Brian Kelly adds Pete Jenkins to coaching staff
It was first reported late Sunday night that Brian Kelly was adding former defensive line coach Pete Jenkins on his staff as an analyst. Roughly 24 hours after allowing a school record 706 yards in a loss to Ole Miss, Kelly is already looking to make changes on his defensive staff, perhaps the first of multiple changes Kelly’s defense will undergo this season as the Tigers look to make drastic improvements.
Jenkins is 82-years old with three previous coaching stints at LSU. The longest was from 1980-1990 as the defensive line coach with stints as the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. He returned for two years stops in 2000-2001, and 2016-2017 in Baton Rouge before retiring.
Over the course of his 52-year career, Jenkins was a defensive line coach at eight different high-level Division I schools and was also the defensive line coach for the Philadelphia Eagles for three years in 2007-2009. In his time, he made 14 bowl games and the NFL playoffs twice.
Jenkins is one of the most respected defensive line coaches in football and was a long-time mentor to former LSU head coach Ed Orgeron.
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The position of LSU’s defensive line coach has been in flux constantly over the past few years and has been one of the largest uncertainties of Brian Kelly’s time at LSU. Jamarr Cain was hired away from the NFL after one season at LSU, then Jimmy Lindsey suffered a health scare before the 2023 season began, forcing John Jancek to move from outside linebackers to defensive line coach.
The hope is Jenkins can help the Tigers harness the talent on the defensive line and at least give LSU’s defense a chance to win more often at the line of scrimmage. Coming off of Saturday’s defensive performance, everything is on the table for Kelly.
