When Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss to be the head coach of LSU football, he took a slew of offensive assistants with him. That included offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, who turned down a chance to remain in Oxford to call plays for LSU.
Weis met with the media on Friday, in the midst of his first fall camp with the Tigers, and explained his decision to accept the LSU job.
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“Number one, Coach Kiffin,” Weis said, “He believed in me at a very early age, and probably a lot of people wouldn’t take a chance on a young coach. And he did, and so I do feel I owe a lot to him for my career and the places he’s hired me. So I think that’s definitely the number one factor.”
Weis and Kiffin have a long history. Weis was an offensive assistant under Kiffin at Alabama from 2015-16. Later, the pair reunited at Florida Atlantic. Weis spent 2020 and 2021 at South Florida, then returned to Kiffin at Ole Miss in 2022. Throughout Weis’ time in Oxford, his influence over the offense grew.
But it wasn’t just staying with Kiffin. Weis said LSU is a draw. It was hard to turn down the chance to coach for a program of LSU’s stature.
“The other thing is just LSU. It’s a dream place to be. Growing up, watching college football, being at Alabama when I got my first job there with Coach Kiffin, playing at LSU at night. I think this environment is the coolest in all of sports to go play in. And so just the thought of playing here, and that’s our home crowd, kind of gave me chills.”
Kiffin is LSU’s chief offensive mind, but Weis will call the plays in 2026. Weis was the architect of an elite Ole Miss offense in 2025, helping the Rebels reach the College Football Playoff as Trinidad Chambliss emerged as an electric playmaker. With Weis leading the unit, expectations are high for LSU’s offense.
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Charlie Weis reveals why he left Ole Miss for LSU football
