$2.5 million coach shuts down NFL rumors after leaving major college football program

A college football coach has put an end to talks of him taking a job in the NFL amid the 2026 coaching carousel.

Sep 21, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. watches during warm ups prior to the game against the Georgia Southern Eagles at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The 2026 college football coaching carousel officially came to a halt in December after an abnormally busy cycle. Michigan's decision to hire Kyle Whittingham as its next head coach on Dec. 26, 2025, filled the last FBS vacancy in college football.

While no more vacancies exist across college football, the NFL coach carousel has begun following the conclusion of its regular season. Five different head coaching jobs are open across the NFL: Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals.

Head coaches making a jump from college football to the NFL is rare in both occurrence and success. Leaping from a coordinator role in college directly to an NFL head coach is next to unheard of.

Current Ole Miss and future LSU offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. had been linked to the head coaching vacancy with the Giants. Steve Samra of The Bengal Tiger reported that Weis had shut down any plans to head to the NFL after his decision to head to LSU.

Oddly, Weis is not the only coach in the college ranks to be connected with the Giants' head coaching vacancy. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was considered a prime candidate for the position before he shut down any rumors of a departure.

Weis began his college coaching career as an assistant to his father, Charlie Weis Sr. He worked as an offensive quality control coach at Florida in 2011 and served as a team manager during his father's tenure at Kansas.

Kansas Jayhawks head coach Charlie Weis reacts against the Texas Longhorns | Brendan Maloney-Imagn Images

After following his father for a few seasons, Weis worked under Nick Saban as an offensive assistant at Alabama for two seasons. He worked alongside current Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, whom he followed to the Atlanta Falcons for the 2017 season.

His first job as an offensive coordinator was alongside another former Alabama coworker in Lane Kiffin. Florida Atlantic hired Kiffin as its head coach in 2017, and Kiffin hired Weis to replace the outgoing Kendal Briles the following season.

When Kiffin left Florida Atlantic for Ole Miss in the 2020 offseason, Weis did not follow. He spent two seasons on Jeff Scott's staff at South Florida before rejoining Kiffin in 2022 in Oxford.

Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin (right) talks with offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Weis is one of several offensive assistants who are following Kiffin to LSU for the 2026 season. He has been hired to three-year deal that pays him $2.5 million annually. Unlike the rest of the assistants Kiffin hired away from Ole Miss, Weis is still allowed to coach in the Rebels' College Football Playoff run.

No. 6 Ole Miss (13-1, 7-1) will face No. 10 Miami (12-2, 6-2) in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl as a part of the College Football Playoff semifinals on Thursday (7:30 p.m. EST, ESPN).