LSU Hire: Lane Kiffin reunites with longtime assistant Kevin Smith

LSU Football head coach Lane Kiffin has added another Ole Miss assistant from his staff in Oxford – and it’s a notable addition.

Ole Miss running backs coach Kevin Smith is expected be join Kiffin’s staff in Baton Rouge as LSU’s new running backs coach, sources tell The Bengal Tiger and On3.

Smith arrived in Baton Rouge on Sunday, where he was joined by other Ole Miss staffers. LSU released a video of the group arriving at the Football Operations Building.

Smith joins a handful of other Ole Miss coaches from the team’s high-powered offense to follow Kiffin to LSU.

The Tigers also hired Charlie Weiss Jr. as Offensive Coordinator, Joe Cox as Tight Ends Coach/Co-Offensive Coordinator, Dane Stevens as Quarterbacks Coach, George McDonald as Passing Game Coordinator, and Sawyer Jordan as Inside Wide Receivers Coach.

All the aforementioned came from Kiffin’s staff in Oxford, while offensive line coach Eric Wolford was hired by LSU after SEC stops at Alabama and Kentucky.

Smith is reported to have a salary of close to $1 million, which would make him one of the highest-paid running backs coaches in the country. He is the sixth Ole Miss assistant to follow Kiffin to Baton Rouge.

Smith has proven his ability with big names at Ole Miss

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It’s a position that is down to a pair of scholarship players following Ju’Juan Johnson’s decision to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal – which gives the Tigers only rising junior Caden Durham and rising sophomore Harlem Berry.

While in Oxford, Smith has developed running backs Quinshon Judkins and Kewan Lacy, among others.

During Smith’s time coaching Judkins at Ole Miss, the current NFL running back put together back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons before transferring to Ohio State to close out his collegiate career.

This season, as Ole Miss moves on in the CFB Playoff following a blowout win over Tulane on Saturday, the star has been Lacy – who rushed for 21 touchdowns this season on an average of five yards per carry.

Smith, in his third year back as the running backs coach at Ole Miss, worked under Kiffin as his running backs coach during his time as head coach at Florida Atlantic. After three seasons, Kiffin made the move to Oxford to take the Ole Miss head coaching job, and Smith was on his first coaching staff.

Smith stayed for Kiffin’s first two seasons, then accepted the running backs coaching position at Miami – his hometown.

After one season, Smith chose to return to Ole Miss in 2023, and he’s remained with Kiffin since.

Smith will replace LSU interim head coach and running backs coach Frank Wilson, who is closing out his second stint on staff with a Texas Bowl matchup against Houston on December 27.

From there, Wilson will head to Oxford to join new head coach Pete Golding’s staff – and, in turn, replace Smith as the team’s running backs coach.