ATLANTA -- Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin didn't look tanned. He looked burned. He didn't look rested; he looked a little weary. But once he got to the podium at SEC Media Days, he was ready to roll.
"Why are we supposed to wear a tie? Just because it was done before? Doesn't really matter," he said in one of several non-sequiturs.
Kiffin complained about the number of Nick Saban-related questions he had to deal with, discussed setting the record for the most fourth down attempts in NCAA history last year, took subtle shots at the Big 10 and former employer USC, and reminded one questioner that there are not two, but three "characters" coaching college football in Mississippi -- himself, Deion Sanders at Jackson State and Mike Leach at Mississippi State.
But when it came to the discussion of NIL, Kiffin was far more serious. His disdain for the current system and the lack of control coaches have over it was obvious.
"I think ideally, if we're going to be in an NIL world, somehow you're going to do it right, it's going to get capped so that there's some way of controlling it and keeping playing fields close to the same," he said. "Otherwise, you're just going to have these glaring differences within Division I football based off of what I've said before, their salary cap. I know it's not really the right word.
Ideally I would think that the coach should be part of managing that. That's how you'd want it done. But I don't know if it will be that way or whatever. So that's just how I would do it. That's based off of look what happens in professional sports. There's salary caps. The coach and the general manager/owner manage that."
Kiffin said NIL had "legalize(d) cheating" and had created a free-for-all where the NCAA was sitting on the sidelines.
"(NIL) is not thought out at all, in my opinion, and has created a massive set of issues which I think when people really thought about it, from a coach's standpoint, could have predicted this was going to happen," he said.
NIL aside, Kiffin has his hands full with his 2022 team. The Rebels have experienced massive turnover, losing 22 players to the transfer portal while adding 17.
"I can't really tell you right now what (the team's) going to look like. We're going to need training camp to figure that out," he said. "We have a lot of culture work to do that you don't really have to do as much, because it's already established because your best players normally have been in your program for a year or two."
Kiffin said that his vaunted offense may look different in 2022 as opposed to last year, due to the changes in personnel. No loss was bigger than that of quarterback Matt Corral, who will be replaced by either USC transfer Jaxson Dart or sophomore Luke Altmyer.
"Jaxson coming in, he's young, just like Luke. They just finished their freshman year. It was good to have those guys for spring. It's very competitive. We look forward to those guys battling it out and making them both the best that we can because a lot of times you need both," Kiffin said.
No matter who his quarterback is, Kiffin vowed that he would remain creative, both on the field and in recruiting.
"We don't think outside the box, we just create a new box," he said.
Ole Miss projected starting lineup
QB: Jaxson Dart (So.-TR.; 6-2, 220)
RB: Zach Evans (Jr.-TR.; 6, 215)
WR (X): Jonathan Mingo (Sr.; 6-2, 225)
WR(Z): Dennis Jackson (Sr.; 6, 170)
WR (Slot): Jaylon Robinson (Sr.-TR.; 5-9, 180)
TE: Michael Trigg (So.-TR.; 6-3, 240)
LT: Jeremy James (RS-Jr.; 6-5, 305)
LG: Nick Broeker (Sr.; 6-5, 315)
C: Caleb Warren (RS-Jr.; 6-5, 310)
RG: Eli Acker (RS-So.; 6-5, 295)
RT: Mason Brooks (Sr.-Tr.; 6-6, 315)
DE: Tavius Robinson (Sr.-Tr.; 6-6, 265)
NT: KD Hill (RS-Sr.; 6-1, 310)
DT Isaiah Iton (Jr.-TR.; 6-2, 290)
DE: Cedric Johnson (Jr.; 6-3, 265)
WILL: Troy Brown (Sr.-TR.; 6-1, 220)
MIKE: Ashanti Cistrunk (RS-Sr.; 6-1, 230)
Nickel: Tysheem Johnson (So.; 5-10, 200)
CB: Deantre Prince (Sr.-TR.; 6, 180)
FS: AJ Finley (Sr.; 6-3, 205)
SS: Otis Reese (Sr.-TR.; 6-3, 225)
CB: Miles Battle (RS-Sr.; 6-4, 205)
Ole Miss 2022 schedule
Sept. 3: Troy
Sept. 10: Central Arkansas
Sept. 17: @Georgia Tech
Sept. 24: Tulsa
Oct. 1: Kentucky
Oct. 8: @Vanderbilt
Oct. 15: Auburn
Oct. 22: @LSU
Oct. 29: @Texas A&M
Nov. 12: Alabama
Nov. 19: @Arkansas
Nov. 24: Mississippi State
