Chris Kiffin

Chris Kiffin (born January 19, 1982) is an American football coach. He is currently the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for LSU. He served as an assistant coach for the Houston Texans, Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He also coached at Florida Atlantic, Ole Miss, Arkansas State, USC, Nebraska, and Idaho.

Coaching career Idaho In 2005, Kiffin started his coaching career at Idaho as a coaching assistant. In 2006, Kiffin was hired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an offseason quality control intern under head coach Jon Gruden.

Nebraska In 2008, Kiffin was hired as a defensive quality control coach at Nebraska.

USC In 2010, Kiffin was hired as a defensive assistant at USC.

Arkansas State In 2011, Kiffin was hired as a defensive line coach at Arkansas State.

Ole Miss In 2012, Kiffin was hired as a defensive line coach at Ole Miss. He left in 2017 to join his brother.

Florida Atlantic In 2017, Kiffin was hired by his brother, Lane, at Florida Atlantic as a defensive coordinator in 2016. After a 1-3 start, FAU won its final 10 games, allowing 24 or fewer points in each of its final six games.

Kiffin's defense included junior linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair and defensive backs Jalen Young and Shelton Lewis, both of whom were chosen First Team All-Conference USA.

San Francisco 49ers In 2018, Kiffin was hired by the San Francisco 49ers as their pass rush specialist coach under head coach Kyle Shanahan.

Cleveland Browns On February 13, 2020, Kiffin was hired by the Cleveland Browns as their defensive line coach under head coach Kevin Stefanski. After the 2021 season, Kiffin left the Browns coaching staff to join the coaching staff at Ole Miss. However, on February 10, 2022, Kiffin left Ole Miss returning to the Browns as a defensive line coach.

Houston Texans On February 14, 2023, Kiffin left the Cleveland Browns to become a linebackers coach with the Houston Texans. Kiffin was fired a year later and replaced by Billy Davis.

Ole Miss On August 25, 2024, Kiffin joined the Ole Miss coaching staff as an analyst. In 2025, he became the defensive line coach and the recruiting coordinator of the defense.

LSU On December 22, 2025, Kiffin was announced as the Co-Defensive coordinator and Linebackers coach for LSU.

Personal life Chris Kiffin is the son of longtime National Football League defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin and his older brother is the LSU Tigers football head coach Lane. Chris and his wife, Angela, have four children: daughters, Bella, Grace and Taylor, and a son, Christian. A native of Tampa, Florida, Chris played defensive tackle for Colorado State University.