Lane Kiffin is one of the most polarizing coaches in college football, and he’s finally putting it all together in Oxford in his fifth season as the Ole Miss Rebels head coach. He’s assembled a strong group of coaches and one of the more experienced staff in the SEC.
Ole Miss Rebels Coaching Staff 2024
Head Coach, Lane Kiffin
Kiffin has been the head man at four different schools across the country and in the NFL, but he’s experiencing his best seasons as a head coach in recent years.
The Ole Miss head coach rose to prominence as the offensive coordinator of the strong USC Trojans teams of the early 2000s. He parlayed that into a head coaching job with the Las Vegas Raiders but quickly returned to the college ranks after it was apparent that the NFL was not his thing.
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Kiffin had tumultuous tenures with the Tennessee Volunteers and back with the Trojans before he was fired in Los Angeles. He didn’t find immediate success as a head coach. Instead, it took an extremely successful tenure as the offensive coordinator under Nick Saban with the Alabama Crimson Tide for him to become a hot name once more.
Kiffin is credited with convincing Nick Saban to modernize his offense at Alabama. He won a National Championship with the Crimson Tide in 2016 and then parlayed that success into a head coaching job with the Florida Atlantic Owls.
In hindsight, Kiffin should probably get more credit for his 26-13 record with the Owls than he does. People assumed that job was a bit easier to win at than it seems to be.
Finally, Kiffin was once again hired in the SEC, this time as head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels. As of this writing, he is 42-17 in his tenure with the Rebels, including a combined 19-4 record since the beginning of 2023.
- 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)
Joe Cox, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends
Joe Cox is no stranger to the SEC. The former Georgia Bulldogs quarterback started his coaching career at the high school level in Charlotte, where he was a standout before quickly moving up the college ranks.
He broke into the SEC with the South Carolina Gamecocks and coached with the Charlotte 49ers and at Alabama. Cox is an excellent recruiter with plenty of experience working with the tight end position.
- Mallard Creek HS, 2014 (Offensive Coordinator)
- Colorado State, 2015 (Graduate Assistant)
- Colorado State, 2016-2019 (Tight end Coach)
- South Carolina, 2020 (Wide receiver Coach)
- Charlotte, 2021 (Tight end Coach)
- Alabama, 2022-2023 (Tight end Coach)
- Ole Miss, 2024 (Co-Offensive Coordinator, Tight end Coach)
Charlie Weis Jr., Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterback Coach
While neither Cox nor Charlie Weis Jr. calls the plays for Ole Miss, they are integral to the offense’s development.
The son of former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis Sr., Weis is considered a brilliant offensive mind and quickly moved up the ranks. Kiffin first hired him as his offensive coordinator at FAU before Weis held an on-field coaching position at the college level.
- 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
Pete Golding was one of Kiffin’s greatest recruiting wins, as he was able to poach the defensive coordinator from Nick Saban at Alabama before the 2023 season.
Golding has a long coaching career that started at Tusculum in the early 2000s. Although most of his experience is with defensive backs, Golding coaches linebackers with the Rebels. He’s a strong recruiter with ties all across the South.
- 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)
Bryan Brown, Co-Defensive Coordinator, Secondary
Bryan Brown returns to Ole Miss for a third time and first as an on-field coach in 2024.
Brown was a multi-sport athlete for the Rebels from 2003-2006, who totaled 70 tackles at the collegiate level. After college, he bounced around various off-field roles, including a stint at Ole Miss, before moving to the Appalachian State Mountaineers coaching staff to become a cornerbacks coach.
Brown added a defensive coordinator title, something he’s had at every stop since, including great stints with the Louisville Cardinals and Cincinnati Bearcats.
- Rutgers, 2008 (Development)
- Delta State, 2009 (Graduate Assistant)
- Ole Miss, 2010-2011 (Graduate Assistant)
- Appalachian State, 2012-2018 (Defensive Coordinator/Cornerbacks)
- Louisville, 2019-2022 (Defensive Coordinator/Secondary
- Cincinnati, 2023 (Defensive Coordinator)
- Ole Miss, 2024 (Co-Defensive Coordinator/Secondary)
Jake Schoonover, Special Teams Coordinator
Jake Schoonover has spent over 15 years at the college level, many of them as a special teams coordinator. He spent most of his time at smaller schools like Illinois State but recently coached at the Arkansas State Red Wolves and Kansas Jayhawks before coming over to Ole Miss.
John Garrison, Offensive Line
John Garrison, who was hired in the middle of the 2022 season, was another huge get for Kiffin. He has tons of experience at the Power Four level, having been an offensive line coach at Nebraska and NC State and the run game coordinator at several Group of Five schools.
A team captain for Nebraska, Garrison was the center for Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch.
Kevin Smith, Running Backs
Kevin Smith is one of several former star running backs who has returned to the college level to coach, and now he’s considered one of the better running back coaches at the Power Four level.
A former UCF and Detroit Lions running back, Smith leads the Ole Miss running backs. He coached the backs in Kiffin’s first two years before leaving for Miami in 2022 but quickly returned to coach at Ole Miss in 2023.
Smith has coached with Kiffin at FAU as well as at Ole Miss.
George McDonald, Wide Receivers
George McDonald replaces Derrick Nix, who was one of the longest-tenured assistants in the Power Four. McDonald comes over from Illinois, where he was the wide receivers coach for his alma mater.
A long-time coaching veteran, McDonald has coached at numerous schools, such as NC State and Syracuse. He also coached with the Cleveland Browns in 2009 and 2010.
Randall Joyner, Defensive Line
A Texas native, Randall Joyner graduated from SMU in 2014, where he was a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy as a senior. After college, Joyner was a graduate assistant at Hawaii and Ohio State before returning to alma mater to take his first on-field coaching role.
Joyner joined Kiffin’s staff in 2021 as defensive line coach, a role he’s held since then. His 2024 unit might be the best he’s ever coached.
Wes Neighbors, Safeties
When Kiffin needed a safeties coach before the 2023 season, he turned to a familiar face, tabbing Wes Neighbors as the team’s newest coach. Neighbors spent time with Kiffin at Florida Atlantic in 2018 and 2019.
Neighbors played for the Crimson Tide from 2008 to 2011, and he started with the Crimson Tide when he got into coaching, overlapping with Kiffin from 2014 to 2016. After coaching at FAU, he had brief stints at South Florida (2020), Louisiana (2021), and Maryland (2022).
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