Brad Davis Embracing Opportunity As LSU Football's Interim Head Coach
For Brad Davis, the opportunity to return home went way past a contract or the chance to coach at a prestigious football program like LSU.
Davis, who grew up in Baton Rouge but whose coaching career has taken him all over the country, has led him back home and an opportunity to be the leader of this Tigers team for the Texas Bowl last month. It's the little things that this five and a half month journey back to Baton Rouge has really left an imprint on Davis' mind.
Just Sunday morning he was able to go to church with his mother and father, return home and spend some quality family time with mom cooking a pot of white beans and his dad handling the barbecue. Then in the middle of the afternoon he received a phone call.
"I got a phone call that I had a press conference and told them I get to be on the news," Davis said. "We have a small town community where everything is real close and so it's been a whirlwind but I'm awfully proud to coach at LSU. It's been a lifelong dream for me and I've enjoyed every chance to wear this shirt."
Davis had always envisioned and hoped that his coaching journey would lead him back home somewhere along the way. Whether it was cutting his teeth as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M in 2006, serving as an offensive line coach at Portland State from 2009-14 or most recently at SEC stops in Florida and Arkansas prior to joining LSU, Davis saw joining the Tigers' program as a lifelong dream.
Even though it will be a short lived experience, Davis will also become the first African American head coach for the Tigers when the team runs out for its Jan. 4 bowl date with Kansas State. That's not an opportunity that's been lost on Davis since finding out he would serve in an interim role.
"For me personally it's a milestone moment to represent LSU and the state of Louisiana in such a remarkable contest," Davis said. "This is a proud moment for our team, we played some good football down the stretch and being invited to this bowl game really highlights the toughness in our team.
"I've been been preparing for this my whole life. I'm from north Baton Rouge and people who are from this city, you're taught about toughness and making something out of nothing. I'm so proud to represent the people that I grew up with. I've traveled all over the country and tried my best and yet it lead me back here, to home."
It's fair to surmise that Davis didn't walk into to a particularly ideal situation when accepting the LSU job just weeks before the Tigers were set to begin fall camp. It didn't allow for much natural trust with his offensive line and the group did struggle throughout the season. But it wasn't for a lack of respect or admiration for Davis.
In fact the overwhelming majority of the players and recruits who have been interviewed have nothing but great things to say about Davis and the job he's done in little time with the program. Davis had a chance to meet with LSU's new coach Brian Kelly and while details on his future with the program are still unknown at this time, all Kelly is focusing on is getting the most out of these next 15 practices with the team.
"These 15 practices are valuable so we don't wanna waste one of them developing this team for 2022," Davis said. "This allows us to stay close knit, allows us to stay tight and enhance what we need to do to improve our football team. We want to get better at what we do."
LSU will have a little under a month to improve the makeup of this team but Davis is grateful for every second he'll have as a leader of this program. He's making sure not to take the little things for granted while he's home, for however long that may be.
One of the examples he provided was actually a Father's Day gift that his wife gives him every year. Wherever Davis and his family may be located, she orders a special case of boudin. Now being back in Baton Rouge, it's just a quick trip to the market.
"I've enjoyed every bit of it and had an opportunity to make my parents very proud of me," Davis said. "It's been a privilege, it's a place as a child I've always wanted to be and the elite players that have come from here. Death Valley in itself is something that I'll never trade this experience."
