LSU Football: The move Brian Kelly needs to make ASAP

LSU football head coach Brian Kelly has a lot of work to do in the coming days.

The early signing period is just a couple of weeks away. That’s the most important thing on his list.

LSU currently has the No. 15 2022 recruiting class in the nation. If Kelly can add a few elite recruits and get that class to around No. 10 in the nation, it would be like starting his LSU tenure on second base. Most new coaches at programs — even at marquee programs — don’t land that kind of talent in their first recruiting class (especially with the challenges of the early signing period).

The other item on Kelly’s agenda is putting a staff together.

Kelly is hoping to bring both of his coordinators with him from Notre Dame (defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees). He’s also reportedly keeping defensive backs coach Corey Raymond, a longtime Tigers assistant, on staff. It’s a wise move to retain Raymond — specifically for continuity purposes in recruiting.

That’s not the only assistant that Kelly needs to retain, though.

The LSU football assistant that Kelly immediately needs to retain

Kelly needs to be able to build his own staff at LSU. He knows what works and he shouldn’t have coaches pushed on him.

However, I think he’d be extremely wise to retain Tigers running backs coach Kevin Faulk.

Kelly needs to dominate in recruiting if he’s going to dominate Alabama.

Faulk can help him in that area.

The former LSU running back is an excellent recruiter, he’s from Louisiana, and he has a few Super Bowl rings he can flash on the recruiting trail (and likely some fun Tom Brady stories to share, too).

Kelly can get by with most of his staff not having Louisiana connections as long as he has a few coaches on his staff who do have those connections.

Keeping Raymond and Faulk (one coach on each side of the ball) on staff would help the Tigers avoid falling behind in recruiting. It would also help Kelly and the rest of his staff learn how to navigate the fertile recruiting grounds of Louisiana.

Kelly’s running backs coach at Notre Dame was Alabama alum Lance Taylor.

No offense to Taylor, but there’s zero reason to keep him over Faulk.