sharp in the second half. It happens. It’s not the worst problem to have.
