What LSU Football Will Be Looking For In Offensive Coordinator Search
Ed Orgeron found lightning in a bottle when he hired Joe Brady away from the New Orleans Saints to teach the spread offense. With the success the last two years has brought this offense, including the personnel the program has landed, it's pretty clear that LSU won't be reverting back to the stone age of offense.
With the announcement that Steve Ensminger will transition to an analyst role as opposed to an on-field coaching assignment, Orgeron is now tasked with finding an offensive coordinator to keep the ship sailing in the right direction while also finding an innovative mind who can expand on what LSU did in 2019 and 2020.
LSU has an exciting young crop of talent returning in Myles Brennan, TJ Finley, Max Johnson, John Emery, Tyrion Davis-Price, Kayshon Boutte, Koy Moore, Jaray Jenkins and Kole Taylor. The Tigers will also be in scramble mode to convince tight end Arik Gilbert to return to Baton Rouge though that will be an uphill climb of epic proportion.
The offense will welcome an enticing new group of players in quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, running backs Corey Kiner and Armoni Goodwin as well as receivers Chris Hilton, Deion Smith, Malik Nabers and Jack Bech.
These are all weapons who will want the ball in their hands and with LSU also moving on from passing game coordinator Scott Linehan last week, that makes two positions of need for the purple and gold. Linehan, like Brady in 2019, worked closely with the receivers and handled third down and red zone situations for the Tigers in 2020.
That proved to be an area of weakness for this offense and the next hire Orgeron makes will need to be much more efficient on third down and in the red zone.
The question that will be asked is will Orgeron go after a young up and comer or an established veteran in the coaching ranks. Both options have appeal as two years ago LSU proved it could work with one of each. Ensminger was the more established veteran coach with play calling experience while Brady came in as the young wunderkind who brought innovative ideas to the offensive scheme.
One obvious candidate to replace one of Ensminger or Linehan is Jorge Munoz, who was on the staff in 2019 before following Dave Aranda to Baylor last season, serving as passing game coordinator. The Bears didn't find a whole bunch of success in 2020 and it's been reported that Munoz will not return for a second season.
Could a possible reunion with the purple and gold be an option? Munoz was one of the coaches that Joe Burrow wanted at his Heisman ceremony to thank personally for the job he did as an analyst during that unforgettable season.
Offensive analyst Russ Callaway also has offensive coordinator experience and spent the last season getting to know all of the LSU players through their strengths and weaknesses on film. He could be an in-house hire that makes a lot of sense if that's the route Orgeron decides to take.
Like the defensive coordinator job, Orgeron will want to analyze all of the candidates before making any decisions so it's possible the staff won't be filled out for another month or so. Not only does LSU have to fill offensive coordinator, passing game coordinator and defensive coordinator positions, he also has safety and defensive line position group coaching hires to make.
It's set to be an eventful next couple of weeks for the Tigers' leading man.
