LSU Shakes Up The Defensive Staff

Erik Trosclair • January 4, 2024

Lets get into it!

Brian Kelly did what many LSU fans thought he may not do Wednesday morning, by not only letting go Defensive Coordinator Matt House, but defensive line coach Jimmy Lindsey, safeties coach Kerry Cooks, and cornerbacks coach Robert Steeples.


First off, I hate seeing anyone lose their job. Anyone who has ever been in this type of situation knows how bad of a feeling that is, on the other hand when you get into the coaching world this is unfortunately part of the job.


The 2023 LSU defense ranked 85th in rushing defense, 115th in passing defense, and 105th in overall defense. This would be nearly unacceptable anywhere, but especially unacceptable at a place like LSU with such a rich defensive history. This 2023 LSU season has to be one of the biggest "what ifs" in LSU football history, if this defense would have been average or even slightly below average who knows how high this LSU could have finished. This move could potentially cost LSU over $5 million in buyouts.


Now we get into the fun part. POTENTIAL REPLACEMENTS!


Could we see reunions on the horizon?


Rumors have been swirling around for some time now about former LSU, most recently Florida, Defensive Back coach Corey Raymond returning to Baton Rouge for the same position. This would be great for recruiting!

Other rumors have flown around about Texas Defensive Line coach Bo Davis returning to LSU. Davis played at LSU from 1990-1992, and had two different stops in Baton Rouge on the football staff, as a Graduate Assistant and an Assistant Strength and Conditioning coach.

Another familiar name is Blake Baker, Baker was the Linebacker coach at LSU in 2021, he is currently the Defensive Coordinator and Safeties coach at Missouri. Poaching a conference opponent's Defensive Coordinator away would be awesome.  Missouri finished the season ranked 25th in total defense.


Does Scott Woodward go after a big name as he has a history of doing?


Either one of the Michigan Co-Defensive Coordinators would send shockwaves throughout the college football world. Jesse Minter has stops in the SEC among other power five schools as well as the NFL. Steve Clinkscale, the other half of Michigan's Defensive Coordinator duo, who seems to specialize in the defensive backfield, has SEC and other power five stops on his résumé. Michigan has finished in the top 10 in total defense in back to back seasons.

Nebraska Defensive Coordinator, Tony White, who is a back to back Broyles Award nominee at two different schools (Syracuse and Nebraska), would be a great fit for the Tigers. White has coached at multiple power five schools, and has linebacker as well as defensive back coaching in his background. Nebraska finished ranked 13th in total defense this season.

A guy who is extremely familiar with the Southeast is Oregon Co-Defensive Coordinator and former Tulane Defensive Coordinator, Chris Hampton. Chris has a background in the defensive backfield. This is an extremely interesting candidate, as Hampton is young but has climbed the college football ladder quick. Oregon ranked 9th in total defense in 2023.

Next is someone with deep Louisiana roots, Miami Defensive Coordinator Lance Guidry. Guidry who is from Louisiana, has a very long and interesting résumé with multiple stops at Louisiana high schools as well as colleges in Louisiana, among other stops throughout college football. Guidry has coached both Marshall's and Miami's defenses to top 40 finishes in the past two seasons. A guy with deep Louisiana ties can be a big plus in recruiting.

Another big fish would be Iowa's Defensive Coordinator Phil Parker, who has been the Defensive Coordinator as Iowa since 2012, Iowa's defense has finished ranked within the top 20 in total defense in nearly every season. This may be a tall task, as Parker has been a part of Kirk Ferentz's Iowa coaching staff since 1999, but as we all know, money talks.


UNDER THE RADAR CANDIDATES


First up, Air Force Defensive Coordinator Brian Knorr. Knorr has been on the Air Force coaching staff since 2018. Knorr has made stops all over college football, and he has coached both sides of the football. The Air Force defense has finished 12th and 3rd in the past two seasons in total defense.

Next is Scott Symons, who would be an interesting hire. Symons is a young and upcoming defensive coordinator in the college football world. He has climbed up from the high school coaching ranks. Scott Symons was a Broyles Award nominee this season, his SMU defense finished at 12th in total defense.


Brian Kelly has a lot of decisions to make. Stay tuned!!


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Pelicans @ Nuggets Takeaways

By Chrissy Smith • October 30, 2025
Team Stats (Pelicans at Nuggets) Final Score: 88-122 Rebounds: 36-57 Assists: 17-40 Steals: 9-5 Blocks: 3-5 Turnovers: 12-14 Stat Leaders Scoring Leaders: Jeremiah Fears, 21; Nikola Jokić, 21 Rebound Leaders: Trey Murphy III, 7; Nikola Jokić, 12 Assist Leaders: Jeremiah Fears, 6; Nikola Jokić, 10 My Player of the Game: Jeremiah Fears Chrissy's Key Takeaways * The starters for this game were Fears, Murphy III, Jones, Zion, and Deandre Jordan. So that was different, and it didn't work at all. * With most of the third quarter over, Zion had five total points in the game. He finished with 11. * The Nuggets went on a 32-4 run in the third quarter. The Pelicans came out very slow to start off the third. * New Orleans went 7-of-33 from the three-point line. * Nikola Jokić had a triple-double. The Pelicans had no answer for him all night. * Do the Pelicans know that the season has started because the majority of the guys out there look like they still think they're playing Summer League. * The problem with this team isn't the talent because they have that. So what's the problem? Coaching, effort, etc.? This has to be fixed ASAP. Follow @TheKneaux on X, and follow me there too, @SportsChrissy.

Celtics @ Pelicans Takeaways

By Chrissy Smith • October 28, 2025
Team Stats (Celtics at Pelicans) Final Score: 122-90 Rebounds: 54-35 Assists: 25-17 Steals: 5-7 Blocks: 7-0 Turnovers: 11-13 Stat Leaders Scoring Leaders: Anfernee Simons, 25; Jordan Poole, 22 Rebound Leaders: Neemias Queta, 11; Yves Miss, 7 Assist Leaders: Payton Prichard, 8; Trey Murphy, III, 5 My Player of the Game: Jordan Poole Chrissy's Key Takeaways * The first two losses of the season were tough but at least the team looked good. In this game, no one looked fired up to compete except Jordan Poole and Jose Alvarado. * Zion did not play because he's been spending all offseason getting in shape just so he could rest after two games. Makes no sense to me. * Trey Murphy and Herb Jones need to find their spark and stride. These guys have been putting in a ton of work in the offseason but it isn't showing right now. * Willie Green has got to be on a short leash because this 0-3 start feels like the team is just picking up where they left off except this time they're healthy and have all the momentum in the world. * The next three games for the Pelicans will be on the road against Denver, Clippers, and Thunder . Follow @TheKneaux on X, and follow me there too, @SportsChrissy.
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