LSU and Ole Miss have essentially swapped sidelines this offseason, with a flurry of coaching and staff moves turning the SEC landscape on its head. It all started with LSU making a major splash by hiring Lane Kiffin away from Ole Miss-a bold move that instantly became the headline act of this year’s college football coaching carousel.
Kiffin didn’t come alone. He brought a sizable portion of his Ole Miss staff with him to Baton Rouge, including a majority of his offensive assistants and general manager Billy Glasscock. That kind of exodus left a noticeable void in Oxford, and now, in a twist of college football symmetry, Ole Miss is filling many of those vacancies with familiar faces-former LSU staffers.
One of the key hires is Austin Thomas, who had been serving as LSU’s de facto general manager under Brian Kelly for the past two seasons. Thomas is no stranger to Oxford-he originally came to LSU from Ole Miss, where he previously worked alongside Kiffin. Now, he’s headed back to familiar territory to help rebuild the Rebels’ football infrastructure.
Another big addition for Ole Miss: Frank Wilson. The veteran coach, who stepped in as LSU’s interim head coach, will officially join the Rebels’ staff after leading the Tigers in their upcoming bowl game. Wilson brings a wealth of experience and deep recruiting ties, particularly in Louisiana-an area both programs heavily rely on for talent.
And the movement doesn’t stop there. Jai Choudhary, a key recruiting staffer at LSU, is also making the move to Oxford.
He’s set to become Ole Miss’s next director of player personnel. It’s a full-circle moment-LSU had originally hired Choudhary away from Ole Miss earlier this year, and now he’s headed back to the Rebels in a more prominent role.
Kevin Bolden is another name worth watching. He followed a similar path: working under Austin Thomas at Ole Miss, then moving to LSU, and now returning to Oxford as Thomas reassembles his staff. It’s clear that Thomas is bringing back trusted voices as he looks to stabilize and retool the Rebels’ off-field operations.
What we’re seeing here is more than just a coaching shake-up-it’s a strategic reshuffling of power within the SEC. LSU made a bold play by landing Kiffin and much of his staff, but Ole Miss is responding with moves of its own, pulling from LSU’s pool of talent to rebuild quickly and maintain continuity where it matters most: recruiting, player development, and program infrastructure.
This kind of back-and-forth isn’t uncommon in the SEC, where rivalries extend beyond Saturdays in the fall. But the volume and symmetry of these moves between LSU and Ole Miss?
That’s rare. And it sets the stage for a fascinating chapter in one of the most competitive conferences in college football.