Lane Kiffin expects John David Baker to coach in bowl game after taking ECU OC job

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin has done it again, leading the Rebels to a fourth straight bowl appearance in his fourth season at the helm of the program.

Success in college football comes with coaching turnover, which the Rebels have had to face in numerous offseasons under Kiffin. This year is no different, with tight ends coach and co-offensive coordinator John David Baker accepting the job as East Carolina‘s new offensive coordinator following the regular season.

With that in mind, Kiffin was asked if Baker would be coaching in Ole Miss’ Peach Bowl showdown against Penn State on December 30.

“I do think that he will, we’ve had discussions about that,” Kiffin said. “Very excited for JDB getting that job, and being able to call an offense, and take the next step in his progression in his coaching career and he did a great job here. So we’re really happy for him and trying to work out with them how he can do both jobs and still coach for us in the game.”

Ole Miss has not had any shortage of offense under Kiffin, averaging 34.8 points and 455.6 yards per game in 2023. Which ECU is hoping that Baker can bring with him to Greenville next season.

Baker’s coaching beginnings start as a graduate assistant at Abilene Christian where he spent two seasons before becoming an offensive quality control assistant at North Texas. His first assistant coaching job came through a promotion at USC, becoming their tight ends coach in 2020. He joined Kiffin’s staff in 2021 and yet again got promoted within the organization, leading to him landing the first coordinating job of his career just four years after his first position coaching job at the college level.

Baker may be coaching in the Peach Bowl, but he will not be there for the Rebels next season, with Kiffin also being asked about the next candidate to eventually fill in the vacant spot on his coaching staff.

“So like always, we’ll have a tireless effort to find our players the best coach that we can, we’ve had a lot of turnover here over our four years now here and we’ll just continue to do the best that we can for our players,” Kiffin said.

The Rebels will be hoping to be at full strength from a coaching and roster standpoint when they take on Penn State, facing off with the Nittany Lions at noon ET on December 30 in a Peach Bowl matchup airing on ESPN.