If you’ve walked near Death Valley lately, the air feels different. It’s louder, flashier, and honestly, a little more chaotic. That’s because the answer to who coaches LSU football isn't Brian Kelly anymore. That era ended in a whirlwind of buyout checks and "what-ifs."
Right now, Lane Kiffin is the man wearing the purple and gold headset.
It’s been a wild ride getting here. Just a few months ago, the idea of Kiffin leaving his "Portal King" throne at Ole Miss for Baton Rouge seemed like typical message board fodder. But after Kelly’s 2025 season spiraled into a 5-3 start that felt like a slow-motion car crash, LSU Athletic Director Scott Woodward did what he does best: he swung for the fences. He paid a staggering $52 million buyout to show Kelly the door and backed up the Brinks truck for Lane.
The New Regime: Who is on the LSU Coaching Staff?
Kiffin didn't come alone. He basically treated the Oxford-to-Baton Rouge flight like a moving van. If you’re looking at the sideline this Saturday, you’re going to see a lot of faces that were beating the Tigers just a year ago.
The Offensive Brain Trust
Kiffin is still the primary architect of the offense, but Charlie Weis Jr. is the official Offensive Coordinator. They’ve been attached at the hip for years. Weis Jr. brings that NFL-style complexity that mixes perfectly with Kiffin's "score in 12 seconds" philosophy.
They also brought over Kevin Smith as Associate Head Coach and Running Backs coach. If you followed Ole Miss at all, you know Smith is a monster on the recruiting trail. He’s already hitting the pavement in New Orleans, trying to keep the local talent from heading to Alabama or Georgia.
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The Defensive Mix
This is where it gets interesting. Kiffin didn't fire everyone. He kept Blake Baker as the Defensive Coordinator. Keeping Baker was a massive win for continuity because the players actually like him, and his "Havoc" style defense fits the LSU brand.
However, Kiffin added his brother, Chris Kiffin, as Co-Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers coach. It's a bit of a "too many cooks" situation on paper, but in practice, Chris brings heavy NFL experience that should help a secondary that—let's be real—has been struggling for a few years now.
Why Brian Kelly is Gone (The $52 Million Question)
People keep asking why LSU would fire a guy with a winning record. Honestly, it’s about the "LSU Standard."
Under Brian Kelly, the Tigers were good. They won 10 games, they had a Heisman winner in Jayden Daniels, and they were always "around" the conversation. But "around" doesn't cut it in the 2020s SEC. The final straw was a 49-25 blowout loss to Texas A&M in late October 2025.
LSU fans were tired of being the team that beat the unranked schools but folded against the Top 10. There was a sense that the program had a ceiling. Kelly’s "fake" southern accent was a joke at first, but when the losses piled up, the culture fit became a genuine problem. Woodward decided that paying 90% of Kelly's remaining $100 million contract was a better investment than another three-loss season.
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What the 2026 LSU Coaching Staff Looks Like
If you’re keeping score at home, here is the current hierarchy for the Tigers. It’s a mix of Kiffin’s Ole Miss inner circle and some strategic retentions from the previous staff.
- Head Coach: Lane Kiffin
- Offensive Coordinator: Charlie Weis Jr.
- Defensive Coordinator: Blake Baker
- Co-Defensive Coordinator/LBs: Chris Kiffin
- Associate Head Coach/RBs: Kevin Smith
- Special Teams Coordinator: Joe Houston
- Co-Offensive Coordinator/TEs: Joe Cox
- Passing Game Coordinator/WRs: George McDonald
- Offensive Line: Eric Wolford
- Secondary: Corey Raymond (The "DBU" architect is still there!)
Seeing Corey Raymond stay on staff is probably the biggest relief for fans. You can’t have LSU football without the guy who built the "DBU" reputation. Kiffin was smart enough to realize that some things shouldn't be messed with.
The "Kiffin Effect" on Recruiting and the Portal
We have to talk about the transfer portal. Kiffin is basically the CEO of the portal. Within weeks of taking the job, he flipped the script on the 2026 roster.
The biggest splash? Landing Sam Leavitt, the former Arizona State quarterback who was the #1 rated QB in the portal. In the old days, you’d wait three years for a high school recruit to develop. Kiffin doesn't have that kind of patience. He wants to win now, and he’s using LSU’s massive NIL collective to make sure he has the best roster money can legally buy.
Is This Actually Going to Work?
There are two ways this goes.
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- The Dream Scenario: Kiffin’s high-octane offense pairs with Blake Baker’s aggressive defense to create a juggernaut. LSU returns to the College Football Playoff in 2026 and Kiffin becomes a legend in Baton Rouge, probably getting a statue before he even wins a title.
- The Reality Check: The SEC is a meat grinder. Kiffin has always been great at winning 9 or 10 games, but can he beat Kirby Smart or Steve Sarkisian when it actually matters? Some critics think Kiffin is more "show" than "substance," and that the distractions he brings—the tweets, the sideline antics, the portal drama—might eventually wear thin if the wins don't come.
But for now? The energy is electric. The spring game is already sold out. Whether you love him or hate him, you can’t look away.
What This Means for You as a Fan
If you're trying to keep up with who coaches LSU football, your best bet is to follow the official LSU Sports staff directory. Coaching staffs in the SEC change faster than the weather in south Louisiana. With the "mitigation clauses" in Kelly's contract, you'll also likely see his name in the news as he looks for his next gig to lower that buyout LSU owes him.
Keep an eye on the Wednesday press conferences. That's where Kiffin usually drops the most interesting nuggets—or at least says something that'll trend on Twitter for the next 48 hours. The era of corporate, buttoned-up LSU football is over. The Lane Train has arrived, and it doesn't look like it's slowing down anytime soon.
Actionable Next Steps for LSU Fans:
- Check the updated 2026 roster to see which Ole Miss transfers followed the staff.
- Monitor the "STAR" linebacker position in Blake Baker's defense; it's the key to his scheme.
- Look for any changes in the recruiting rankings for the "Boot" (Louisiana), as Kevin Smith is now the primary point man for local talent.
The landscape of college football moves fast. One day you're the winningest coach in Notre Dame history, and the next, you're a $52 million footnote in Baton Rouge history. That's the price of doing business in the SEC. For LSU, the bet is that Lane Kiffin's personality and portal prowess are exactly what's needed to bridge the gap between "ranked" and "champion."