Ole Miss announces John Garrison as Rebels’ new offensive line coach, run-game coordinator
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss has found its man to help continue to build the Rebels’ offensive game in the trenches and coordinate the ground game, announcing Sunday the hiring of former North Carolina State offensive line coach John Garrison as the newest to join head coach Lane Kiffin’s staff.
Garrison will also serve as the offensive line coach and run game coordinator.
“John is one of the top coaches in the country. We are always in pursuit to give our student-athletes the best in all areas, as we take the next step forward with our program here at Ole Miss.”
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin on John Garrison
Former o-line coach Jake Thornton left recently to take the same position at Auburn.
A star Cornhusker
In 2001, Garrison moved into the lineup as the starting center for the Cornhuskers, helping Nebraska to an appearance in the BCS National Championship Game, while quarterback Eric Crouch won the Heisman Trophy.
In his senior season, Garrison was elected by his teammates as one of three co-captains.
Success at NC State
Garrison has a strong track record of developing offensive linemen and is elite on the recruiting trail.
He arrives in Oxford after four seasons at NC State, where in just the last two seasons with the Wolfpack, Garrison has produced three all ACC-linemen.
In 2022, Garrison’s offensive line featured two All-ACC selections in Grant Gibson and Chandler Zavala. Gibson recorded 38 pancake blocks in 10 games this season and allowed just two sacks in 643 total snaps while anchoring the Pack offensive line. Zavala registered 31 pancake blocks and allowed just 0.5 sacks in 747 snaps this season.
From 2019 until 2021, Garrison coached and trained of the most successful offensive linemen in NC State history, Ikem Ekwonu, the first offensive player taken in the 2022 NFL Draft who was picked sixth overall by the Carolina Panthers.
Under Garrison’s tutelage this past season, the Wolfpack offensive line only allowed 26 sacks even after losing some veterans during the offseason and a starting left guard midseason to injury.
Reunited with Lane Kiffin
Garrison already has ties to Lane Kiffin, as the Blue Springs, Missouri native coached with the Rebels’ head coach at FAU during the 2018 season. He doubled as the offensive line and run-game coordinator for the Owls and will reprise that role in Oxford.
While at FAU, his Owls ranked 14th in sacks allowed, only giving up 1.17 per game. FAU owned one of the top rush offenses that season, averaging 241.8 ypg.
Coaching history
Garrison began his collegiate coaching career in 2008 at his alma mater, Nebraska.
He served as intern in 2008, and by 2011 Garrison was moved to assistant offensive line and tight ends coach. He spent his last season with the Cornhuskers from 2013-2014 as the offensive line coach.
In 2015, Garrison was hired at UNLV as the run-game coordinator and offensive line coach. During the 2017 season, his offensive line set a UNLV record for fewest quarterback sacks allowed — which put the Rebels finishing 15th in the nation in rushing offense.
Proven excellence
Garrison, who has a proven track record as a former player, leader, and coach, graduated from Nebraska with a degree in secondary education in 2003. He and his wife, Jamie, have four children: Lilly, Jack, Valerie and Beau.
Welcome To The ‘Sip, Coach Garrison!
Hotty Toddy!
(Feature image graphic: Lee Ann Herring, The Rebel Walk)
Lee Ann Herring-Olvedo
Lee Ann serves as the Director of Recruiting for The Rebel Walk. She sees college football the way championship programs do—from inside the personnel room. Every evaluation, every roster move, every recruiting battle tells a bigger story about identity, culture, and how a program is built to win in December, not just July.
With more than 15 years covering the SEC and the national recruiting landscape, Herring-Olvedo has built a reputation as one of the sport’s most respected personnel-driven voices—blending film evaluation, roster construction, and long-term program vision through a true front-office lens. Her coverage of powerhouse brands like Ole Miss Rebels and Kentucky Wildcatshas consistently gone beyond headlines, focusing instead on the blueprint behind winning programs: development, fit, culture, and recruiting strategy.
That foundation was formed early at Brown University, where she worked in player personnel and recruiting while competing as a student-athlete. Inside those recruiting operations rooms, she learned how elite organizations are truly built—through relentless evaluation, relationship building, projection, and trust in the board. Those experiences shaped the way she studies the game today: part scout, part storyteller, part architect.
Her analysis and reporting have appeared across major platforms including ESPN, NFL coverage spaces, USA Today Sports, and Saturday Down South. She also brought her personnel-minded approach to the airwaves as an on-air analyst for the Wake Up 502 College Football Show on Big X Sports Radio 96.1, where she became known for combining film-room detail with a wider understanding of roster identity and program trajectory.
In 2025, covering the rise of Houston Cougars football under Willie Fritz reignited the part of the sport that first drew her into football—the culture, the edge, the belief that a roster can reshape an entire city. That inspiration led to the launch of Coogs 365 Sports, a platform built to cover Houston athletics through a true scouting and recruiting lens while connecting the emotion of the game to the heartbeat of H-Town.
Now, Herring-Olvedo returns to The Rebel Walk where with an even deeper perspective shaped by years inside recruiting circles, national SEC coverage, and hands-on evaluation experience. Her return brings a familiar voice back to Ole Miss coverage—but with an evolved lens rooted in roster architecture, player development, and the modern realities of building championship-caliber football in the NIL and portal era.
For Herring-Olvedo, recruiting has never been about stars beside a name. It is about identifying competitors, projecting growth, and building a locker room capable of sustaining success. Her philosophy mirrors the best front offices in football: stack traits, trust culture, and never stop building.
