Scott Linehan Out as Passing Game Coordinator

The shakeup amongst the LSU football coaching staff continues.

Not long after it was reported Bo Pelini, Bill Johnson and Bill Busch would all not be returning to LSU in 2021, The Advocate’s Brooks Kubena reported that first year passing game coordinator Scott Linehan and LSU would also be parting ways.

Linehan was brought on as a supposed third down and red zone specialist, which was the role Joe Brady held last season, and the Tigers struggled mightily in both areas. LSU was 102nd in third down conversions (34.6 percent) and 104th in red zone touchdown percentage (52.9 percent).

Some of LSU’s struggles, of course, were not Linehan’s fault. The offense changed for the worse when Myles Brennan was lost for the season against Missouri with an abdominal injury, while Terrace Marshall opted out at the end of November and Arik Gilbert did the same at the start of December.

But the Linehan era can be surmised in one sequence: LSU failing to score from the one against Missouri with the game on the line.

Linehan, like Pelini, will be owed the remainder of his two-year deal. The buyout amounts to around $1 million.

*Edit: I originally wrote that Pelini would be paid the full amount of his buyout, which was around $5.2 million. However LSU announced late last night that the university and Pelini agreed to a settlement that will pay a “one-time payment in lieu of the liquidated of the liquidated damages detailed in his contract.” I’ll report back when I find out about how much said payment amounts to be.