While not officially announced by Ole Miss as of this posting, the word is out, Lane Kiffin will be the next Rebel head coach.

Even Kiffin’s son Knox is aware of the news and was featured on ESPN’s College GameDay celebrating his dad’s return to the SEC.

Now that Kiffin is on his way to Ole Miss, the biggest question remaining in Oxford regards the staff the new Rebel head coach plans to assemble on the Grove. This time last year, Ole Miss made two splash coordinator hires by landing former Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre to run the defense and former Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez to run the offense.

According to Nathanael Gabler of the Oxford Eagle, Kiffin plans to retain MacIntyre next season.

That should be music to the ears of Ole Miss fans as MacIntyre did a remarkable job turning around a unit that was one of the worst in the SEC in 2018 into the strength of the program. Despite dealing with a mix of youth, incoming transfers and injuries, the Rebels remained formidable for much of the season on defense. That’s a credit to MacIntrye and the defensive staff in Oxford.

MacIntyre is currently one of the highest-paid assistant coaches in the nation as he makes $1.5 million annually and has a contract that runs through Jan. 31, 2022 in Oxford.

No coaching turnover is easy but Kiffin would be taking a wise approach to keep the best assistant currently on staff in Oxford at least until the transition to next season is complete at Ole Miss. Keeping MacIntyre also helps the budget in Oxford as the school won’t have to buyout the assistant’s contract if they retain him.

All in all, this would be a great first step toward Kiffin turning Ole Miss back into a winner on the field.