Coaches’ Departure At LSU Opens Door For Rising Stars

It is somehow being portrayed as a negative, but it is anything but.

LSU passing game coordinator Joe Brady left to be the new offensive coordinator for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. Defensive coordinator Dave Aranda departed to be the new head coach at Baylor.

I say, great – not that LSU lost two very talented coaches, but great that LSU coaches are being promoted to bigger jobs.

It means only one thing: Your program is winning.

The morning after the national championship game, LSU head coach Ed Orgeron thanked the school profusely: “I am at LSU. Here, you get all the resources you need to win.”

Exactly. Which is why LSU should be able to attract outstanding coaches for years to come.

A high-profile assistant, looking to build his resumé can come to Baton Rouge and coach some of the best players in the country and be paid a boatload of cash. For a football coach, that is the epitome of career-building.

So, when you hear that somehow the purple-and-gold sky is falling and that Orgeron can’t hold on to his best coaches, just smile. Or chuckle.

Orgeron is building his coaching tree.

In the NFL, during the 49ers’ championship run, Bill Walsh disciples were everywhere. Work for Bill Walsh, be a head coach.

Sean Payton is a member of the Bill Parcells coaching tree. Orgeron is a member of the Pete Carroll coaching tree. Pick up a Pete Carroll book and you will read about “Tell the Truth Monday” or “Competition Tuesday” or “Turnover Wednesday.”

Sunday, the day before the championship game, Orgeron said it was “Focus Friday.” That came straight from his mentor.

Nick Saban has a voluminous coaching tree. Four of his former assistants are head coaches in the Southeastern Conference: Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M), Will Muschamp (South Carolina), Jeremy Pruitt (Tennessee) and Kirby Smart (Georgia).

In 2014, Saban hired Lane Kiffin as his offensive coordinator. He did his three years there, went to Florida Atlantic for three years, and is now back in the SEC as head coach at Ole Miss.

In 2018, Alabama offensive coordinator Mike Locksley won the Broyles Award as the top assistant in college football. He is now the head coach at Virginia. In three years at New Mexico, Locksley won two games. Yes, New Mexico is a very difficult place to win. But, once you come to Alabama, the perception is that you are somehow much, much smarter.

And, if that happens at LSU, great. It means championships are happening.

Assistant coaches also understand the following: You come to LSU, you are working for an athletic director who grew up in Baton Rouge and a head coach who played his high school football at South Lafourche.

You can’t get much more Louisiana than that. They’ll be staying, and LSU will probably be winning. And, assistant coaches will come and go.

That is a winning formula, just like that school to the east.

Ed Daniels is sports director of ABC26 WGNO. He can be reached at [email protected].