That picture came into sharper focus Monday as LSU officially announced a major expansion of Kiffin’s inaugural coaching staff. The Tigers added 11 new assistants, highlighted by the hiring of Chris Kiffin, Lane Kiffin’s younger brother, as linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator alongside Blake Baker. The move not only settles weeks of speculation surrounding LSU’s defensive leadership structure but also reunites one of college football’s most recognizable coaching families in Baton Rouge.

Who is LSU Co-Defensive Coordinator Chris Kiffin?

At 43 years old, Chris Kiffin arrives in Baton Rouge with two decades of coaching experience across college football and the NFL. A Colorado State graduate, Kiffin began his career in 2005 at Idaho as a coaching assistant before steadily climbing the ranks on the defensive side of the ball.

His record includes stops at Ole Miss, Nebraska, USC, and Arkansas State, along with six seasons in the NFL, where he worked as a pass-rush specialist with the San Francisco 49ers, defensive line coach with the Cleveland Browns, and linebackers coach with the Houston Texans. Most recently, Kiffin returned to Ole Miss in 2024 as a defensive analyst before making the move to LSU.

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At LSU, Kiffin will coach the linebackers while sharing play-calling and schematic duties with Baker, creating a dual-leadership structure aimed at stabilizing and modernizing the Tigers’ defense.

Chris Kiffin Family

Chris Kiffin is the son of legendary defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin and the younger brother of LSU head coach Lane Kiffin. Growing up in one of football’s most recognizable households, both brothers were immersed early in the sport’s strategic and recruiting demands.

Despite their shared path, Chris has openly acknowledged the challenges of growing up in Lane’s shadow.

“There was a time in my life where I had a little bit of jealousy,” Chris said in an old interview.

Chris is married to Angela Kiffin, a former all-conference point guard at Creighton who later coached basketball at Nebraska. The couple has four children—three daughters, Bella, Grace, and Taylor, and a son, Christian. Angela has often joked that football is unavoidable in the Kiffin family.

“Five minutes after I met them all, I understood,” Angela said.

Chris Kiffin’s coaching career

Kiffin’s coaching journey began as a student assistant at Idaho before he gained NFL exposure as a quality control intern with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under Jon Gruden. That experience led to a defensive quality control role at Nebraska in 2008.

His first full-time collegiate position came at USC in 2010, followed by a standout stint at Arkansas State, where his defensive line helped produce a top-25 national defense. Kiffin then spent five impactful seasons at Ole Miss (2012–2016) as defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator, helping elevate the Rebels into the SEC spotlight and contributing to a top-five recruiting class.

Reuniting With Lane Kiffin

This marks the fourth time Chris and Lane Kiffin will work together, and the first since 2017 in a full coaching capacity.

In 2017, he left USC to become Lane’s DC at Florida Atlantic. It was a breakout season for Lane’s coaching career. The Kiffins inherited a 3-9 team, and led them to an 11-3 season and to the Conference USA championship.

They worked together at Ole Miss for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, but Chris served in the defensive analyst role. This will be the first time Chris has been in the coaching role under Lane since 2017.