Throughout NFL history, there are numerous instances of sons carrying on their father’s legacy, such as the Lane-Monte duo. The Ole Miss HC, Lane Kiffin, lost his father on July 11 at the age of 84. On remembering his father’s contributions, Kiffin said on SEC Media Days “I’ve talked before about him being my hero”. Adding, “I had a middle school friend, and he said the hero is not really the right term for (Monte). It’s a superhero.”

Recently, on 27 July 2024, Kiffin posted a “Very Fitting” card on his Twitter account by sharing a remembrance of his father. There is written a lovely quote: “Help Others, even when you know they can’t help you back..”. This heartfelt tribute of Kiffin reflects that losing a parent is an indescribable hurt. But Lane’s journey with Monte began a year ago.

Monte joined as a defensive coordinator coach at the University of Southern California and is known for his “Tampa 2” defense. After spending 25 years with the NFL, Monte joined Lane in both on and off-field roles and also worked as a player personnel analyst at Ole Miss till his death; at that time, Kiffin worked as a head coach. Most importantly, Kiffin said “Whether you were big or small, whoever you were, he tried to help”, describing his father as a great human being. Like his father, Kiffin has always been an incredible individual and his coaching journey has been greatly shaped by his father’s influence. Let’s have a look at his journey.

Lane Kiffin’s coaching journey till now

Kiffin started his football journey under his father’s coaching and at that time he used to watch his father write a simple phrase on the chalkboard “Show up.” From that time to now, Kiffin believed that “The first rule of getting better was you gotta show up, show up and do your job.” Hence, you can imagine his father’s influence on his coaching journey.

In 1997 Lane began his coaching journey as a student assistant at Fresno State under Pat Hill. Then, in 2000, he joined as a defensive quality control assistant with the Jacksonville Jaguars. After that, in 2017, he worked as Florida Atlantic Head Coach and was crowned with titles such as C-USA Championship, Boca Bowl Champion, and Palm Beach County Coach of the Year. In between, the talented coach worked with several teams, like Alabama and USC. Currently, the Ole Miss Rebels HC is focusing on uplifting teams’ potential for the upcoming 2024 season.