Lane Kiffin's Take: Why This LSU Football Staffer Is Critical To Program's Success

Kiffin and Co. continue working through a pivotal offseason, program's shot-caller evaluates the importance of an offensive staffer.

Courtesy of LSU Athletics.

The LSU Tigers rounded out Spring Camp last weekend in Baton Rouge with the program putting a bow on a five-week stretch of offseason practices.

Lane Kiffin and the Bayou Bengals saw newcomers galore emerge while returning pieces from the 2025 season continue gaining familiarity with the new systen in The Boot.

"I think we have a long ways to go with learning our systems inside and out and making sure that we’re using players in the right spots and not just running our system. Because that’s what our system was in all phases," Kiffin said this week.

But LSU's shot-caller has surrounded himself with a star-studded staff on both sides of the ball - spearheaded by offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. leading the way on that side.

Kiffin and Weis Jr. have a rich history together with their offense in Oxford propelling Ole Miss to its first College Football Playoff appearance a season ago with Trinidad Chambliss at the helm.

Now, it's a new challenge in Baton Rouge with Kiffin and Weis Jr. looking to put their expertise to work - with LSU's decision-maker praising his offensive coordinator this week.

Courtesy of Winnie Watkins via X.

Lane Kiffin's Take: Importance of Charlie Weis Jr.

“Charlie does a great job. Time in relationships is really important. In any relationships, but especially in coaching, as you look at your head coach and the coordinator on your side of the ball. Over time, our dynamics have totally changed. Who’s calling the plays to now he calls them, he runs the meetings, he’s in charge of it. That was a good progression over time to get to that.

"But also because you worked so long together, he doesn’t have to ask things that he had to ask initially. He’s really smart. He picks up on things and just takes it and runs with it.

“I love his story. Guy didn’t play but then just totally invested in the coaching. Yes, he has this great brain and this amazing IQ, but the guy grinds and he works at his game. He still goes into every offseason: How can we do things better? What can we watch? Where can we go visit? I just love that growth mindset because that’s what we want in our building. How do we use him?

"We just continue to always work on it. He goes and does some recruiting, but the last two days we’ve already been in there watching cut-ups from it and what can we do better and what players can we utilize in different areas, re-evaluate the players, re-rank them, and do all those things."

Now, as the offseason unfolds, all eyes are on Weis Jr. and Co. with the offense set to take center stage in 2026.

More LSU News: 

LSU Football True Freshman Defensive Weapon Drawing Immediate Praise From Lane Kiffin

Jay Johnson, LSU Baseball Suffers Brutal Loss in Jake Brown's Season-Ending Injury

LSU Football Beats Out Ohio State Buckeyes, Texas A&M Aggies for No. 5 ATH in America

Join the Community: 

Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers On SI: @LSUTigersSI for all coverage surrounding the LSU Tigers.