Ole Miss retains four LSU coaches for College Football Playoff, per report: What it means for Rebels offense

Despite Lane Kiffin's exit for LSU, the majority of the Ole Miss coaching staff will remain together for the Rebels' College Football Playoff run. The team already announced that offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. will see the season through before he follows Kiffin to LSU, and according to ESPN, four other offensive assistants returned to Oxford for the postseason. Tight ends coach Joe Cox, wide receivers coach George McDonald, assistant quarterbacks coach Dane Stevens and slot wide receivers coach Sawyer Jordan will reprise their roles as Ole Miss assistants during the CFP.

Each of the four coaches, plus Weis, will assume their regular duties with LSU once the Rebels complete their playoff run. With the transfer portal set to open Jan. 2, they could have to balance postseason coaching at Ole Miss with recruiting tasks at LSU if the Rebels advance deep enough in the bracket.

That Kiffin is permitting a handful of LSU assistants to temporarily return to Ole Miss is arguably unsurprising given his stated desire to coach the Rebels through the CFP.

"I was hoping to complete a historic six season run with this year's team by leading Ole Miss through the playoffs, capitalizing on the team's incredible success and their commitment to finish strong, and investing everything into a playoff run with guardrails in place to protect the program in any areas of concern," Kiffin said after accepting his LSU offer. "My request to do so was denied by Keith Carter despite the team also asking him to allow me to keep coaching them so they could better maintain their high level of performance."

Weis, Cox, McDonald, Stevens and Jordan will reunite with quarterbacks coach Joe Judge, running backs coach Kevin Smith and offensive line coach John Garrison. Those three were already announced as assistants who would remain with the Rebels through the CFP, at least.

The majority of Ole Miss' defensive staff also remains intact for the postseason. The Rebels announced former defensive coordinator Pete Golding as their permanent head coach, and he figures to retain select assistants for 2026. Secondary coach Bryan Brown, for one, will stay as Golding's defensive coordinator.

Staff moves brighten Ole Miss' CFP outlook

It is a victory for Ole Miss to temporarily reconstruct the coaching staff with the assistants who helped build one of college football's most dominant offenses. While Kiffin's offensive acumen will be missing, Weis' return and the presence of numerous top staffers should offer enough continuity to keep the Rebels firing on all cylinders.

The first round of the CFP pits Ole Miss against Tulane for a rematch of their Sept. 20 non-conference clash. It was with this same offensive staff that the Rebels lit up the scoreboard in a 45-10 win over the Green Wave the first time around, so the expectation will be to find similar success in the Dec. 20 contest and, in turn, advance to the second round.

Ole Miss offensive rankings

The Rebels need their offense to click in order to survive beyond that playoff-opening date with the Green Wave. The winner faces Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, and when Ole Miss met the Bulldogs in the regular season, not even its 35 points was enough to defeat Kirby Smart's team in a 43-35 loss.