Lane Kiffin’s approach to building Ole Miss’ staff last season was similar to that of Nick Saban – a football mentor and legendary former Alabama head coach.

Saban surrounded himself with former and future head coaches. Kiffin was his offensive coordinator, while current Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was his defensive coordinator. Billy Napier, now at Florida, was his wide receivers coach. Saban had Bill O’Brien among others in off-field roles. O’Brien is the head coach at Boston College.

Kiffin also hired former New York Giants head coach Joe Judge, among others. Judge interviewed for head coaching vacancies at Temple and UMass this offseason.

The current plan is for him to return to Ole Miss with the lofty title of senior analyst. He worked almost exclusively with the offense, particularly the quarterbacks and offensive line.

“Joe Judge has applied for head coaching job at UMass, according to sources” Jeff Howe of The Athletic reported a few weeks ago. “A lot of mutual interest. Ole Miss pushed hard to keep Judge and ultimately decided to withdraw from the race. The judge is the former Giants HC and longtime Patriots special teams coordinator.”

Zach Arnett was hired in March after three seasons at in-state rival Mississippi State.

He took over as Bulldog head coach following the death of Mike Leach.

Arnett was the state’s defensive coordinator before becoming head coach. His defense in 2022 allowed 23.1 points per game.

The Ole Miss spirit reported last month Arnett received interest from a coordinator. Arnett appeared to be on the cusp this week to become the new DC at App State. He was even brought up as a prospect for Florida State earlier in the offseason.

Arnett is instead heading to UNLV to join the staff of another former Mississippi State head coach, Dan Mullen. He will serve as Mullen’s defensive coordinator, according to Football Scoop.

“He brought a lot of experience to our defense.” Ole Miss linebacker TJ Dottery said. “I think everyone gains knowledge from him – not just the players but also the coaches. He does a great job and helps wherever he can. He has a lot of experience and his knowledge helps with the defensive line, the linebackers and even the defensive backs. He talks to everyone. I think that’s where it comes into play the most.”

Arnett was Mississippi State’s defensive coordinator in all three seasons under Leach.

He was twice nominated for the Broyles Award, given annually to college football’s top assistant.

The Bulldogs were second in the SEC in turnovers (22) in 2022. They ranked fifth in total defense (350.3), rushing defense (143.6) and pass defense (206.8).

“It was great having Zach,” Kiffin previously said of Arnett. “There are very different systems between what he does and what (Ole Miss defensive coordinator) Pete (Golding) does, so I think it’s really great for him to have him there. He’s doing a great job.

“Really, no job is too small. He helps manage various parts of the service team and so on. I can understand why he was a great coordinator and a great motivator for the players.”