Lane Kiffin has made a decision about his future, now his Ole Miss assistant coaches have to figure out theirs.
LSU is hiring Kiffin away from the Rebels, handing Kiffin a massive contract. Ole Miss has already named Pete Golding as its next head coach, and now a battle is on to grab assistant coaches.
What follows is a look at what we know so far, though things could change quickly. We’ll update the following section as more news rolls in.
Coaches leaving Ole Miss to join Lane Kiffin at LSU
So far, we know of a handful of coaches and support staff members reported to be heading to LSU with Kiffin.
Charlie Weis Jr., offensive coordinator: Weis was seen getting on the plane that took Kiffin to Baton Rouge. He has been Kiffin’s offensive coordinator since the 2022 season and leads an offense currently ranked third in college football, averaging 498.1 yards per game. Weis will be staying with Ole Miss as the team’s play caller during the College Football Playoff.
Joe Cox, co-offensive coordinator, tight ends coach: Cox joined Ole Miss in 2024 as the team’s tight ends coach and co-offensive coordinator. The 39-year-old previously worked as the tight ends coach at Alabama in 2022
George McDonald, wide receivers coach: McDonald is expected to move on to LSU. The 49-year-old was in his second season at Ole Miss after spending the previous three as the assistant head coach and receivers coach at Illinois. He was both the receivers coach and the passing game coordinator for the Rebels.
Nick Savage, head strength coach: Savage is also joining Kiffin at LSU. Savage was previously Florida’s strength coach and was hired at Ole Miss before the 2022 season.
Billy Glasscock, general manager: These days, a general manager is at the heart of every college football program, particularly where recruiting and roster retention are concerned. Glasscock was hired in February 2024 and had previously been Steve Sarkisian’s player personnel director at Texas. That means LSU’s current general manager, Austin Thomas, may be on his way out.
Thaddeus Rivers, senior associate athletic director for football operations: Rivers is the head of football operations for Ole Miss and is likely set to take the same role in Baton Rouge.
Mike Williams, senior director of player personnel: Kiffin hired Williams before the 2024 season. He was a longtime NFL scout and had been the Rams’ vice president of player personnel. He had also worked under Jim Harbaugh with the 49ers.
Sawyer Jordan, inside receivers coach: Jordan was a senior analyst and the team's inside receivers coach. He was previously a quality control analyst at South Florida.
Chris Kiffin, analyst and linebackers coach: Chris Kiffin is Lane’s younger brother. The 43-year-old has been on his brother’s staff at several stops, including at USC in 2010 and at Florida Atlantic in 2017. He has been a defensive assistant in the NFL at three different stops, and has a background as both a defensive line and linebackers coach.
Coaches staying at Ole Miss with Pete Golding
Again, this is as far as we know right now, but several Ole Miss coaches are reportedly staying in Oxford to work under new head coach Pete Golding.
Bryan Brown, co-defensive coordinator, defensive backs coach: Brown joined Ole Miss before the 2024 season after a year at Cincinnati as the team’s defensive coordinator. Before that, he was Louisville’s defensive coordinator from 2019 through the ‘22 season. The 42-year-old is an Ole Miss alum.
Kevin Smith, running backs coach: Smith is in his third season as the Rebels’ running backs coach, but really his fifth season. He was at Ole Miss from 2020 to ‘21, then spent a year in the same position at Miami in ‘22, before returning to Oxford in ‘23. The former All-American and Detroit Lions runnning back is sticking around.
John Garrison, offensive line coach: Garrison joined Ole Miss as the offensive line coach and running game coordinator before the 2022 Texas Bowl. He was at NC State for four seasons before that and has 15 years of college coaching experience.
Joe Judge, quarterbacks coach: Judge is staying for the College Football Playoff but his future isn’t yet known. With Weis heading to LSU, the former Giants head coach could be in line to take over as the team’s offensive coordinator if he stayed with the Rebels. Judge joined Ole Miss as an analyst in 2024 and was promoted to quarterbacks coach before the 2025 season.
Jake Schoonover, special teams coordinator, nickelbacks coach: Schoonover is in his third season at Ole Miss and will be sticking around Oxford. He coached All-American kicker Caden Davis in 2024 and has 13 years of experience as a college assistant.
Randall Joyner, defensive line coach: Joyner is in his fifth season as the Rebels’ defensive line coach. Prior to moving to Oxford, he was the defensive line coach at his alma mater SMU for three seasons.
Wes Neighbors III, safeties coach: Neighbors is in his third season coaching safeties at Ole Miss. He has been an assistant at Maryland, Louisiana, and South Florida, while also working with Kiffin at Florida Atlantic in 2018 and 2019.
