LSU Football Offensive Duo Jake Peetz and DJ Mangas Inherit Talented But Flawed Offense

Ed Orgeron landed his top two offensive options on Wednesday when the program officially announced the hiring of Jake Peetz as offensive coordinator and DJ Mangas as passing game coordinator. The moves were made swiftly as Peetz and Mangas interviewed for the job on Tuesday--after being recommended by former passing game coordinator Joe Brady--and accepting the jobs 24 hours later.

Peetz and Mangas will be taking over an offense that was inconsistent throughout the 2020 campaign. The Tigers used three different quarterbacks throughout the season and the mid season opt outs of Terrace Marshall and Arik Gilbert certainly didn't help matters.

But the purple and gold struggled in two extremely important areas, third down and the red zone, which will likely be Mangas' primary duties as the passing game coordinator. Mangas had a front row seat two years ago to see how Joe Brady and Steve Ensminger operated that insanely efficient offense in 2019, an invaluable lesson during LSU's 15-0 run to a national championship.

“We are very happy to bring DJ back to LSU,” Orgeron said Wednesday. “He did a tremendous job in his one season with us in 2019 working alongside Joe (Brady) to produce one of the most explosive and productive offenses in college football history.”

Mangas does have some play calling experience as he was the offensive coordinator at William and Mary during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, as the second youngest offensive coordinator in all of Division I football. Because he was around for the 2019 season, he's likely seen what quarterback Myles Brennan and running backs John Emery and Tyrion Davis-Price can do.

Former LSU center Lloyd Cushenberry told WAFB's Jacques Doucet that Mangas and Brady are "very similar."

National championship #LSU center Lloyd Cushenberry tells me DJ Mangus is "Very similar to Joe Brady. Young and smart. And Coach Cregg loves him."
— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) January 6, 2021

Though he was an offensive analyst at the time and couldn't have in-person meetings with players, Mangas sat next to Brady in the booth week in and week out during that 2019 season. Now his performance as a passing game coordinator will be predicated on how efficient the offense is on third down and in the red zone.

The Tigers finished 2020 as the 102nd best offense in the country on third downs (34.62%) and just 104th on touchdowns when getting in the red zone (52.9%). Compare that to the 49.73% third down conversion rate in 2019 and the 78.67% touchdown rate in the red zone and that's why you bring Mangas aboard.

Because he's seen how it can be done successfully.

Peetz coming in as the offensive coordinator will be in a new position as well after a 10-year career traveling the NFL. During his most recent stint with the Carolina Panthers, he helped Christian McCaffrey put together an outstanding 2019 season, becoming just the third player in NFL history with over 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season.

Behind the tutelage of Joe Brady, the Panthers' offense saw four players eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the season, only the fifth time that's happened in the Super Bowl era. But there is risk involved hiring a young coordinator like Peetz to run the offense with his lack of play calling experience. In his 10 years of experience in the NFL, Peetz has never been a play caller and despite coming highly recommended, Orgeron is taking a big risk entrusting the offense to the 37-year-old in what is a critical season for the Tigers.

That's something Peetz will have to learn on the fly but having Mangas and Steve Ensminger, who's transitioned to an analyst role for the 2021 season, by his side should help with the transition. Lack of experience doesn't seem to phase Orgeron much at all as he was also the one who brought in Brady without any play calling experience as well.

“Jake brings 10 years of NFL experience with him to our staff. He spent a season coaching alongside and learning from Joe (Brady) so we couldn’t be more excited about Jake joining our staff," Orgeron said in a statement. "His knowledge of football combined with the players we have on our roster, will make for a dynamic offense for LSU in 2021."

These are two of the biggest hires Orgeron has had to make during his time a LSU and only time will tell how well they pan out. But it's abundantly clear that LSU has every intention of sticking with the style of offense that made 2019 an unforgettable season.