LSU’s Coaching Staff Shuffles Continue

With Monday’s Bo Pelini news, LSU’s offseason of staff shuffling continued on Tuesday with the news that offensive analyst Blaine Gauthier will take a job on Frank Wilson’s staff at McNeese State.

Gauthier marks the fourth member of the Tigers’ support staff to move to a full-time coaching role elsewhere, with Jorge Munoz and Dennis “Meatball” Johnson moving to Dave Aranda’s Baylor staff, and grad assistant John DeCoster moving to Old Dominion.

Ed Orgeron appeared on 104.5 ESPN Radio’s Off the Bench morning show to discuss the new DC, as well as update the search for a replacement for Joe Brady’s position on the coaching staff:

Relevant that Orgeron points out that Munoz may still be in the running for Brady’s spot. Overall, there isn’t a huge rush to fill that role right now, nor does there need to be right now. The staff is in the final push towards National Signing Day Classic™, and none of the remaining prospects on the board are particularly tied to that opening — Jordan Burch and McKinnley Jackson aren’t exactly worried about whether LSU has a new passing game coordinator. Plus, February will mark a dead period for the 2021 cycle, so next year’s prospects would be waiting to hear from a new coach anyway.

Orgeron’s remarks about Steve Ensminger also highlights a luxury with the hire. While he has the option of continuity with somebody like Munoz or analyst DJ Mangus, who worked closely with Brady, he also has a long list of other coaches he can talk to. Think about how many other young coaches hold positions similar to the one Brady held with the New Orleans Saints in 2018 — and you can bet that a lot of them believe they could do a similar job that Brady did.

But the offense is installed and the main players of the 2020 version are already pretty well-versed in it. There isn’t going to be any re-inventing the wheel. So Orgeron can listen to pitches and new ideas and then prioritize what direction he wants to go in. Does he want to go with another receiver-centered coach like Brady? Maybe someone with more of a quarterbacks background like Munoz? Do you want to keep pushing the boundaries with new ideas, or continue to hone what’s already working and focus on applying it to the next group? One thing that’s for certain is the new coach will have to work with Ensminger and the rest of the staff in place.

There are a lot of answers here and a lot of potential directions for Orgeron to take. It’s a nice luxury to have.

As for other moves, things appear static for the moment. Many expected safeties coach Bill Busch to maybe move with Aranda, but he appears to be staying in place. As NFL staffs continue to fill out Tommy Robinson could look to move in, in which case his replacement would likely be Director of Player Development Kevin Faulk.