Brian Kelly details history of integrating coordinators into his system
LSU will look different both on and off the field this upcoming college football season with new offensive and defensive coordinators leading both sides of the ball following the Tigers’ 10-3 finish last year. With former Missouri defensive coordinator Blake Baker taking the reins of the defense and Joe Sloan being hired from within as the new offensive playcaller.
This isn’t head coach Brian Kelly‘s first rodeo when it comes to coaching staff turnover as he enters his 22nd season as a head coach at the FBS level. And during a Monday appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show, Kelly spoke about how he’s been able to adapt to those changes over the years.
“I think if you have a process in place, standards set, it’s a lot easier,” Kelly said. “Because then you’re really just teaching them what is your way, what is your culture, what are you about?”
“This is my fifth defensive coordinator. Mike Elko, started with Mike eight years ago. We’ve had seven consecutive 10-win seasons with five different defensive coordinators. Clark Lee, obviously along the way, Marcus Freeman, and then we got here. So we’ve continued that process along the way. Offensive coordinators, Mike Denbrock, Tommy Rees, Chip Long, and now obviously we continue to move in the same direction with the same process.”
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Kelly has done an excellent job in hiring coordinators over the years, many of whom are currently now head coaches. But when it comes to making sure they get the most our of his players no matter where he’s coaching, Kelly relies on the culture he’s built.
“So as long as you do that and have a culture that’s in place, then you just go out and hire the very, very best. And I think with Blake in particular and Joe Sloan, Blake Baker is going to do a great job for us defensively and we just plug them in and let them be who they are and let them go out and coach and develop our players,” Kelly concluded.
Sloan has big shoes to fill after LSU had the nation’s best offense last season, while Baker is tasked with reviving a Tigers’ defense that was disappointing last season. As fans will get their first look at both new-look units on Sunday when LSU takes on USC at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas