Ole Miss football’s run to the College Football Playoff was already wild. Now it has a full-blown crossover episode with LSU. Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. is back in Oxford to call plays for the Rebels in the CFP, even after reportedly agreeing to a three-year, $6 million deal to follow Lane Kiffin to LSU football via ESPN.
On top of that, four current LSU offensive assistants, tight ends coach Joe Cox, wide receivers coach George McDonald, assistant quarterbacks coach Dane Stevens, and slot receivers coach Sawyer Jordan, have also returned to help Ole Miss gear up for the postseason. Lane Kiffin signed off on the move to give new Ole Miss coach Pete Golding and the players the best shot at a deep run, per Pete Tham on X, formerly Twitter.
Golding has been clear that this is about finishing what the players started, not staff politics. That offense is the reason Ole Miss is here. Behind breakout quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, the Rebels ripped through the regular season at 11-1 and climbed to No. 6 in the CFP rankings, earning a first-ever playoff berth and a home date against No. 11 Tulane, with a potential showdown against No. 3 Georgia on deck.
The returning coaches know exactly what this group can do. In the 24-19 Magnolia Bowl win over LSU in September, Chambliss threw for 314 yards and a touchdown and added 71 rushing yards. Kewan Lacy ran for 87 yards and a score, Cayden Lee had 70 yards and a touchdown, and Ole Miss outgained LSU 484-256 while holding the Tigers to just 59 rushing yards via the ESPN Box Score.
Now Weis and his former coworkers are game-planning against future coworkers in Baton Rouge. If the Rebels’ CFP run turns into something storybook, this week’s coaching boomerang is going to be a big reason why.
