Lane Kiffin Just Called A Play For Ole Miss In Its Upcoming College Football Playoff Opener

By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

Who says Lane Kiffin is still not coaching the Ole Miss football team?

Kiffin, who left Ole Miss to become LSU’s new head coach on Sunday, just sent Charlie Weis Jr., his new offensive coordinator at LSU, back to Ole Miss to be their offensive coordinator and play caller for the upcoming College Football Playoff.

Kiffin made this move because he fears the College Football Playoff committee may downgrade Ole Miss in the rankings going into the playoffs because he is no longer the Rebels’ coach. CFP rules state that the committee can lower the ranking and seeds of teams who lose players to injury or coaches to other jobs.

UPDATE: Lane Kiffin fighting to the end to coach Ole Miss in playoffs, but doesn’t look like it will happen. He has a meeting with players today before likely leaving for Monday press conference at LSU.https://t.co/8MTA20MIsW

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) November 30, 2025

And it was Kiffin who fought Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter and other school officials tooth and nail over the last week to let him continue coaching the Rebels in the playoffs while recruiting and hiring staff as LSU’s new coach. But Ole Miss officials said no. Meanwhile, Florida is letting its just-hired coach Jon Sumrall continue to coach Tulane in the College Football Playoff, should the Green Wave make it.

“With the playoff committee releasing updated rankings Tuesday night, I wanted it to be known that after conversations with LSU, we are allowing Charlie to return to Ole Miss to coach the team (offense) during the playoffs,” Kiffin said in a release by LSU’s athletic department on Tuesday afternoon.

“I’ve already made the committee aware of this, and I’m hopeful this decision will allow Ole Miss to receive the highest ranking possible,” Kiffin said. “Because these great players are very deserving of that. I’m excited that Charlie will be back to help coach the greatest team in the history of Ole Miss.”

And Ole Miss has signed off on this move.

The No. 7 Rebels went 11-1 overall and 7-1 in the Southeastern Conference under Kiffin, who built the roster and team in his sixth season as Ole Miss’ coach. Ole Miss is preparing for its likely CFP opener on Dec. 19 or 20 at home in Oxford.

Wonder if the Ole Miss commitment Lane Kiffin just flipped to LSU would still be a Rebel commitment had Ole Miss let Kiffin coach in the playoffs? LSU was fine with the temporary dual roles.https://t.co/pd6Q4MkIO4

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) December 2, 2025

LSU finished its regular season at 7-5 (3-5 SEC) and awaits a minor bowl that interim coach Frank Wilson will lead the team’s practices for and coach in. Kiffin’s main duties at LSU now are recruiting and hiring staff and preparing for the NCAA Transfer Portal window from Jan. 2-16.

Weis, son of former Notre Dame head coach and New England Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, was Ole Miss offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach under Kiffin from 2022-25. Weis was Ole Miss’ main play caller this past regular season, but he was calling plays as directed by Kiffin, who became known as one of the best play callers in the country as Alabama’s offensive coordinator from 2014-16.

Weis was also Kiffin’s offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach when Kiffin was head coach at Florida Atlantic in 2018 and ’19 when Kiffin was calling plays. Kiffin called most of Ole Miss’ plays for his first five seasons with the Rebels before giving that to Weis this season, but Weis has still called plays in the likeness of Kiffin as Ole Miss’ offense was always Kiffin’s.

So, in essence, Kiffin will be calling Ole Miss plays in the playoffs through Weis.

LSU is also being helpful to Ole Miss in other ways after stealing the Rebels’ coach just before the playoffs in the midst of their greatest season since 1960 when they went 10-0-1 under coach Johnny Vaught and was named national champions by the Football Writers Association of America.

According to Kiffin’s new, seven-year, $91 million LSU contract, LSU will pay Kiffin the $150,000 bonus Ole Miss owes Kiffin should it reach the College Football Playoff, according to Kiffin’s Ole Miss contract. And if Ole Miss advances to win the national championship this season, LSU will also pay Kiffin his $1 million bonus per his contract with Ole Miss.

And LSU is also taking care of the $3 million buyout Kiffin owes Ole Miss for leaving with six years to go on his contract with Ole Miss.