Four current LSU offensive assistants are joining offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. at Ole Miss to help prepare the Rebels for their College Football Playoff appearance, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Monday night.
Tight ends coach Joe Cox, wide receivers coach George McDonald, assistant quarterbacks coach Dane Stevens and slot wide receivers coach Sawyer Jordan all returned to the Oxford, Mississippi campus on Monday morning, sources said, a day after the 10-2 Rebels learned they would play host to Tulane in Round 1 on Dec. 20.
LSU coach Lane Kiffin made the decision to allow the coaches to return in an effort to help new Ole Miss coach Pete Golding, the staff and players maximize the opportunity ahead in the playoff appearance, the Rebels’ first ever. Though they will not be in Oxford for the entirety of any Ole Miss run, they will be at the games, and could shuttle back and forth from Baton Rouge during the weeks.
Familiarity with the 11-2 Green Wave, which last week won the American Athletic Conference title game to secure their CFP bid, might have played a part in it. After all, Kiffin’s Ole Miss staff orchestrated the Rebels’ convincing 45-10 win over Tulane on Sept. 20 in Oxford.
In that game, the Rebels rolled out to a 23-3 first-half lead, and cruised at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss threw for two touchdowns and running back Kewan Lacy added a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs, as the Rebels delivered Tulane its first loss of the season. Chambliss finished the win with totals of 17-of-27 passing for 307 yards while adding 112 yards on 14 rushes.
Last week, two days after Kiffin left for Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the Tigers’ job, he allowed Weis to return to Ole Miss even before knowing the CFP matchup. Weis has been the Rebels’ offensive coordinator since 2022.