Lane Kiffin Raves About Elite LSU Football Staffer Amid Chaotic Stretch For Program

Kiffin broke down the decision to retain multiple staffers, highlights the defense as a spot he's confident in.

Courtesy of LSU Tigers Football.

Lane Kiffin and the LSU Tigers have tinkered the coaching staff in Baton Rouge heading into a critical offseason after retooling the assistant pool this month.

Kiffin and Co. have hit the reset button on offense where he has brought in a myriad of new staffers, but defensive coordinator Blake Baker highlights the coaches that are being retained for the 2026 season.

Across the 2025 season under Baker's watch at LSU, he brought the Tigers into the Top-25 of total defense while also sitting among the Top-15 in turnovers gained with 21 in total over 12 games this fall.

LSU’s defense ranked in the top half of the SEC across the 2025 campaign after allowing 319.7 yards per game.

Bakers unit also held teams to 18.3 points on average, which ranked fourth in the conference.

Courtesy of LSU Football.

Those were both improvements from 2024 when LSU gave up 364.4 yards and 24.3 points per game in Baker’s first season as defensive coordinator.

During LSU's Texas Bowl matchup against the Houston Cougars on Saturday, Kiffin hopped on the ESPN broadcast where he detailed the importance of keeping Baker - where he turned down head coaching opportunities at Tulane and Memphis.

“Blake’s done a great job,” Kiffin said. “We’re excited to keep him as well as a lot of the defensive players, I think, and keep the system the same so there’s not so much transition.

"We’re excited about our offensive system that we bring in that we’ve been running for a long time now and we get to bring it to LSU with these great players, whether they’re still here or getting ready to come. It’s gonna be an exciting time.”

Now, the new era of LSU Football is set to be underway with Kiffin at the helm alongside a star-studded coaching staff for the 2026 season.

Courtesy of Blake Baker's Instragram.

LSU Football Coaching Staff Additions

Joe Cox – Co-Offensive Coordinator / Tight Ends
Joe Houston – Special Teams Coordinator
Sawyer Jordan – Inside Wide Receivers
Chris Kiffin – Co-Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers
Sterling Lucas – Defensive Line
George McDonald – Passing Game Coordinator / Wide Receivers
Kevin Smith – Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs
Lou Spanos – Pass Rush Specialist / Assistant Defensive Line
Dane Stevens – Quarterbacks
Charlie Weis Jr. – Offensive Coordinator
Eric Wolford – Offensive Line

More LSU News:

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Lane Kiffin Reveals How Nick Saban, Pete Carroll Influenced Decision to LSU Football

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