Ole Miss Loses Key Assistant Coach Before Semifinal vs. Miami
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As the Ole Miss Rebels prepare for their biggest game in decades, some key staff members unfortunately won't be a part of those plans anymore.
According to Chase Parham of 247Sports and CBS Sports, Ole Miss running backs coach Kevin Smith will not be continuing with the team for the remainder of their College Football Playoff run. He has agreed to join Lane Kiffin at LSU int he same role and is one of several assistants slated to leave over the next couple of days as they prepare for their new jobs in Baton Rouge.
"I’m told running backs coach Kevin Smith won’t return to Ole Miss for rest of playoff run. Charlie Weis is back in Oxford and it’s likely he’s the only one of the main LSU assistants to continue with Rebs in CFP," Parham wrote.
I’m told running backs coach Kevin Smith won’t return to Ole Miss for rest of playoff run. Charlie Weis is back in Oxford and it’s likely he’s the only one of the main LSU assistants to continue with Rebs in CFP.
— Chase Parham (@ChaseParham) January 3, 2026
A frustrating situation
Ole Miss are coming off back-to-back College Football Playoff wins and are five days away from playing against Miami in the Fiesta Bowl for the College Football Playoff semifinals. An upset win over the Hurricanes would put them in the national championship game for the first time in decades.
But while the team has managed to right the ship and beat the likes of Tulane and SEC champion Georgia to start their postseason run, it's only going to get tougher to beat Miami without their top assistants.
Some fans believe that Kiffin and his followers have fumbled their best-ever chance at a national title by leaving at this late stage while others are nervous that Ole Miss is going to struggle:
"See ya! All time fumble by Kiffin and the assistants that chose to follow him!" one user wrote on X.
"Would love @Lane_Kiffin to walk us through how this was going to work with him coaching the team through playoffs now that assistants can’t even stay. I mean we would have planned on making semifinals, right?" another remarked.
"Good riddance, Kevin. I hope he felt the stare down that I gave him in the Marriott lobby post game," wrote a third.
"I don’t know how a coach who leaves like this can ever look a player in the face again with any credibility. You spend your entire life coaching to get to this exact moment and then you just walk out on your guys. If a player left like this we’d all rightfully lose our (expletive)."
"It's a massive human chess game. Letting assts. coach OM thru playoffs wins favor of potential transfers. OM threatens #LSU tampering suit, so Lane pulls back somewhat. Can't report tampering if openly welcoming them. Play in mud, get dirty."
It's a tough situation for Ole Miss but it's arguably a worse situation for Kiffin and his disciples.
If Ole Miss don't win the national championship, everyone is going to blame their departure for botching the team's best-ever chance of winning a championship. But if the Rebels do win it all, those same people will point and laugh at them forever for leaving a national championship team behind in pursuit of slightly more money.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Jan 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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