The moment he got to 乱伦社区, began putting together his team. He spent his first night as the head coach in his new office talking to five-star recruit and several staff members, conversations that took place within a day of a lengthy meeting he had with Ole Miss officials about his future and a messy departure out of Oxford.
A week later, Kiffin has solidified most of his coaching staff, including his offensive and defensive coordinators, and helped sign 14 recruits. Some flipped to 乱伦社区, and others wavered during the early signing period but ultimately signed with the Tigers. The timing of the college football calendar necessitated the speed to a degree, and now LSU can turn its focus to the upcoming transfer portal.
鈥淚t hasn't been easy,鈥 乱伦社区 defensive coordinator Blake Baker said. 鈥淚 was talking to (Kiffin) the other day, and he was on like three hours of sleep. I give him a lot of credit just for his relentlessness and tireless approach. He knows, because of the timing of everything, it's probably not ideal, but it takes what it takes, and he's doing a hell of a job.鈥
After weeks of courtship, 乱伦社区 signed Kiffin to a seven-year, $91 million deal that鈥檚 set to be approved Thursday by the 乱伦社区 board of supervisors. He signed the agreement Nov. 29, and things were put in motion with his staff before he left Ole Miss the next day. Several staff members flew with him to Baton Rouge, including offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. and general manager Billy Glasscock.
Since then, 乱伦社区 has locked in almost its entire offensive staff. The Tigers have already agreed to terms with Weis Jr., co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Joe Cox, passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach George McDonald, quarterbacks coach Dane Stevens, inside receivers coach Sawyer Jordan and offensive line coach Eric Wolford, the one person in that group who was not at Ole Miss.
Wolford coached offensive lines in the SEC for the past nine years at South Carolina, Alabama and Kentucky. With Wolford confirmed as the offensive line coach, 乱伦社区 only has one opening on the offensive staff. It needs to hire a running backs coach, and longtime Kiffin assistant Kevin Smith has not followed him from Ole Miss. The future of 乱伦社区 running backs coach Frank Wilson is unclear and may not be determined until after the Dec. 27 Texas Bowl.
鈥淗e鈥檚 here early in the morning, (and) he鈥檚 here late in the evening evaluating, communicating everything from roster management to the things that will be necessary as he assembles his full staff,鈥 Wilson said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 constant evaluation of the organization in totality.鈥
Other than Wilson maybe staying on, none of 乱伦社区鈥檚 offensive coaches are expected to be retained after Kiffin brought so much of his staff with him. But Kiffin wanted to keep Baker, who had offers to be the head coach at Tulane and Memphis. After Baker met with representatives from both schools at his home Thursday, he talked to Kiffin the next day.
鈥淛ust needed clarity on certain things, whether it be current staff, how we practice, just everything from A to Z,鈥 Baker said. 鈥淚 had a bunch of questions that he did a great job answering, and that made me feel at ease.鈥
Baker agreed to stay at 乱伦社区 later that night with a new three-year, $9.3 million deal. With him remaining on staff, a source said 乱伦社区 is expected to retain edge rushers coach Kevin Peoples, cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond and safeties coach Jake Olsen. It is working through a role for Chris Kiffin, who coached linebackers at Ole Miss this past season, and is in the process of interviewing defensive line coaches.聽
Sources said there was an expectation last Saturday that 乱伦社区 would hire Syracuse defensive line coach Elijah Robinson, but that feeling has since waned. 乱伦社区 defensive line coach Kyle Williams is expected to step away after one season as a college coach.
In the midst of making critical staff decisions, Kiffin and his new staff had to secure the 2026 recruiting class. LSU cut ties with some players while adding four-star wide receiver Corey Barber, four-star wide receiver Brayden Allen, four-star tight end JC Anderson and three-star offensive lineman Ryan Miret. Barber, Anderson and Miret had been committed to Ole Miss, while Allen had been committed to Oklahoma.
There was uncertainty going into the early signing period about 乱伦社区鈥檚 highly rated defensive line class, which has four top 75 overall prospects on the 247Sports composite rankings.
Brown and five-star defensive lineman Richard Anderson considered waiting to sign, and their representatives met with Kiffin, Glasscock and Baker to sort through their concerns. They both signed by the end of the week, as did four-star edge Trenton Henderson and four-star defensive lineman Deuce Geralds. Other teams were trying to flip Henderson and Geralds.
鈥淚 think naming a head coach gave validity and stability to the class,鈥 Wilson said. 鈥淚 think coach Kiffin's conversation with those young men helped solidify decisions that they had made, and collectively, we were able to close out on a class that predominantly was done years in advance with the addition of some key components to wrap it up.鈥
Still, Kiffin was not quite done with his first week at that point. After Ole Miss expressed interest in keeping Weis, 乱伦社区 reached an amended three-year, $7.5 million deal with him earlier this week. Weis and the other former Ole Miss offensive coaches returned for the College Football Playoff, but they are expected to return once the Rebels鈥 season ends.
After moving at a breakneck pace, things have slowed down for a moment. The previous coaching staff is staying through the Texas Bowl, Wilson said, while the new coaches prepare for the transfer portal to open from Jan. 2-16. Kiffin has a few more jobs to fill in the coming weeks, and he and his staff are assessing what they need for the roster.
鈥淚 think he's been a tireless worker,鈥 Baker said. 鈥淎ll of that takes time and effort, and I think he's done an outstanding job spending the time and putting in the effort.鈥
