Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin had to hold it together at SEC Media Day as he spoke about late father

Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin came to SEC Media Days on Monday still grieving the death of his father, Monte Kiffin, a longtime and well-respected NFL assistant.

Monte Kiffin died last week at 84. One of the architects of the successful and widely used Tampa 2 defensive scheme, Kiffin spent 13 seasons as defensive coordinator of the Bucs under former coaches Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden from 1996 to 2008 and helped the franchise win the first of its two Super Bowl titles.

Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey acknowledged Monte Kiffin as he introduced Lane at SEC Media Days, and the younger Kiffin took some effort to hold it together as he took to the podium.

“It’s just an amazing outpouring of support, stories from former players, former coaches, and especially former staff of people in the building and how many friends came out of that in the Bucs’ community and family,” Lane Kiffin said.

Kiffin said he didn’t want to spend too much time talking about his dad at media day. There will be a memorial this weekend for that.

Lane Kiffin said his father preached to his players that the most important part of doing a job is showing up, so he showed up to media day to do his job.

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At the encouragement of Sankey, Kiffin did share one short story about his father that someone had passed along to him in recent days.

“One person said, which I think is telling for those of you (who) don’t know him, and I thought this was very descriptive. He said I met him in a gas station. Although he was a stranger to me, he made me feel like a friend. That was him.

“So he never wanted anybody to have a bad day. So this is me trying to do that.”

High tech

LSU linebacker Harold Perkins is excited about being able to grab a tablet on the sidelines and immediately see for himself what he did right — or more importantly wrong — on a play.

Now that computer technology is coming to college football sidelines and coaching boxes, the SEC is partnering with Apple to provide tablets to be used by players and coaches during games.

“I think that’s a magnificent idea to come to the sideline and see yourself making the play or just the mistake, because why wait until tomorrow to see what I messed up on when I can go to the sideline and fix the mistake or the problem right then and there instead of waiting,” Perkins said. “So I think that’ll be a great addition to the game to all college athletes.”

Sankey, who uses an iPad himself, made his own pitch that the Apple tablets are “the ideal solution for our coaches and student-athletes to use in-game video efficiently.”

Imported from New Mexico

Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea made three major additions to his coaching staff and roster, all from New Mexico State.

“Well, I’ve always wanted to go to Las Cruces,” Lea said with a smile.

Lea hired former New Mexico State coach Jerry Kill as chief consultant to the head coach and senior offensive advisor in January. Kill is a longtime head coach, with a strong track record of turning around programs that have been down.

Kill went 17-11 in two seasons at New Mexico State, a program that has been one of the least successful in major college football.

“He’s built programs at challenging places throughout his career, and I can think of no one better to lock arms with as we continue our climb at Vanderbilt,” Lea said.

New NCAA rules that allow more staffers to coach on the field and work directly with players on game days means Kill can be even more involved than he could have been previously in a non-assistant coach role.

Lea also brought former New Mexico State offensive coordinator Tim Beck and quarterback Diego Pavia to Nashville, Tennessee, as well.

“Saw an offense that was creative in design but not gimmicky,” Lea said. “I saw a quarterback that was a maniac and suplexed a linebacker on the sideline early on in the game, and one of his only mistakes where you threw an interception. It was impressive.”

Lea, a former Vanderbilt player, is 9-27 in three seasons as head coach. The toughest job in the SEC got even harder when transfer rules were loosened and players were permitted to earn money off their names, images and likenesses.

“Falling behind in those spaces erased much of the progress we made in our first two years,” Lea said.

Lea said Vanderbilt is better positioned to take advantage of both the portal and NIL now than it was a year ago. The Commodores added 23 transfers this offseason.

LSU in Ireland

LSU coach Brian Kelly wants the Tigers to expand their brand overseas.

Kelly said he has been pushing his administration to play a game in Ireland.

“Well, as a Irish Catholic and somebody that loves to go to Ireland, not to just be at the Temple Bar, but to be in Ireland and the history and the culture of Ireland, I just think ... we’ve done such a good job with the LSU brand throughout the country. I think the next step for us is international,” he said.

Kelly coached a game in Dublin in 2012 when he was the head coach at Notre Dame against Navy.

There have been four more major college football games in Ireland since and this season Florida State and Georgia Tech will open their season there on Aug. 26.

Gamecocks’ narrative change

The South Carolina Gamecocks have gone from trying to build on a surprising season to hoping for a strong rebound from a disappointing one.

Coach Shane Beamer is putting a positive spin on that.

“You’ve got to be uncomfortable in order to grow,” Beamer said. “We certainly had some uncomfortable moments last year as a team, but we also showed throughout the season how strong our culture is.

“We grew from those uncomfortable moments last year as well. It’s truly year to year. The narrative about our program in 2024 is completely different than what it was in 2023.”

The Gamecocks went 8-5 two seasons ago with wins over Tennessee and Clemson. They fell to 5-7 last season, and now must replace quarterback Spencer Rattler.

Auburn transfer Robby Ashford and LaNorris Sellers are vying to replace him.

Luke Doty, who splits time at receiver and quarterback, said last season’s struggles have left a motivated team.

“I think last year didn’t go the way anybody on the team wanted it, and I think we all came back from that with a real big chip on our shoulder,” Doty said. “Ready to work, ready to just do what we’ve got to do to win because that’s the only thing on our minds right now is win.”

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AP Sports Writer John Zenor in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed.

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Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football