Report: LSU has identified a leading candidate for defensive coordinator position
LSU is now searching for coordinators on both sides of the ball after coach Brian Kelly fired most of the on-field defensive staff on Wednesday.
The Tigers parted ways with defensive coordinator Matt House as well as assistants Kerry Cooks, Robert Steeples and Jimmy Lindsey. House’s unit took a major step back in 2023, finishing in the bottom half of the FBS by most metrics.
Kelly now faces a crucial hire heading into Year 3, and it seems he may have found his guy. Missouri defensive coordinator Blake Baker has already emerged as a leading candidate, according to Brandon Marcello and Matt Zenitz of 247Sports.
Missouri’s Blake Baker has emerged as a leading target for the LSU defensive coordinator job, sources tell @mzenitz and me for @247Sports.
Led by Baker, Missouri has gone from ranking 113th nationally in total defense in 2021 to ranking 25th this season.… pic.twitter.com/STbKIxGk0t
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) January 4, 2024
Baker orchestrated one of the better defenses in the SEC in 2023, ranking fourth in the league in yards per game while having the No. 6 scoring defense. That unit played a large part in an 11-win campaign for the Tigers that culminated in a Fiesta Bowl win over Ohio State.
He has clear ties to the state of Louisiana, serving as LSU’s linebackers coach in 2021 under Ed Orgeron before spending the last two seasons in Columbia. Baker also was an assistant at Louisiana Tech from 2014-18, where he was the defensive coordinator his last four seasons.
Baker also served as the defensive coordinator at Miami from 2019-20, and he signed an extension with Missouri last month that made him one of the SEC’s highest-paid assistants.
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