Is LSU Football’s Next Defensive Coordinator Already in the Building?
When former LSU defensive lineman Breiden Fehoko sent out the tweet, almost immediately there was positive momentum behind the idea universally praised by former players.
The idea was simple enough: LSU's next defensive coordinator might already be in the building, cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond.
Former LSU defensive back Ryan Clark got behind the idea instantaneously.
Raymond has been with the program since 2012 after spending four years with the Tigers as a player from 1987-91 and six years in the NFL. He spent stints at the high school level in the early 2000's and was an intern at LSU in 2006 before taking jobs with Utah State and Nebraska.
Since his return to the Tigers during the 2012 season, Raymond has coached some of the best defensive backs to enter the NFL, including Tyrann Mathieu, Jamal Adams, Tredavious White, Greedy Williams, Grant Delpit and most recently Derek Stingley Jr.
As a defensive backs coach, he's produced nine NFL draft picks and seven first team All-Americans over the years. His role has expanded throughout his tenure in Baton Rouge as he was the associate head coach from 2012-17 under Les Miles and was promoted to recruiting coordinator ahead of the 2020 season under Ed Orgeron.
But just like with every candidate, there are pluses and there are minuses with making the commitment. For Raymond, the obvious negative is experience. While he's been one of the most respected coaches in that locker room for most of the last decade, he still doesn't have that play calling experience.
He's also been a position coach for much of his career and it isn't known what style of defense he'd prefer though with a background in defensive backs, a switch back to the 3-4 wouldn't be a shock.
An obvious positive with promoting Raymond is his great standing relationship with the players and Orgeron himself. A voice like his that's as respected as Raymond's could help the players connect as one of the issues this past season was a misunderstanding at times of what the coaching staff was asking of the players.
What we also know about Orgeron is that he isn't afraid to promote in-house. When looking for a replacement for Matt Canada in 2017, Orgeron promoted Steve Ensminger to offensive coordinator and when running backs coach Tommie Robinson went to Texas A&M, Orgeron swiftly promoted Kevin Faulk to lead the LSU backs.
The only difference with Ensminger is he had some interim playcalling experience in 2016 when the Tigers fired Cam Cameron.
When asked about Raymond as a potential candidate for the defensive coordinator job, a source told LSUCountry "all options are on the table."
We know Raymond has a reputation as an elite level recruiter and great on-field coach as well. After eight years in the same position he might be ready to take on a larger role. The question is will Orgeron and LSU be willing to take a gamble on what would be a first time defensive coordinator?
