Ole Miss was not willing to let Lane Kiffin remain in Oxford to coach the team through the College Football Playoff, but one of his top assistants is going to finish out the year with the Rebels.
Kiffin is bringing several members of his Ole Miss coaching staff with him to LSU, including offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. On Tuesday, Kiffin announced that LSU has agreed to let Weis coach at Ole Miss during the College Football Playoff.
Kiffin said he is hoping the decision will inspire the College Football Playoff selection committee to give Ole Miss “the highest ranking possible.”
“With the playoff committee releasing updated rankings tonight, I wanted it to be known that after conversations with LSU, we are allowing Charlie to return to Ole Miss to coach the team during the playoffs,” Kiffin said in a statement. “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 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.”
Lane Kiffin just made a statement regarding #LSU’s decision to allow Charlie Weis Jr. to call plays for Ole Miss during the CFP. pic.twitter.com/8gFjQbcU81
— Koki Riley (@KokiRiley) December 2, 2025
Weis also issued a statement addressing the decision.
“I’m grateful to LSU for allowing me the opportunity to finish this season with Ole Miss. Coach Kiffin and the LSU Administration have been nothing but supportive. I’m excited about the playoff run,” Weis wrote.
— Charlie Weis Jr (@WeisJr_M) December 2, 2025
Weis has been the offensive coordinator under Kiffin at Ole Miss for the past four seasons. Ole Miss ranks third in the nation with 498.1 yards per game this season and 11th with 37.3 points per game.
There has been some concern that the CFP selection committee will factor in Kiffin’s departure when coming up with its final rankings for the 12-team playoff field. Weis sticking around should help address some of the questions that would have existed had an entirely new staff been coaching Ole Miss in the tournament.
