Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin Shared Powerful Message About His Sobriety

Andy Nesbitt | Aug 29, 2024

Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin after a victory against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The Ole Miss Rebels kick off their 2024 season Saturday against Furman in a game that they are heavy favorites to win at home. Lane Kiffin's team enters the year with huge expectations, as they're ranked No. 6 in the country, sitting behind only Georgia (No. 1) and Alabama (No. 5) in the SEC.

Kiffin has breathed new life into the program since taking over as head coach in 2020. He's led them to four bowl games and has racked up a 34-15 record in that time.

The 49-year-old coach has made some huge changes in his personal life, too. ESPN's Chris Low wrote a very good feature story on Kiffin that was published Thursday morning and in it Kiffin talks about how he hasn't had a drink of alcohol in over three years. He shared this powerful message about what sobriety has meant for him.

"Not drinking is just a part of my journey to where I am now, which is as fulfilled as I've been in coaching, and as important as all of that, is having peace and rhythm in my life," Kiffin said. "I'm still not perfect, still have my moments. But there's a freedom in not feeling like you need a drink to celebrate a big win or get over a tough loss. There's a freedom of not having to have acceptance of what some guy writes about you or what the fans think of you or if you're on the hot seat.

Kiffin added:

"When you're making changes to be the best version of yourself, you learn to let go of control, to let go of your ego, to let go of the things that don't matter," Kiffin told ESPN. "Everything I ever wanted was on the other side of letting go, which is the exact opposite of how you think because you think you can't let go of anything. You're not trained that way, especially in football."

That is some great stuff from Kiffin and the whole story by ESPN is definitely worth your time.