One of the more under appreciated pieces of College Football is the true depth of the staff. Every fan knows the Head Coach while most know both coordinators, while true fans know the position coaches. Next to no one knows all of the analysts and graduate assistants on a staff at any given time.
Analysts are a great way to get former Head Coaches or up and coming Coaches onto a staff behind the scenes which only helps in game preparation and advanced scouting. On Friday Night, LSU lost two of such coaches from the staff as they took jobs elsewhere.
The most notable loss comes as Charlotte hired LSU Senior Analyst Todd Fitch away from LSU as he takes the offensive coordinator job. Fitch has coached everywhere from Vanderbilt to Louisiana Tech, Boston College, USF, East Carolina, and UConn. Losing an analyst with a ton of experience hurts as he was another resource for Joe Sloan who continues to develop as a Coordinator.
Charlotte is expected to hire LSU senior analyst Todd Fitch as offensive coordinator, a source tells @247Sports/@CBSSports.
— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) January 4, 2025
Fitch most recently served as an OC at Vanderbilt in 2020. He previously held the role of OC at La Tech, BC, USF, ECU & UConn.https://t.co/BBO3KCdl01 pic.twitter.com/ZZSuXvvJUo
The bigger loss may come as LSU loses graduate assistant Kanan Ray to Tulane after just one season at LSU. Ray joined the Tigers after one season on the staff at Tulane and he'll now return to Tulane in a bigger role. A ton of analysts have held Ray in a high regard and if he stayed at LSU he could've grown into a much bigger role as a potential long term option for the Tigers.
Tulane is expected to hire LSU grad assistant Kanan Ray as assistant offensive line coach, a source tells @CBSSports/@247Sports.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 4, 2025
Ray, considered a rising star young coach, was a starting offensive lineman at Tulane and began his coaching career as a GA at Tulane in 2023.… pic.twitter.com/Ilhu4JmgeH
Overall, the losses won't impact LSU too much as the Tigers will most likely go out and land other top analysts. If LSU is looking to add an analyst a perfect fit would be former Florida State offensive line coach and offensive coordinator Alex Atkins who was fired this offseason. Atkins is a great recruiter and built a solid relationship with Solomon Thomas which would only help in the five-stars development.