LSU’s coaching staff is already drawing plenty of attention with Lane Kiffin set to take over in Baton Rouge, but one of the most important hires may be the one getting overlooked.
The buzz naturally starts with offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., who came with Kiffin from Oxford, and defensive coordinator Blake Baker, who remained in place under the new regime. But the name that deserves a louder spotlight is associate head coach and running backs coach Kevin Smith.
Smith is heading into his ninth season working with Kiffin, and that familiarity matters. He spent three seasons as Florida Atlantic’s running backs coach while Kiffin was there, then followed him to Ole Miss for two seasons before stepping away in 2022. After a year away, he returned to Oxford in 2023 and has been a key piece of Kiffin’s staff ever since.
“He's very intense out there,” Kiffin said in a spring availability. “Love having him around...such a really big part of establishing our culture now that he's been with us really the whole time except for one year.”
The production backs up the praise. At Ole Miss, Smith helped guide Quinshon Judkins to back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. In 2023, the Rebels finished fifth in the SEC in rushing offense and piled up 29 rushing touchdowns, the fifth most in Ole Miss history.
His final Ole Miss season brought even more proof of what he can do with a backfield. Kewan Lacy emerged as one of the best running backs in the country and one of the top players in Rebels history, and in 2025 he rushed for 1,567 yards, tying Judkins’ 2022 record. Lacy also broke the school’s single-season all-purpose yardage record and scored 22 rushing touchdowns, which ranked No. 2 in FBS and set a new Ole Miss rushing touchdown mark.
Now Smith gets a new challenge at LSU, where he’ll work with a running back room that includes returning sophomore Harlem Berry and veteran Caden Durham. For a coach with a track record of developing backs under Kiffin, the Tigers are betting he can do it again.
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