Lane Kiffin was officially introduced as LSU's next head football coach on Monday afternoon in Baton Rouge. Kiffin coming to LSU sent shockwaves through the college football universe, as he left Ole Miss in the midst of a National Championship run.
Lane Kiffin hints at possibility of bringing star QB from Ole Miss to LSU
Kiffin is hitting the ground running at LSU, as he's already met with top recruits and is working on filling out his coaching staff. One name to keep an eye on in regard to Kiffin's 2026 staff is defensive coordinator Blake Baker.
Baker was initially thought to be staying on board at LSU as a part of Kiffin's staff. However, his status remains up in the air after he reportedly interviewed for the head coaching job at Tulane.
Blake Baker interviews for Tulane head coaching job
Guerry Smith, a Tulane beat reporter for The Times-Picayune and New Orleans Advocate, confirmed that Baker was in New Orleans on Monday to interview for Tulane's head coaching position. The Green Wave lost Jon Sumrall to the Florida Gators over the weekend, and Baker appears to be a candidate to replace him in Uptown New Orleans.
Can confirm LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker was on campus to interview for Tulane head coaching job today. Garland Gillen of WVUE reported it first.
— Guerry Smith (@Guersmith) December 1, 2025
Baker has strong ties to Tulane, as he played for the Green Wave as a linebacker from 2000-04 before entering the coaching ranks in 2009. After a year as the wide receivers coach at Clear Springs High School in Texas, Baker was a graduate assistant at Texas under legendary head coach Mack Brown from 2010-12. He has since held coaching positions at Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Miami (FL) and Missouri.
Baker is currently in his second stint at LSU. He first came to Baton Rouge in 2021 as the linebackers coach before leaving for Missouri to be the defensive coordinator from 2022-23. In December 2024, he received a contract worth $2.5 million per year to return to LSU as the defensive coordinator, making him the highest-paid assistant coach in the country at the time.
He has led the Tiger defense to an impressive turnaround in Year 2. A skilled recruiter, Baker brought CB Mansoor Delane in from Virginia Tech and S AJ Haulcy in from Houston via the transfer portal. Both players have been stand-outs on the field this season for the Tigers. Baker also played a large role in bringing 5-star CB recruit DJ Pickett to Baton Rouge, who is already a star in the making.
It remains to be seen how far Baker's talks with Tulane have progressed, but losing Baker would be a big blow for Kiffin's staff.