One of the most polarizing coaches in college football, Lane Kiffin enters his fourth season at Ole Miss and is looking to finally put it all together. A great offensive mind, Kiffin has assembled a strong Ole Miss coaching staff designed to bring more balance to Oxford.
Ole Miss Rebels Coaching Staff 2023
Head Coach, Lane Kiffin
Kiffin has a myriad of experience at various stops as head coach in the last 15 years. One of the great offensive minds of the 21st century, Kiffin has coached some of the best offenses in college football.
After struggling as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders, Tennessee Volunteers, and USC Trojans, Kiffin attended the Saban School for Wayward Coaches where he was instrumental in transforming Alabama from a low-scoring, defensively-minded team into the offensive powerhouse they’re known as today. With multiple Heisman winners in the mid-2010s, Kiffin’s tenure was a rousing success.
He built onto that success with a positive head coaching stint at Florida Atlantic before moving to Ole Miss before the 2020 season.
Last season, thanks to a strong coaching staff, the Rebels overcame some offensive shortcomings and developed a stingy defense.
Now, Kiffin is looking to put it all together as a head coach and return his Ole Miss offense to the heights set under quarterback Matt Corral. In his career, he’s had stops at the following places.
- Colorado State, 1999 (Graduate Assistant)
- Jacksonville Jaguars, 2000 (Defensive Quality Control)
- USC, 2001-06 (Tight Ends, Receivers, Offensive Coordinator/Passing Game Coordinator
- Oakland Raiders, 2007-08 (Head Coach)
- Tennessee, 2009 (Head Coach)
- USC, 2010-13 (Head Coach)
- Alabama, 2014-16 (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks)
- Florida Atlantic, 2017-19 (Head Coach)
- Ole Miss, 2020-Present (Head Coach)
John David Baker, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends
Baker is relatively new to the coaching world, but he’s already made a huge difference at several schools. He worked his way up through the ranks after starting at his alma mater, Abilene Christian in 2014. There, he worked with quarterbacks before making his way to North Texas and then USC.
Kiffin hired Baker before the 2021 season, and Baker excelled as passing game coordinator. The next year, he moved to co-offensive coordinator. This change led to a massive improvement in the Rebel rushing attack.
- Abilene Christian, 2014-2015 (GA/Quarterbacks)
- North Texas, 2016-18 (Offensive Quality Control)
- USC, 2019-2020 (Offensive Quality Control/Tight Ends)
- Ole Miss, 2021-Present (Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends)
Charlie Weis Jr., Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
Baker’s offensive partner is Charlie Weis Jr., the son of the former Notre Dame and Kansas head coach of the same name.
Weis Jr. was a graduate assistant at Alabama under Kiffin and joined Ole Miss after offensive coordinator stints at Florida Atlantic and South Florida — the former under Kiffin.
He also spent time in the NFL and began coaching at the University of Florida as an offensive assistant.
- Florida, 2011 (Quality Control)
- Kansas, 2012-14 (Undergraduate Manager)
- Alabama, 2015-16 (Offensive Analyst)
- Atlanta Falcons, 2017 (Offensive Analyst)
- Florida Atlantic, 2018-19 (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks)
- South Florida, 2020-21 (Offensive Coordinator)
- Ole Miss, 2022-Present (Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks)
Pete Golding, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
Golding is Ole Miss’s newest assistant after coming to Oxford from the University of Alabama. He spent the last five years in Tuscaloosa leading the Alabama defense in a new era of Alabama football.
He spent most of his time working with defensive backs, coaching the position at multiple stops, dating back to his start at Tusculum in the early 2000s.
Golding has recruiting roots across the south and has coached in Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana, among other southern states.
- Delta State, 2006 (Graduate Assistant)
- Tusculum, 2007-09 (Defensive Coordinator/DBs)
- Delta State, 2010-11 (Defensive Coordinator/DBs)
- Southeastern Louisiana, 2012-13 (Defensive Coordinator/DBs)
- Southern Miss, 2014-15 (Safeties)
- UTSA, 2016-17 (Defensive Coordinator/Cornerbacks)
- Alabama, 2018-22 (Defensive Coordinator/Inside LBs)
- Ole Miss, 2023-Present (Defensive Coordinator/LBs)
Jake Schoonover, Special Teams Coordinator
Schoonover has spent nearly a decade and a half at the college level, mostly as a special teams coordinator. The Mound City, Missouri native has coordinated special teams units at Illinois State, Bowling Green, Kansas, and most recently Arkansas State.
He also has experience coaching several defensive positions and is considered a great teacher.
John Garrison, Offensive Line
Garrison has been on staff since the tail end of last season, where he coached the Ole Miss offensive line. He’s been a Power Five offensive line coach at Nebraska and NC State and a run game coordinator at multiple Group of Five schools.
Garrison was also a team captain for Nebraska in 2000 and snapped for Heisman-winning quarterback Eric Crouch.
Kevin Smith, Running Backs
Former UCF and Detroit Lions running back Kevin Smith leads the Ole Miss running backs. He coached the backs in Kiffin’s first two years at Ole Miss but left for Miami last season. He was quickly rehired at Ole Miss this year.
The rushing attack is an under-appreciated part of Kiffin’s offenses, and Smith has his group in position to shine this season.
Derrick Nix, Wide Receivers
Nix has been on staff at Ole Miss during the terms of four different U.S. presidents. Entering his 16th year as a Rebels position coach, the Southern Miss grad has coached numerous All-Conference running backs and receivers and was named assistant head coach last offseason.
Randall Joyner, Defensive Line
Joyner, a Texas native, graduated from SMU in 2014, where he was a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy as a senior. He moved to Hawaii and Ohio State before returning to SMU in his first on-field coaching role.
Joyner is in his third season with the Rebels and coaches a talented defensive line.
Wes Neighbors, Safeties
Another first-year Rebel coach, Neighbors, started coaching at Alabama in the early 2010s after playing and winning multiple national championships there.
He coached safeties at Florida Atlantic under Kiffin before stints at USF (2020), Louisiana (2021), and Maryland (2022).
Keynodo Hudson, Cornerbacks
Hudson enters his first season as cornerbacks coach for Ole Miss after leading the Western Kentucky secondary for the last two seasons. The Hilltoppers were among the best secondaries in the country in 2022. Hudson has also spent time at USC, Florida Atlantic, and Illinois.