Ed Orgeron Introduces Jake Peetz, DJ Mangas as Next Era of LSU Football Offense Begins
As the father of six, LSU offensive coordinator Jake Peetz said Tuesday that if he can prepare for the chaos of bath time with his kids, then there's little he can't do in terms of pressure on the football field.
On Wednesday, Peetz and passing game coordinator DJ Mangas were introduced by coach Ed Orgeron as the new leaders of the LSU offense, marking the start of a new era for the Tigers' program. The goal, for Orgeron, Peetz and Mangas is finding what made that 2019 LSU offense so special and breathing new life into an offense that was inconsistent in 2020.
Orgeron mentioned the success of the empty package two years ago, giving the ball to playmakers in space and making the in-game adjustments required to be more of the team that led the nation in scoring two years ago and captivated the nation with its efficiency.
He believes in talking with Carolina Panthers coach Joe Brady as well as independent research, that Peetz and Mangas were the perfect additions to getting this offense back to where it wants to be.
"I think these guys are gonna do a tremendous job of doing that and I'm excited about our offense," Orgeron said. "I wanted to bring in the guys who are experts in the spread offense and I got both of them so I'm excited about it."
For Peetz preparation leads to success and the No. 1 thing he hopes to implant in his players from the very start is being prepared for every scenario. The preparation of the 2019 offense is immediately what he pointed to as the reason why that offense was head and shoulders above all others.
"Preparation is what leads to confidence," Peetz said. "It's something that we have to demand from them every day, starting with the first opportunity we get with them to the very last one. We've got to be extremely demanding with these young men and we can only do that if we're demanding of ourselves as a staff."
As a 10-year veteran of the NFL, Peetz said it wasn't his intention to move to the college level but that LSU historically has always had the talent to have an abundance of success. Peetz said he's already spoken with all of the assistant coaches who are already on staff and that the goal is to teach them the way that Peetz and Mangas have both been taught.
"We want great strength and power in this staff so that we sharpen each other, pass ideas along to each other, we challenge each other," Peetz said. "So that when we get to our players, we have a very defined product, we have defined roles, defined responsibility so that they can play with great confidence because of the preparation that goes into it.
"We want this to be an exciting place for our players first but then also as we recruit the best players in the country to know that we will find a way to get you on the field. Get you on the field to play with confidence and the best players we got, you're gonna see them on the field."
While Orgeron, Peetz and Mangas are still in the process of discussing specific roles, Orgeron did say that Peetz will work with quarterbacks while Mangas will work with the wide receivers. Orgeron envisions both Peetz and Mangas being up in the booth together to call the plays, which is what the structure has been the last few years with Steve Ensminger and Joe Brady.
In previous years since LSU moved to the spread, the passing game coordinator has handled the third down and red zone duties. Mangas talked a little about what he's learned over the last few years about what it takes to have success in those specific areas.
"I think on third down you have to be able to protect first," Mangas said. "We can come up with the best concepts in the world but if you can't protect, it's irrelevant. I think it starts with a great protection plan. Just having a plan, preparing and putting in the work and figuring out what the defense likes to do and putting your players in a position to succeed."
At the end of the day, the work is just getting started for Peetz and Mangas, who repeatedly stated how excited they are to be a part of the LSU program and to get to work.
"We're gonna have an exciting brand of football and have an exciting brand of men out there in the world, not just playing football," Peetz said. "My family and I are excited and very proud to be a part of this great organization."
"I'm beyond fired up to be back and to have an opportunity to be a part of a greater role and to be a part of a program like LSU, it's an opportunity I couldn't say no to and I'm beyond excited to be here," Mangas said.
