Lane Kiffin Had A Story To Tell And I Was Ready To Listen, As He Finally Felt Like It Could Help Others

If you were wondering how OutKick's exclusive Lane Kiffin change-in-lifestyle article came about, it was very simple. I wanted to know more about Kiffin's Nicholas Sparks movie night with his daughter.

Hot Yoga, Church and Nicholas Sparks? Lane Kiffin Enters New Chapter At Ole Miss

During an Ole Miss football press conference in Oxford, Kiffin was asked about his lifestyle change and how he looked different; he lost some weight and had been sending out motivational tweets every morning. He also mentioned watching a Nicholas Sparks movie with his daughter, but wasn't specific about which movie. So I sent him a quick message to find out.

Knowing and covering Lane for a long time now—from his days at Tennessee in 2009 to his current head-coaching gig with Ole Miss, and all stops in between—I knew the chances that he would provided anything more than a quick answer were pretty slim. But he answered ("The Longest Ride") and it turned into a five-hour back-and-forth on his new outlook on life.

It felt like Kiffin had been waiting for the right moment to share the details. Kiffin might be very brash with his answers about college football, but his personal life is different.

We talked until 1:15 a.m. about lots of things: the joy of Lane's daughter being in Oxford; how excited he was for his son to get in town; and even a few things that were personal for both of us. I couldn't help but notice how excited he was about his lifestyle changes.

Lane Kiffin: Motivation For Change

This flashy figure that has enamored college football fans for over a decade was finally comfortable enough to talk about his personal feelings. Working your way back into an SEC head coaching position isn't easy, as it takes a lot of dedication.

Lane Kiffin achieved it while also working on fixing his personal life. When he told me that he gave up alcohol and red meat, but that it started as a 10-day challenge and has now turned into seventeen months, I was happy for him.

He had sent me multiple messages about wanting to do something that his players could respect and know that they could also follow down a path of change. Seeing the head coach do it is motivation within itself.

Exchanging messages well past midnight, Lane Kiffin and I also discussed his love for Morgan Wallen, taking his daughter and her friends to church on Sundays, prioritizing yoga or Pilates every day and how waking up early every morning wasn't a burden anymore. It was obvious that Kiffin had changed his mindset, and I wanted to know why.

HOT YOGA, CHURCH AND NICHOLAS SPARKS? LANE KIFFIN ENTERS NEW CHAPTER AT OLE MISS

On Monday night and into Tuesday morning, Lane Kiffin let his guard down. He finally expressed some of the thoughts he had bottled up in his head. He knows his past and maybe those words would fall on deaf ears. But he felt comfortable enough sharing them with me.

I think I finally dozed off to sleep at 4:15 Tuesday morning, trying to get a few hours of sleep, knowing it was going to be a long day. But at 6:48, two hours after I closed my laptop, I received a text message from the coach.

"I really hope it helps others, even ones we don't think need it," it read. "You can be dressed up, but messed up."

Well said, coach. All of this reminded me of that scene at the end of Rocky IV, as Sylvester Stallone's character had just defeated the mighty Drago.

"If I can change, and you can change, everybody can change."

OutKick 360: Lane Kiffin With Trey Wallace: Hot Yoga, Church & Nicholas Sparks?

Trey Wallace discussed how some small lifestyle changes have made a huge difference in Lane Kiffin's life on OutKick 360.