'Best Roster?' Lane Kiffin Shares Thoughts on 2024 Ole Miss Hype

How does Ole Miss Rebels coach Lane Kiffin feel about the roster he's assembled in Oxford for the upcoming season?

Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin (right) and quarterback Jaxson Dart / Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

It's no secret that 2024 is a huge season for coach Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels football program, but can they reach the heights they're capable of once the games themselves roll around?

On the heels of its first-ever 11-win season, Ole Miss is now gunning for its first College Football Playoff berth in school history. The Rebels return a ton of talent from a year ago, and they also brought in a flurry of names from the transfer portal to fill some gaps in their roster.

With the CFP expanding to include 12 teams, this seems like the perfect opportunity for Ole Miss to break through, but how does Kiffin himself feel? Does he think this is the best team that he's assembled since he's been in Oxford?

"This is definitely the best roster," Kiffin said this week at the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin. "I don't know if it'll be the best team. There's a lot to be figured out with that. Some of the significant players we have were out for spring, so we'll have a lot of work to do to bring them together to be the best team.

"A couple years ago, we won 10 regular season games and last year won 11 total games, most in school history. I do think the roster is better than that, but that's a lot of work to do to be a better team."

Kiffin has often preached on the difference between a "good roster" and a "good team," and in Ole Miss' portal-heavy mindset, that is certainly the case. Just because there are a lot of talented players on a roster doesn't mean the newcomers will gel with the system or team culture. That's always a work-in-progress.

Still, talent is obviously a huge part of a team's potential, and national and local pundits alike have taken notice of what's happening at Ole Miss. Not only is there talk of reaching the College Football Playoff, but there's actual championship speculation, something that hasn't been heard in Oxford for quite a while.

"I don't really think about the championship stuff," Kiffin said. "That's outcome. There's way more about the process and putting together the roster, and now that the roster basically is done, to go start working with them and getting them to gel together and all the work with some new assistant coaches. Then worry about that stuff way down the road."

Kiffin is always measured with his responses to the media, but he didn't try to hide his optimism, either. He emphasized that there is still work to be done and games to be played, but at the end of the day, he likes where his team currently sits.

"I am very excited about it because we do have a lot of really--not just really good players, but really neat kids," Kiffin said, "and we have a really good building of people. I really like that. Now, I've just got a lot of work to put them together."

Ole Miss will open its season at home on Aug. 31 when it plays host to the FCS Furman Paladins.