LSU’s 2023 season was headlined by the dominant performance of quarterback Jayden Daniels, who accounted for 4,946 total yards and 50 touchdowns en route to capturing the Heisman trophy. The team’s overall success didn’t match, however, in large part due to the program’s struggles on defense.
After a 10–3 season and third place finish in the SEC West (6–2 conference record), coach Brian Kelly confirmed the firing of the majority of the team’s defensive on-field staff on Wednesday.
“This morning, I met with [defensive coordinator] Matt House, [safeties coach] Kerry Cooks, [cornerbacks coach] Robert Steeples and [defensive line coach] Jimmy Lindsey to inform them that they would not return to our coaching staff in 2024,” Kelly said, per 247Sports. “I want to thank each of these coaches for their work on behalf of our football program and our institution during their time here. Decisions like these are always difficult, and we do not make them lightly, but they are made with the best interests of our program and our student-athletes in mind. Moving forward, we will continue working to build a championship caliber coaching staff in support of our mission to Graduate Champions.”
“Our standard is very high here,” Kelly added. “This is not about going 9–3, we wanna win a championship so we’ve gotta take the next step. We have to look internally, what we need to do in recruiting, what we need to do in coaching and coaching at a higher level and how do we support that?”
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According to Steve Berkowitz of USA Today, LSU owes the four coaches a total of $5.465 million in buyouts, with House collecting over $3.7 million.
With the moves, just two on-field defensive coaches remain on staff at LSU. John Jancek, who joined as outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator, moved over to coach defensive line just before the season, as Lindsey missed time due to a medical issue. He will remain with the program in some capacity, per The Advocate.
Bob Diaco, Kelly’s former defensive coordinator at Notre Dame and former head coach at UConn, stepped into the outside linebackers and special teams role after Jancek moved to coach the line. Diaco’s status is unknown amid the staff reshuffling.
LSU thrived in 2022, its first year under Kelly, going 10–4 with a surprising SEC West title. While the team finished with a similar record in ’23, the defense cratered, going from 22.5 points allowed per game (33rd in the country) to 28 a year later (81st). LSU’s defense ranked 26th in ESPN’s final SP+ rankings of the 2022 season. This year’s Tigers defense ranks 52nd.
LSU finished its season with a 35–31 ReliaQuest Bowl win over Wisconsin on Monday.
