Had Ole Miss's season ended Thursday night, everything would've lined up perfectly for Lane Kiffin.
The Rebels were conveniently in the Sugar Bowl, just down the road from Baton Rouge. His four former/current/future assistant coaches could've shed their powder blue-and-red and for purple-and-gold, just as the transfer portal opened at midnight.
Alas, Ole Miss sprung that thrilling upset over Georgia, avenging their only loss of the season thus far and continuing their campaign for (at least) another week, until next Thursday's Fiesta Bowl against 10th-seeded Miami. The portal is open. Ole Miss is in full pursuit of its first national championship in more than 60 years. LSU is in full building-mode, trying to get to where Ole Miss is right now, and where Kiffin was just over one month ago. Pete Golding now has more College Football Playoff wins than all but a handful of active head coaches, including his former boss. The irony is almost too comical to be real.
It was easy enough for Kiffin and LSU to be patient and accommodating with the portal closed, but with it now open, players on campus and decisions happening in real time, a major storyline to follow is which coaches will remain with Ole Miss and who will leave the Rebels to join the Tigers full-time.
Of the 11 coaches announced by LSU on Dec. 22, four have remained in Oxford to coach Ole Miss: offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Charlie Weis, Jr.; co-offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Joe Cox; running backs coach Kevin Smith; and passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach George McDonald.
The four hurried to Baton Rouge after the win to be on hand for the portal's opening with LSU, but Weis will remain with the Rebels through the end of their College Football Playoff run, be it in the semifinal or the title game. It would not be a surprise here if Cox and/or McDonald joined Weis in returning to Oxford, while our expectation is that Smith may now join LSU full-time.
“All I can tell you is that I’m coaching, and I told everybody that from the beginning,” Weis said after the game. “These are wild times, but all worth it.”
Most importantly: all 85-or-so Rebels trekked back to Oxford after the game and will remain with the Rebels through the end of the season.
“Players win games, and it’s as simple as that,” Ole Miss assistant Joe Judge told On3. “That’s what it’s about. It’s a players’ game. We’re here to teach them, put them in the right position and give them the opportunity, but they’ve got to go out there and win.
Reminder: LSU visits Ole Miss on Sept. 19.
Saturday Update: Pete Golding was asked Saturday and said he expects every assistant to remain with the Rebels through the end of their season.
Here was Pete Golding’s answer when asked whether staff employed by LSU will coach with Ole Miss through the entire CFP pic.twitter.com/0mG7jGE5Az
— Michael Katz (@MichaelLKatz) January 3, 2026