SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. flew to Arizona with No. 6 Ole Miss on Tuesday night, Rebels’ offensive assistant Joe Judge said, confirming the playcaller on loan from Lane Kiffin’s LSU staff is available to coach his former Rebels team against No. 10 Miami in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on Thursday.
«Charlie’s in the hotel right now watching our practice tape with the staff,» Judge said at the Fiesta Bowl’s media day with select coaches and players. «And look, I’ll tell you what, Charlie’s gone back and forth several times.
«In fact, 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.»
There was uncertainty over which coaches joining Kiffin at LSU would continue coaching the Rebels in the College Football Playoff. Running backs coach Kevin Smith is also expected to continue to coach the Rebels after being hired by LSU, sources told ESPN.
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Both have received permission from LSU’s administration to continue helping the Rebels in the national championship game if they beat Miami in what will be the biggest game in the program’s history.
Weis Jr. was not available to reporters Tuesday.
«You know, it’s been a different process for all of us, but we all work together very well, and Charlie’s done a terrific job through this entire process,» Judge said. «I can’t say enough about Charlie in terms of who he is as person, what he’s doing as a coach. And this is a challenge many people haven’t had to have had.»
Judge declined to get into specifics of what staff members from LSU made the trip to help Ole Miss, deferring those questions to head coach Pete Golding. Both Golding and Miami coach Mario Cristobal will address the media Wednesday morning.
Judge said that before anyone on the staff knew which assistants would come back, they put a plan into place of who would work with which position groups and «how we’re going to handle the things we did throughout the season.»
«It’s about the players,» Judge said. «We’ve got to give them the information, we’ve got to give them position, but we’ve got Charlie here to call plays, and other than that, the players are ready to go.»
Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss said none of the players or staff members have been affected by any distractions.
«It’s been a little weird at times, just because they’ve been back and forth, but they’ve handled it great,» Chambliss said of the assistant coaches. «Our coaches have been locked in, and props to them. That’s kind of difficult to do, being a coach at one school, but also having obligations at another, and they’ve done a great job of juggling that, and they’ve put all their focus on this game.»
