DALLAS — A few seconds after Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin walked off the Southeastern Conference football media days stage, instant analysis trickled over from the SEC Network set in the back corner of a ballroom.
Kiffin, 49, was reserved during his time at the podium — pragmatic, perhaps, even somber given the recent death of legendary coach Monte Kiffin, his father. There was nothing grandiose or boisterous about the Ole Miss coach’s address, but the pundit gallery was quick to elevate the stakes.
“More expectations,” the transition from news conference to talking heads went, “for Lane Kiffin than ever before.