College football coaches keep jumping to the NFL. Just this past February, Iowa State’s Nate Scheelhaase made headlines when he left for the L.A. Rams. He went from OC in college to pass game specialist in the pros. Why? The grind of recruiting, NIL chaos, and the wild transfer portal. Even a national title couldn’t keep Jim Harbaugh at Michigan—he bolted for the Chargers. So, the NFL keeps calling, and the college staff keeps answering. Now, Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss staff seems to be next in line.

However, Ole Miss has a history of sending coaches to the NFL spotlight. Take Wesley McGriff—after just one season in 2013, he jumped to the New Orleans Saints as their secondary coach. Then there’s Chris Kiffin, who led the Rebels’ defensive line before landing a pass rush specialist role with the San Francisco 49ers in 2018. So, when Ole Miss staff are on the move, NFL teams are definitely paying attention.

This time, Ole Miss is about to lose a key piece from its football office. Tommy Pernetti, a familiar face and former assistant director of player personnel, is packing up for the pros. On June 3, 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported that Pernetti is set to join the New York Giants in an assistant scouting role. It’s a big step—and another sign that Lane Kiffin’s program is on the radar. The NFL knows where the talent is, and right now, it’s looking straight at Oxford.

Simply, the Giants are in full rebuild mode after a rough 3-14 finish in 2024. But there’s hope on the horizon. They grabbed QB Jaxson Dart and edge rusher Abdul Carter in the first round—two cornerstone picks. Now, they’re stacking the front office with sharp eyes. Enter Tommy Pernetti. His job? Help find the next wave of talent to build around this young core. New faces, fresh energy—the Giants are aiming for a major turnaround.

Look, Tommy Pernetti made his mark in just one season at Ole Miss. He prepped scouting reports, connected with NFL scouts, and helped shape a roster that turned heads. Before landing in Oxford, he spent a season at Texas and another at his alma mater, Miami, where he graduated in 2023. Pernetti started with the Rebels as college scouting coordinator, then moved up to assistant director of player personnel. His fingerprints are all over Ole Miss’ 2025 transfer class—one of the best in the nation. College Football HQ ranked it No. 4. Not bad for a rising star who’s now NFL-bound.

Moreover, Ole Miss rocked the recruiting world last season with the No. 3 transfer class and the No. 19 high school class, according to On3. Interestingly, Tommy Pernetti was a key piece behind the scenes, helping lock in the talent that built those powerhouse classes. Although the Rebels finished 10-3 last season, but just missed the CFP. Losing a staff asset like Pernetti stings. Still, with the talent they’ve stacked this offseason, Lane Kiffin’s squad looks primed to break through and finally crack the coveted 12-team playoff field in 2025.

Now, the staff shakeup might prick Lane Kiffin, but the head coach fired back with a head-turning solution to the playoff format debate.

Lane Kiffin’s bold CFP solution

Lane Kiffin’s got a fresh take on fixing the College Football Playoff. He wants to expand the field to 16 teams—but there’s a twist: no automatic bids. However, Kiffin’s vision? Take the 16 best teams, period. Even if that means loading up on talent from one powerhouse conference—you can guess which one he’s talking about. So, it’s all about rewarding the best, not the titles.

Lane Kiffin knows no system is perfect. “There’s still flaws in every system,” he said. But his vision is clear: “The best system should be 16 and it should be the 16 best.” Kiffin admits to the challenge of picking those teams. “I don’t know exactly how that’s figured out. I think that you gotta use some indexes and have probably media people that watch the most and don’t have any other motives in it. Figure out the best 16 teams,” said the Ole Miss HC. He’s realistic too—”We obviously can’t play enough games over that to be like 32 or 64 or something to figure out the best.” Simple, smart, and straight to the point.

However, Lane Kiffin dropped a big hint on where the best 16 teams might come from—just look at other sports. “I think as you watch this year in sports, and now baseball, softball, after men’s basketball. You know, so many dominate whether it’s the final eight or 12, or 16 with SEC teams,” he said. Kiffin pointed to how these sports use systems based on tough non-conference schedules to separate the best. “Obviously, we don’t have as many games, so we can’t do that,” he admitted. Moreover, he added, “You see, for instance, baseball, these teams that made it this far that have SEC in-conference records just a little bit over .500.”

So, his takeaway? “Get rid of automatics and figure out a system to get the best 16 teams in.” Clear, bold, and ready to shake things up. But funny how that works—Ole Miss has been right on the edge 2 years in a row. Last season, the Rebels finished No. 14 in the CFP poll, just outside the 12-team cutoff. The year before? They landed at No. 11 in the poll, but only the top six made it in. So, two solid seasons, zero playoff invites. No wonder Lane Kiffin’s pushing for a bigger, better bracket.