LSU Football: Offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator hires that Brian Kelly should consider

LSU football head coach Brian Kelly has a lot of things on his agenda during his first week as Ed Orgeron’s replacement in Baton Rouge.

One of the biggest items on his list is hiring a coaching staff — specifically, he needs to hire two coordinators.

It appeared that Notre Dame defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees might follow Kelly to LSU.

Freeman, however, is reported to be the next head coach at Notre Dame. And Rees is going to stay in South Bend to work for Freeman.

So where does Kelly turn for these two very important hires?

Two coordinator options for Brian Kelly

There will obviously be plenty of options out there for Kelly.

But at first glance, I think there are two intriguing options for Kelly. One is a young up-and-comer and one is a veteran that knows LSU well.

Ole Miss passing game coordinator/tight ends coach John David Baker could be a great option for offensive coordinator.

Baker is a young coach — he’s only been in the coaching business for seven years. But he already has some quality experience, working at USC as the Trojans’ tight ends coach for two years before joining Lane Kiffin’s staff in Oxford.

Ole Miss had one of the best offenses in the nation in 2021 under Kiffin and Rebels offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby. Why not poach Baker to run that same offense in Baton Rouge?

Hiring young coordinators is all the rage these days. It helps that Kelly is an offensive-minded coach, so he could help Baker grow. Maybe pair him with a veteran assistant position coach.

As for the defensive coordinator hire, why not go after former Tigers assistant Will Muschamp?

Muschamp is currently a defensive analyst at Georgia. He wasn’t a very good head coach, but he’s always been a solid defensive coordinator. There’s been speculation that he could be Georgia’s next defensive coordinator if Dan Lanning leaves Athens. However, it looks like Lanning might stay put during this coaching cycle.

Would Muschamp want to return to LSU where he served as an assistant under Nick Saban from 2001-2004?

I think it’s certainly worth a call. Muschamp could essentially be the head coach of the defense under Kelly at LSU. And it would help the Tigers with recruiting in the south under Kelly.

It’s unclear at this time which direction Kelly will go with these hires. But these are two options I think he should consider.