Rumor: Vikings Have Been Linked to Lane Kiffin as Potential Head Coach Candidate

Kiffin is the head coach at Ole Miss and was once the youngest head coach in NFL history.

As the Vikings embark on their search to find Mike Zimmer's replacement, there will be rumors and reports left and right until they end up hiring the 10th coach in franchise history.

I already broke down 17 possible candidates to keep an eye on, but the first rumor to emerge on social media concerns someone who didn't make my initial list: Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin.

"Heard one very outside the box candidate for Vikings head coach last week..." teased Pro Football Focus's Brad Spielberger on Twitter. "Not attempting to break any news, but there has been consistent chatter from many corners of football circles about Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin."

Now, Spielberger himself says to take that with a grain of salt. The Vikings obviously have not made any sort of decision yet, as they're going to hire a new general manager first and give that person input into the coaching search. Only after hiring a GM and conducting many interviews will they hire a new coach.

But that doesn't mean rumblings about Kiffin aren't worth noting. The Wilfs have known that moving on from Zimmer was coming for a while now and they aren't going into this process completely blind. There's no question that they have some names in mind that they'd like to explore, and it's possible Kiffin is one of them.

Spielberger isn't alone in that speculation. Mike Ryan from the popular podcast The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz has speculated about Kiffin to the Vikings as well. “I truly believe Lane Kiffin is probably gonna be the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings," Ryan said. "The reason why I think this is because of all the assistants leaving the Mississippi staff and I was told, ‘look out for the Minnesota Vikings job.'"

It would certainly be a bold choice. Way back in 2007, Kiffin became the youngest head coach in NFL history when the then-USC offensive coordinator was hired by the Oakland Raiders. It was a disaster, as Kiffin went 5-15 in parts of two seasons and publicly clashed with owner Al Davis. He then went back to the college ranks, spending one year at Tennessee before leaving to replace Pete Carroll at USC. After three years as Alabama's OC, he became then head coach at Florida Atlantic before taking his current job at Ole Miss in 2020.

Even after his flop with the Raiders, Kiffin was involved in several controversies during his college coaching career. He's a somewhat outspoken and polarizing figure, which would make him a very interesting and risky hire for an NFL team.

But the upside would also be pretty great. Kiffin has a 76-41 career record as a college head coach and just led Ole Miss to a 10-3 year. The Rebels' quarterback, Matt Corral, is one of the top QB prospects in this year's draft and could interest the Vikings. Kiffin is an excellent offensive mind who could theoretically do a lot with Justin Jefferson, Dalvin Cook, and the Vikings' other pieces, whether with Kirk Cousins or a different QB. He'd certainly generate plenty of attention.

Also worth noting: Kiffin went to high school in Minnesota in the early 1990s when his father, Monte Kiffin, was working for the Vikings as a defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. The elder Kiffin was with the Vikings from 1986 to 1994 (excluding 1990), although that tenure predates the Wilfs buying the franchise in 2005 by over a decade.

Again, this is nothing more than a rumor. But keep Kiffin in the back of your mind along with dozens of other candidates as the Vikings enter into the coaching search process.

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