Lane Kiffin Among Top 15 Power 5 Head Coach Rankings in 2023

Where does Lane Kiffin rank among the top coaches in college football entering next season?

OXFORD, Miss. -- We already have analyzed the best Ole Miss Rebels entering the 2023 season, so it is time to examine the top coaches in college football going into the fall. CBS ranked the Top 25 Power Five Coaches entering the new season last Wednesday, and Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin was rated No. 14. 

Kiffin was ranked No. 18 last year by CBS and climbed four spots in its newest rendition after leading the Rebels to an 8-5 record in 2022. 

Kiffin is one of seven coaches from the Southeastern Conference to make the rankings joining Alabama's Nick Saban (1), Georgia's Kirby Smart (2), LSU's Brian Kelly (6), Tennessee's Josh Heupel (16), Kentucky's Mark Stoops (18), and Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher (20).

Here is the excerpt on Kiffin being rated as a top 15 coach in college football.

Lane Kiffin: Now this is a ranking I don't understand at all. I had Kiffin at No. 27 on my ballot, but he climbs four spots from No. 18 to No. 14 this season despite the fact that his Ole Miss team won two fewer games in 2022 than 2021. That includes a 1-5 stretch to finish the season after a 7-0 start. I would have no problem if Kiffin remained in the top 20, but somebody needs to explain to me, like I'm a 5-year-old, what Kiffin did last year to warrant a four-spot climb. [Editor's note: There was a significant separation in voting points between No. 13 and the rest of the top 25.] 2022 rank: 18 (+4)

The experts are not too keen on Kiffin rising in the rankings due to Ole Miss winning two fewer games in 2022 than in 2021, which is understandable. The Rebels got off to a 7-0 start last fall before they stalled out in the middle of the season only to finish the year with eight wins. A lot of the blame has been placed on Kiffin, as he reportedly flirted with the Auburn Tigers' coaching vacancy during the regular season before electing to stay in Oxford. 

Kiffin proved this offseason, however, why he is always one of the first names mentioned during a head coach search nowadays. Kiffin reloaded his roster with the No. 6 transfer class in the nation this spring, highlighted by impact players on defense and transfer quarterbacks Spencer Sanders (Oklahoma State) and Walker Howard (LSU).

Time will tell if another portal haul will get the Rebels where they want to go in 2023.

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You can follow Ben King on Twitter at @BKing_2023.

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