Charlie Weis Jr. is doing something no coordinator has ever attempted in College Football Playoff history.
The 32-year-old is calling plays for No. 6 Ole Miss in Thursday’s Fiesta Bowl semifinal against No. 10 Miami while technically employed as LSU’s offensive coordinator, commuting between campuses, scripting plays at 30,000 feet, and conducting position meetings over FaceTime.
Ole Miss OC Charlie Weis Jr.’s FaceTime-and-Flight Workflow for the Fiesta Bowl
And what a month it has been.
In a world where unprecedented activities are the new norm, college football’s circus that is the coaching carousel, recruiting windows, transfer portal opening and closing, and NFL Draft declarations all happening within a month-long timeframe before we even crown a National Champion is truly staggering to fathom how these coaches manage.
And then there’s Charlie Weis Jr., who is doing this for two programs while being one of just four offensive coordinators to actively have to continue game-planning live games. If Ole Miss pulls this off and LSU pulls in a highly-ranked portal class, expect Weis to be the hottest ticket for a head coach gig next fall.
The logistics border on absurd. According to ESPN, Weis flew from Oxford to Baton Rouge on Monday for LSU transfer portal visits — including former four-star quarterback Sam Leavitt — then caught a red-eye back to Mississippi that same night.
On Tuesday, he boarded the team charter to Scottsdale for the biggest game in Ole Miss program history. Quarterbacks coach Joe Judge laid out exactly how this has worked at Fiesta Bowl media day.
“Charlie’s in the hotel right now watching our practice tape with the staff,” Judge said Tuesday.
“He had to fly down after practice yesterday and come back last night because they’ve got portal visits going on as well, so scripting on the plane and having phone calls and talking about notes from practice and making corrections through FaceTime.”
Judge, who previously worked under Bill Belichick in New England, put Weis’s juggling act into perspective with a jarring comparison: “My next-door neighbor was Aaron Hernandez. This is still more chaotic.”
The numbers speak to Weis’s effectiveness under these conditions. Ole Miss ranks second nationally in total offense (496.2 yards per game) and is averaging 40 points per game through two CFP victories. The Rebels have scored at least 30 points in eight consecutive games — the nation’s longest active streak and a school record.
What LSU Is Getting, and What Ole Miss Is Losing
Weis signed a three-year, $6 million contract with LSU, making him one of the highest-paid offensive coordinators in the country. His annual salary starts at $1.9 million and escalates over the life of the deal.
The arrangement exists only because Lane Kiffin, now LSU’s head coach, allowed it. Kiffin released a statement supporting Weis’s return to Ole Miss for the playoff run, calling it an opportunity for “the greatest team in the history of Ole Miss” to compete for a championship.
MORE: Lane Kiffin Lands 2,133-YD Transfer Portal WR for Charlie Weis Jr.’s Offense
Still, not everyone followed Weis back. Co-offensive coordinator Joe Cox and receivers coach George McDonald, both now under contract with LSU, will not be on the sideline Thursday night.
Running backs coach Kevin Smith is the only other LSU-bound assistant confirmed to coach in the semifinal.
Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter has publicly praised Weis’s balancing act.
“Charlie has been awesome, juggling two high-profile jobs,” Carter told ESPN. “He’s been incredible. We have no complaints.”
Head coach Pete Golding has been less inclined to discuss the assistant shuffle, keeping his focus squarely on execution.
When asked about staff availability earlier this week, Golding offered a measured response: “It would not be any reason for success or lack of success within this game. The playcallers haven’t changed, the players know what to do.”
Now, the Rebels need one more vintage Weis game plan to reach the national championship. Fortunately for Ole Miss fans, the man calling plays has delivered a masterclass in multitasking to get them here.
The Fiesta Bowl kicks off Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.