Big-name coaches that have been on LSU’s staff over the years
A lot of big names in the coaching ranks have come through LSU over the years.
Several LSU assistants have gone on to have big-time head coaching jobs in the SEC or elsewhere. Some have even won national championships.
LSU’s had a lot of success in the 21st century and these all-star coaching staffs have had a lot to do with it. The fact that they have been so good is what has allowed so many names to cycle in and out as assistants move on to bigger and better things.
Today, we’re going to look at all the recognizable names that have been a part of the LSU staff since 2000, the year Nick Saban arrived.
Mel Tucker
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[autotag]Mel Tucker[/autotag] only spent one year at LSU, arriving with Saban in 2000. After that year, Tucker took the defensive back coach job at Ohio State.
The biggest name from Tucker’s DB group at LSU was safety [autotag]Ryan Clark[/autotag]. Tucker’s pass defense managed to hold opponents to less than six yards per pass and LSU had one of the better defenses in the SEC.
He’s now the head coach at Michigan State and one of the highest-paid coaches in the country.
Derek Dooley
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Derek Dooley was at LSU from 2000-04 and coached tight ends and running backs during his time with the Tigers.
Some of the top names he worked with include [autotag]Justin Vincent[/autotag], [autotag]Alley Broussard[/autotag], and [autotag]Joseph Addai[/autotag].
Dooley followed Saban when he left for the Dolphins but eventually had stints as a head coach at Louisiana Tech and Tennessee. His head coaching record was 31-40. After Tennessee, Dooley had some assistant jobs in the NFL but is now at Alabama on the support staff.
Adam Gase
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[autotag]Adam Gase[/autotag] was with Saban at LSU from 2000-02. He served on the support staff, both as an offensive assistant and defensive assistant.
Gase rose to relevance as the offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos in 2013, where along with Peyton Manning and a great group of wide receivers, he was part of one of the better NFL offenses in recent memory.
He had stints as a head coach with the Dolphins and Jets. Gase ended a long playoff drought for the Dolphins in 2016, but never quite found that success again.
His combined record with the Dolphins and Jets was 32-48.
Kirby Smart
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Smart’s only year at LSU was 2004, when he served as the defensive backs coach under Saban. Some of Smart’s players that year included [autotag]Corey Webster[/autotag] and [autotag]LaRon Landry[/autotag].
LSU’s total pass defense ranked second in the SEC under Smart and only allowed 5.65 yards per attempt. The Tigers ranked third in the SEC with 1.2 interceptions per game.
After LSU, Smart coached running backs at Georgia for a year. He reunited with Saban for a year with the Dolphins before being a longtime assistant at Alabama.
Smart ended at as UGA’s head coach and the rest is history as he led the Dawgs to a national title last year and has Georgia positioned to contend again.
Freddie Kitchens
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[autotag]Freddie Kitchens[/autotag] spent one year at LSU, arriving with Tucker and Saban in 2000. He was a part of the support staff with Gase.
He served as the Browns‘ head coach in 2019, ending the year with a 6-10 record. He’s now an analyst at South Carolina under Shane Beamer.
Jimbo Fisher
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This is the biggest name on this list. Because of Fisher’s time at LSU, his name popped up a lot in LSU’s last two coaching searches.
He was the offensive coordinator from 2000-06, helping guide LSU to a championship in 2003.
He left for Florida State to call plays for Bobby Bowden before taking over as head coach in 2010. He led the Seminoles to a national title in 2013.
His relationship with FSU grew stale, leading him to take the job at Texas A&M. Fisher has the Aggies contending, but he’s still looking for his first SEC West title.
Will Muschamp
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Muschamp was at LSU from 2001-04, serving as the defensive coordinator for the 2003 title team.
He followed Saban to the Dolphins before returning to the college ranks where he had successful coordinating stints at Auburn and Texas before getting a head coaching opportunity at Florida.
Things didn’t work out there and a year later, he got another chance at South Carolina. He had some big wins with the Gamecocks, but it wasn’t quite enough.
Muschamp’s career head coaching record is 55-51. He’s now a part of Kirby Smart’s staff at Georgia. He could get another head coaching opportunity at a smaller school sometime down the road.
Bo Pelini
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Pelini’s reputation at LSU is rather tarnished by the job he did in 2020, but he was once a good DC on the [autotag]Les Miles[/autotag] staff. Pelini was defensive coordinator at LSU from 2005-07 and did a well enough job to end up as Nebraska’s head coach.
Pelini went 67-27 at Nebraska. It’s the most success that the program has seen in a while, but his relationship with the Nebraska administration was not in a good place, and the two went their separate ways.
Pelini then coached FCS program Youngstown State. His combined record as a head coach is 100-55.
Frank Wilson
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[autotag]Frank Wilson[/autotag] is back at LSU in 2022 after serving as the head coach at UTSA from 2016-19 and at McNeese State from 2019-21.
Wilson is known for his recruiting prowess, especially in the city of New Orleans.
His total record as a head coach was 26-40, but he’s considered one of the best running back coaches in the sport and certainly one of the better assistants to have come through LSU.
Cam Cameron
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[autotag]Cam Cameron[/autotag] was the Dolphins head coach in 2007, replacing Nick Saban after he returned to the college ranks.
Cameron served as OC under Les Miles from 2013-16. He was fired along with Miles in 2016. It’s been reported that letting Cameron go was Ed Orgeron’s decision.
Fans grew frustrated with Cameron as LSU refused to adapt on offense.
Dave Aranda
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[autotag]Dave Aranda[/autotag] was LSU’s defensive coordinator from 2016-19. His defenses were some of LSU’s best this century. Numerous stars came through the program as Aranda helped lead LSU to a national title in 2019.
Aranda is now at the helm of Baylor, where he just led the Bears to a Big 12 title. Entering 2022, Baylor is ranked 10th in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25.
Aranda has a good shot to lead Baylor to back-to-back conference titles and could even compete for a spot in the playoff.
A few other relevant names
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There are some other big time assistants that have come through LSU, even if they never reached the heights of the headliners on this list.
[autotag]Todd Monken[/autotag] was an offensive assistant at LSU from 2005-06. He was the head coach at Southern Miss for a few years and was Georgia’s OC last year during their title run.
Also on Georgia’s staff is OL coach [autotag]Stacy Searles[/autotag], who worked with Monken at LSU and was a part of both the Saban and Miles staffs.
[autotag]Scott Cochran[/autotag], currently the special teams coordinator at UGA, is a Louisiana native who graduated from LSU and spent 2001-04 with the Tigers.
[autotag]Bo Davis[/autotag], currently the defensive line coach at Texas and one of the best recruiters in the country, had multiple stints at LSU in the 90s and 2000s.
Other names that have been at LSU that you might recognize or that are highly respected in the coaching community include [autotag]John Chavis[/autotag], [autotag]Bradley Dale Peveto[/autotag], [autotag]Jerry Sullivan[/autotag] and [autotag]Pete Jenkins[/autotag].
