Lane Kiffin practices what Monte Kiffin preached at SEC Media Days

Lane Kiffin didn't have to speak to the media on Monday. In fact, if there was ever an excuse not to, this would be it.

But the Ole Miss head coach did speak publically on Monday at SEC Media Days about his father, Monte Kiffin, who passed away at the age of 84 just a few days ago.

A longtime football coach, the elder Kiffin instilled in his players, his coaches, and certainly in his son, the value of showing up — and that's what Lane did on Monday.

"His first rule that he’d put on the chalkboard back in the day to all coaches and players was to show up," Kiffin said, per On3 . "The first rule of getting better is you’ve got to show up. Show up and do your job, and that’s what I’m trying to do here."

He went on to explain that his father was not just his hero, but a superhero — and he believes that viewpoint extended beyond family and even football circles.

“I’ve talked before about being my hero,” Kiffin said. “I had a high school, neighborhood friend — really, middle school friend — he said that hero’s not really the right term for him; it’s superhero. That’s what he was to the people that he touched.

"He used this term, and now I’m using this term, in description of him because I really feel like there’s very few superheroes, there are few brave ones, that loved everyone and tried to help everyone they came in touch with forever. Whether you were big or small, wherever you were, he tried to help.”

The elder Kiffin made a name for himself largely as a defensive coordinator in the NFL.

He was considered the father of the "Tampa-2" defense, having perfected it in 13 seasons as defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including the season in which they won Super Bowl XXXVII with one of the best defenses of all-time.

Monte spent his final few years as a coach helping out his son. He was a defensive assistant for Lane at Florida Atlantic from 2017-19 and a player personnel analyst at Ole Miss after that.

"He’d never want anybody to have a bad day or be sad, so this is me trying to do that," Lane said.