The LSU football coaching staff is finally complete. After a long, circuitous, and at times embarrassing search, the Tigers landed on Minnesota Viking defensive backs coach Daronte Jones as defensive coordinator. Jones has Louisiana ties with coaching stops at Franklin High School and Jeanerette High School as defensive coordinator, and he also coached safeties at Nicholls St. I won’t pretend to be even somewhat familiar with Jones, but there is a common thread amongst the comments of coaches that he has worked with; he’s an excellent communicator. That is very encouraging after watching a defense that never quite got on the same page last year. To round out the defensive staff Coach O went with Miami defensive coordinator Blake Baker as linebackers coach, and New York Jets defensive line coach Andre Carter to serve the same role at LSU. The offensive coaching search went much smoother than defense, as LSU hired Carolina Panthers’ QB coach, Jake Peetz, as offensive coordinator. The Tigers brought DJ Mangus back to Baton Rouge as the passing game coordinator. He was Joe Brady’s assistant at LSU in 2019 when Brady was the passing game coordinator. Both hires came highly recommended by Joe Brady, whose stock continues to soar as he’s in the running for several NFL head coaching jobs. My biggest takeaway from LSU’s collection of coaching talent is the youth of the group. At 53, Bo Pelini isn’t exactly elderly, but he had no desire to recruit, and he obviously wasn’t getting through to his unit. Steve Ensminger brought significant knowledge and a selfless attitude to the staff, but he’s been coaching since WWII. It was time for him to go. At the elite level of college football there isn’t room for “good enough” on your coaching staff. Your shot callers have to be on the cutting edge when scheming, motivating, game planning, and recruiting. Now that we have new coaches, I’m ready to talk about how the hell we got to this point.

What Went Wrong

LSU never put 2019 behind them. Staff, players, and media alike thought LSU could lose 30 players, two elite coordinators, and stroll right into 2020 with a top 10 team. Unfortunately, I bought into it, too. Coach Orgeron spent valuable time on news outlets yelling “Geaux Tigers!” while the actual Tigers were geauxing on a campus march to raise awareness for social injustice without him. Nick Saban led his players’ march in Tuscaloosa, and Ed Orgeron didn’t know his players were marching. These things matter when building trust within your program. Trust can be the difference between a player opting out or sticking with the team. The personnel losses, the off the field disconnect, and Covid taking away spring football created a perfect storm resulting in downright dreadful football.

What Went Right

At times, watching LSU was like signing up for 3 hour torture sessions, but along the way we had some bright spots. Myles Brennan looked ready and capable to be a winning SEC quarterback before his injury. TJ Finley displayed elite size and arm strength, although with somewhat inconsistent play. Max Johnson simply did everything he was asked to do when given the opportunity to do so. Kayshon Boutte is a star in the making. LSU loses only two starters on defense, and bring back to best starting tandem of corners in the country in Derek Stingley and Eli Ricks. Bear with me on my next point: sometimes it’s good to be bad. The Fighting Bayou Bengals were so bad they left Orgeron no choice but to make coaching changes. If the Tigers went 7-3 instead of 5-5, he might have been tempted to bring Ensminger back. Maybe Pelini comes back if the defense wasn’t the worst LSU defense in history. 2020 was so bad it put Orgeron squarely on the hot seat one year after a championship season, and left no doubt that his off season decisions will decide his fate as LSU’s head coach.

What Now?

LSU has a new, energetic coaching staff with far more returning players than usual. They currently hold the 4th best recruiting class of 2021 according to the 247 composite rankings, with a chance to add 3 more players to the class as early as Wednesday. Spring football is back this year. With UCLA as the Power 5 non-conference opponent and personnel losses at Florida, Auburn, and Texas A&M, the schedule looks relatively manageable. There’s no reason LSU can’t be nationally relevant again in 2021. As we learned in 2020, we can’t take that for granted. GEAUX TIGERS!