Charlie Weis Jr. had more than one path in front of him after Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss for LSU, but he still chose the coach who gave him his start.
When Kiffin flew to Baton Rouge as LSU’s new head coach, Weis was on the plane with him. Several other assistants made the trip too, with the plan to join Kiffin’s LSU staff before coming back to Oxford to finish Ole Miss’ College Football Playoff run.
But Weis wasn’t limited to following Kiffin. He could have stayed at Ole Miss under new head coach and then-defensive coordinator Pete Golding. He also had an NFL option, according to On3’s Wilson Alexander.
"Number one, Coach Kiffin," Weis said of why he followed Kiffin to LSU back in August. "He believed in me at a very early age, and probably a lot of people wouldn't take a chance on a young coach.
And he did, and so I do feel I owe a lot to him for my career and the places he's hired me. So I think that's definitely the number one factor."
That kind of pull makes sense given how quickly Weis climbed under Kiffin. In four seasons together, he went from one of the youngest coordinators in the sport to the play-caller for one of the country’s most reliable offenses.
Their connection stretches back well before Weis became Ole Miss’ offensive coordinator in 2022. The two coaches’ sons first crossed paths at Alabama, where Weis worked as an offensive analyst in 2015 while Kiffin handled the offense for Nick Saban.
Weis stayed with Kiffin for two seasons at Alabama, then followed him to Florida Atlantic to serve as offensive coordinator at just 24 years old.
They spent two more seasons together there before splitting up when Kiffin took the Ole Miss job and Weis moved on to South Florida as offensive coordinator under Jeff Scott.
The reunion came after Jeff Lebby left Ole Miss for the same role at Oklahoma, bringing Weis and Kiffin back together in Oxford.
From there, the offense took off. Their last two seasons, 2024 and 2025, both ended with top-10 national finishes in total offense and scoring offense. Kiffin operated as more of a CEO-style head coach, while Weis handled the play-calling as the young name on the rise.
Now they’re headed back to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium together for the first time since that trip to Baton Rouge.
In Other News...
Lane Kiffin Just Added More Heat To LSU's Ole Miss Rivalry
Few SEC matchups carry as much history as LSU and Ole Miss, a rivalry that dates to 1894 and has grown into the Magnolia Bowl since 2008. The Tigers have controlled the series overall, leading 64-44-4, and the annual meeting has produced its share of memorable nights, from the 1959 Halloween game to the famed 1972 contest known as The Night Time Stood Still.
Recent history has leaned LSUs way, too, including a comeback win in 2024 that only added to the edge between the programs. With Lane Kiffin now adding more heat to the conversation, the next chapter in this long-running feud has plenty of built-in tension before anyone even steps on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Lane Kiffin Is Adding More Heat To LSUs Ole Miss Trip
Lane Kiffin has spent enough time in SEC theater to know how to lean into it, and this week he helped turn LSUs preparation for Ole Miss into a much louder scene. He invited LSU students to come out and heckle the Tigers during practice, using the chance to recreate the kind of hostile environment LSU will walk into on the road. The result was exactly the sort of charged backdrop this rivalry tends to attract, with signs, noise and plenty of pointed energy aimed at Kiffin and the team.
For LSU, the practical value is obvious: a little extra discomfort now could help when the real crowd gets involved. For Kiffin, the setting only added another layer to a matchup already carrying its own history, since he previously coached at Ole Miss before leaving in November. With the Tigers headed into that trip, the noise around practice was a reminder that this one is about more than just a football game. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Just Got A GameDay Pick That Fans Will Love
The buildup around LSUs trip to Oxford already had the feel of one of the seasons biggest SEC showdowns, with the No. 7 Tigers set for a primetime meeting against No. 8 Ole Miss at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Now the stage has gotten even brighter, with College GameDay heading to the matchup and ABC carrying the game as part of a broadcast lineup that includes Chris Fowler, Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge.
For a rivalry-like game with rankings this tight, the pregame spotlight is almost as much a part of the story as the snap-to-snap action, and this one will have plenty of it. Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and Nick Saban will be on hand for the show, joined by celebrity guest Morgan Freeman, giving the weekend an extra layer of buzz before LSU and Ole Miss even take the field. [Read more 🡒]