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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Lane Kiffin Named to Dodd Trophy Midseason Watch List
10/22/2025 | Football
ATLANTA – Ole Miss football head coach Lane Kiffin has been named to the midseason watch list for the 2025 Dodd Trophy, as announced by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and the Peach Bowl on Wednesday.
Kiffin is one of 24 coaches nationally and one of 10 from the SEC named to the watch list for the Dodd Trophy, which is handed out annually to a head coach who enjoys success on the gridiron while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity – the three pillars of legendary coach Bobby Dodd's philosophy. Now celebrating its 50th anniversary this season, the award was established to honor the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision head football coach whose program represents the highest ideals on and off the field.
Kiffin has Ole Miss off to a 6-1 start this season, which included the eighth pure 6-0 start in program history, led by the nation's eighth-best offense (494.9 ypg). The Rebels currently rank No. 8 in both the AP and Coaches polls for Week Nine. With a high ranking of No. 4, the 2025 campaign is only the 13th season in program history that Ole Miss has broken into a national top-five at any point in the season – the second season in a row and the first back-to-back years since 2014 and 2015. The Rebels have also broken into the national top-10 for a fifth straight year under Kiffin, the first such streak at Ole Miss since 1960-64.
At 50-19 in six seasons with the Rebels, Kiffin recently became the fastest coach in Ole Miss history to 50 wins, besting John Vaught by six games. All-time, Kiffin ranks second in winning percentage (.725) and third in total wins (50) in Ole Miss history, and among SEC schools since 2021 only Georgia (59) and Alabama (51) have more wins than Kiffin's Rebel squads (45). At 111 career victories, Kiffin stands among 16 active head coaches with 100 wins at the FBS level – one of three in the SEC behind LSU's Brian Kelly (200) and Georgia's Kirby Smart (111).
Kiffin has put an indelible stamp on the program, as he is the owner of the first 11-win season in school history (2023), the first two 10-win regular seasons in program history (2021, '23), the first two seven-win home seasons (2021, '23), and the first consecutive 10-win seasons at Ole Miss (2023, '24) since Vaught's 1959 (10-1) and 1960 (10-0-1) teams did so – with another such season in 2025 making Kiffin the first in program history with three in a row.
The watch list was created through a selection process by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc., taking into consideration each program's graduation rate, Graduation Success Rate (GSR), commitment to service and charity in the community, on-field success thus far for the 2025 season and Academic Progress Rate (APR). Coaches in the first year with their current teams were not included as they are ineligible to receive The Dodd Trophy until their second year with their programs.
A panel consisting of previous winners, national media, a member of the Dodd family and a College Football Hall of Fame member will identify the final list of potential recipients at the conclusion of the 2025 season. The winner of the 2025 Dodd Trophy Presented by PNC Bank will be announced in Atlanta during the week of the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
2025 Dodd Trophy Midseason Watch List
Bret Bielema – Illinois
Jeff Brohm – Louisville
Curt Cignetti – Indiana
Mario Cristobal – Miami [FL]
Ryan Day – Ohio State
Kalen DeBoer – Alabama
Kenny Dillingham – Arizona State
Eliah Drinkwitz – Missouri
Mike Elko – Texas A&M
Tony Elliott – Virginia
Marcus Freeman – Notre Dame
Alex Golesh – USF
Josh Heupel – Tennessee
Brian Kelly – LSU
Brent Key – Georgia Tech
Lane Kiffin – Ole Miss
Dan Lanning – Oregon
Clark Lea – Vanderbilt
Joey McGuire – Texas Tech
Steve Sarkisian – Texas
Scott Satterfield – Cincinnati
Kalani Sitake – BYU
Kirby Smart – Georgia
Brent Venables – Oklahoma
Kiffin is one of 24 coaches nationally and one of 10 from the SEC named to the watch list for the Dodd Trophy, which is handed out annually to a head coach who enjoys success on the gridiron while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity – the three pillars of legendary coach Bobby Dodd's philosophy. Now celebrating its 50th anniversary this season, the award was established to honor the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision head football coach whose program represents the highest ideals on and off the field.
Kiffin has Ole Miss off to a 6-1 start this season, which included the eighth pure 6-0 start in program history, led by the nation's eighth-best offense (494.9 ypg). The Rebels currently rank No. 8 in both the AP and Coaches polls for Week Nine. With a high ranking of No. 4, the 2025 campaign is only the 13th season in program history that Ole Miss has broken into a national top-five at any point in the season – the second season in a row and the first back-to-back years since 2014 and 2015. The Rebels have also broken into the national top-10 for a fifth straight year under Kiffin, the first such streak at Ole Miss since 1960-64.
At 50-19 in six seasons with the Rebels, Kiffin recently became the fastest coach in Ole Miss history to 50 wins, besting John Vaught by six games. All-time, Kiffin ranks second in winning percentage (.725) and third in total wins (50) in Ole Miss history, and among SEC schools since 2021 only Georgia (59) and Alabama (51) have more wins than Kiffin's Rebel squads (45). At 111 career victories, Kiffin stands among 16 active head coaches with 100 wins at the FBS level – one of three in the SEC behind LSU's Brian Kelly (200) and Georgia's Kirby Smart (111).
Kiffin has put an indelible stamp on the program, as he is the owner of the first 11-win season in school history (2023), the first two 10-win regular seasons in program history (2021, '23), the first two seven-win home seasons (2021, '23), and the first consecutive 10-win seasons at Ole Miss (2023, '24) since Vaught's 1959 (10-1) and 1960 (10-0-1) teams did so – with another such season in 2025 making Kiffin the first in program history with three in a row.
The watch list was created through a selection process by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc., taking into consideration each program's graduation rate, Graduation Success Rate (GSR), commitment to service and charity in the community, on-field success thus far for the 2025 season and Academic Progress Rate (APR). Coaches in the first year with their current teams were not included as they are ineligible to receive The Dodd Trophy until their second year with their programs.
A panel consisting of previous winners, national media, a member of the Dodd family and a College Football Hall of Fame member will identify the final list of potential recipients at the conclusion of the 2025 season. The winner of the 2025 Dodd Trophy Presented by PNC Bank will be announced in Atlanta during the week of the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
2025 Dodd Trophy Midseason Watch List
Bret Bielema – Illinois
Jeff Brohm – Louisville
Curt Cignetti – Indiana
Mario Cristobal – Miami [FL]
Ryan Day – Ohio State
Kalen DeBoer – Alabama
Kenny Dillingham – Arizona State
Eliah Drinkwitz – Missouri
Mike Elko – Texas A&M
Tony Elliott – Virginia
Marcus Freeman – Notre Dame
Alex Golesh – USF
Josh Heupel – Tennessee
Brian Kelly – LSU
Brent Key – Georgia Tech
Lane Kiffin – Ole Miss
Dan Lanning – Oregon
Clark Lea – Vanderbilt
Joey McGuire – Texas Tech
Steve Sarkisian – Texas
Scott Satterfield – Cincinnati
Kalani Sitake – BYU
Kirby Smart – Georgia
Brent Venables – Oklahoma
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