LSU Football: Did Ed Orgeron have an ulterior motive in hiring Jake Peetz?

LSU Football‘s coaching staff will have a much different look in 2021 than it did in 2020.

Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron revamped the staff, hiring five new on-field assistants.

One of those coaches is new offensive coordinator Jake Peetz, who replaces Steve Ensminger (Ensminger retired after the 2020 season).

LSU hired Peetz away from the Carolina Panthers, where he was serving as the team’s quarterbacks coach.

Orgeron also hired DJ Mangas away from the Panthers to serve as the Tigers’ passing game coordinator. Mangas, who was previously an analyst at LSU, was working as Carolina’s wide receivers coach.

Jake Peetz could have a big impact on the recruiting trail for LSU football

One of the main reasons that Orgeron hired Peetz and Mangas was obviously to improve LSU’s offense.

The Tigers had the No. 1 offense in the nation in 2019 under Ensminger and passing game coordinator Joe Brady.

But in 2020, with Ensminger and passing game coordinator Scott Linehan calling the shots, LSU’s offense ranked No. 39 in the nation.

Part of that was due to the Tigers’ extreme loss of talent after the 2019 season. LSU lost 14 players to the 2020 NFL Draft, which is tough for any program to overcome.

The other reason the offense regressed was because Brady left Baton Rouge for a job as the Panthers’ offensive coordinator.

Brady was the brains behind LSU’s prolific 2019 offense. While parts of that offense remained in 2020, it just wasn’t the same with Linehan serving in that role.

The Tigers and Linehan parted ways after the 2020 season. That decision, combined with Ensminger’s retirement, provided Orgeron with an opportunity to get back to what worked for LSU in 2019.

Orgeron obviously couldn’t get Brady back to LSU, but he was able to get the next best thing — Peetz and Mangas, the two coaches serving directly under Brady in Carolina.

Landing Peetz and Mangas will bring the 2019 offensive approach back to LSU.

It could also make the Tigers the favorites to land coveted 2023 five-star quarterback Arch Manning.

According to The Athletic’s Jeff Duncan, Manning’s recruitment “might already be over” if Brady was still in Baton Rouge. Manning was a huge fan of Brady and his offense at LSU.

It stands to reason that he’ll also be a fan of Peetz and Mangas since they’re from the Brady tree of coaching. Of course, Peetz and Mangas will have to prove this season that they can have the same type of success that Brady had at LSU.

If that ends up being the case, the Tigers could emerge as the frontrunners for Manning’s commitment.

Manning is going to be one of the most sought-after recruits in college football history — thanks to his famous last name and impressive skills.

LSU already has distance from home going in its favor (Manning is from New Orleans). If the offense proves to be prolific under Peetz and Mangas, it could be all the Tigers need to win this already-intense recruiting battle.

Maybe Orgeron was thinking ahead to Manning’s recruitment when he hired Peetz away from the Panthers.

I certainly wouldn’t put it past Coach O — he’s one of the best recruiters in the sport.