That’s what he says, anyway.
Used to be, Kiffin says, he was ego-driven. Selfish. Motivated by bettering his résumé.
After coaching FAU for three seasons, he says his motivations are now more player-based.
Kiffin didn’t intend for that to happen. He took the FAU job in December 2016 because he wanted to be a head coach again. The Conference USA school in Boca Raton, Florida, offered the best opportunity.
The perspective he gained from FAU? That was an unexpected development, one he says influences him even now, entering his second season at Ole Miss.
“FAU was my first time being at not a major program, and those kids changed me,” Kiffin said during a June interview inside his office at Ole Miss.