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Well, that didn’t take long...
Per reports from Bruce Feldman and Ross Dellenger of The Advocate, LSU will be replacing the outgoing Jeff Grimes with Los Angeles Chargers offensive line assistant James Cregg.
SOURCE: #LSU plans on hiring James Cregg from the LA Chargers to be the Tigers new O-line coach, replacing Jeff Grimes (new #BYU OC).. Cregg won a Super Bowl with the Broncos as an assistant & helped develop 1st RDers Tyron Smith and Matt Kalil, & has recruited in the SEC.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 14, 2017
Ed Orgeron stuck with what he knew, hiring the offensive line coach from his year with Tennessee in 2009 and his second tenure at USC under Lane Kiffin, from 2010-2013. Cregg has spent the ensuing years in the NFL, with the Broncos — where he helped them win a Super Bowl two years ago — and then the Chargers this year.
Cregg spent just one season in Knoxville before moving out to California to become the offensive line coach at USC for the next four seasons (2010-13). Cregg coached first-team All-Pac-12 selections in each of his four years with the school, including offensive tackles and future NFL first-round picks Tyron Smith (No. 9, Dallas, 2011) and Matt Kalil (No. 4, Minnesota, 2012). In 2011, USC finished second in the nation in sacks allowed (eight) despite not starting a senior along the offensive line. Kalil was named first-team All-America, while guard Marcus Martin was chosen as a first-team Freshman All-America.
Cregg fits the profile of a younger coach that should be well-positioned to handle the grind of recruiting, and a resume of names that should flash with recruits. He’s a native of Syracuse, N.Y., who finished high school in California and played college ball at Colorado State. Cregg bounced around a few colleges before catching on with Lane Kiffin’s staff with the Oakland Raiders.
I can’t pretend to know much about Cregg, but this is certainly a very impressive resume. And the timing of the move suggests this was all well planned with Grimes’ departure. So bully to Coach O for planning ahead, if nothing else.
More as the news breaks.