Ole Miss could lose most of its LSU-bound coaching staff to former coach Lane Kiffin this week, but it will keep at least one critical piece of the offensive staff in place as the Rebels prepare for the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. is in Oxford and will continue to lead the Rebels’ offensive unit at least through this week’s semifinal game, head coach Pete Golding confirmed Saturday. Weis Jr. is expected to take over as LSU’s OC when the time comes.
Several coaches, however, are expected to stay at LSU after coaching the Rebels to a thrilling 39-34 victory over Georgia in the quarterfinals on New Year’s Day, sources told CBS Sports.
Running backs coach Kevin Smith will not return to Oxford this week, 247Sports’ Chase Parham first reported Saturday. Tight ends coach Joe Cox, wide receivers coach George McDonald, analyst Dan Stevens (quarterbacks) and graduate assistant Sawyer Jordan (slot receivers) are also in flux and are not expected to return to Ole Miss on Saturday, sources told CBS Sports. They remained in Baton Rouge, helping recruit visitors after the transfer portal opened Friday.
Golding, who was elevated from defensive coordinator to head coach when Kiffin joined LSU, would not confirm the status of the coaching position but said he was in “constant” communication with LSU and Kiffin about the personnel situation. Kiffin echoed those comments in a statement to ESPN on Friday.
“They have every opportunity, as they have had so far, to be able to make that decision,” Golding said Saturday. “So, week to week, I don’t dictate to them whether they do it or not because they’re not employed by me. So far, that’s how it’s gone and that’s what I expect.”
Ole Miss personnel questions have persisted about the program since Kiffin left the program to take over at LSU on Dec. 1. He hired eight staff members from Ole Miss for his LSU team. However, many stayed in Oxford through the first two rounds of the playoffs – a 41-10 victory over Tulane and the aforementioned thriller against Georgia.
The football schedule complicates things. The transfer portal opened Jan. 1 and will remain open through Jan. 16, and both schools were scheduled to host players for visits this weekend.
FBS programs are allowed to accommodate an unlimited number of employees, whereas previously they allowed only 11 coaches on the field, which has eased much of the workload, Golding said.
“We have a lot of coaches here,” Golding said. “That’s the one thing that is Division I football. This building is filled with guys who have been elite coaches everywhere they’ve been. Once they eliminate the rule that there are no 10 coaches, as long as they’re employed here, you can have a million coaches who can instruct on the field. So at every university in the country, a lot of guys that you all don’t know by name are actually the ones who instruct and teach the players, and so we have an elite staff here that has been together for a while for a long time that knows the ins and outs.
Golding said he did not know when he would receive clarity on the personnel situation. Ole Miss leaves for the Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday. Kickoff is scheduled for Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
“These are adult people making decisions, so I have no idea,” he said. “So we’re going to go out there and spot the ball. We’ve got enough people in this building that came this morning. We’ll be fine.”
LSU did not immediately respond to CBS Sports’ request for comment.
