Brian Kelly Announces Mass Firings of LSU Defensive Staff Following Disappointing Season
LSU’s 2023 season was highlighted by quarterback Jayden Daniels’ strong campaign, which included 4,946 total yards and 50 touchdowns en route to winning the Heisman Trophy. However, the team’s overall success fell short, owing in large part to the program’s defensive troubles.
Following a 10-3 season and third-place finish in the SEC West (6-2 conference record), coach Brian Kelly revealed the firing of the majority of the team’s defensive on-field personnel on Wednesday.
“This morning, I met with [defensive coordinator] Matt House, [safeties coach] Kerry Cooks, [cornerbacks coach] Robert Steeples and [defensive line coach] Jimmy Lindsey to inform them that they would not return to our coaching staff in 2024,” Kelly stated in a statement to 247Sports. “I’d like to congratulate everyone of these coaches for their efforts on behalf of our football team and school throughout their time here. Decisions like this are always difficult, and we do not take them lightly; nonetheless, they are taken with the best interests of our program and student-athletes in mind. Moving forward, we will continue to work on developing a championship-caliber coaching staff to support our aim of graduating champions.
“Our standard is very high here,” Kelly continued. “This isn’t about going 9-3; we want to win the title, so we have to take the next step. We have to look inside at what we need to do in terms of recruitment, coaching, and higher-level coaching, and how we can support that.”
According to Steve Berkowitz of USA Today, LSU owes the four coaches a total of $5.465 million in buyouts, with House receiving more than $3.7 million.
With the changes, only two on-field defensive coaches remain at LSU. John Jancek, who arrived as outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator, changed over to coach defensive line immediately before the season. Lindsey missed time due to a medical
After Jancek moved on to coach the line, Kelly’s former defensive coordinator at Notre Dame and previous head coach at UConn, Bob Diaco, took over as outside linebackers and special teams coach. Diaco’s current state is unknown due to personnel reshuffling.
LSU went 10-4 in 2022, its first year under Kelly, and won the SEC West. While the club finished with a similar record in ’23, their defense deteriorated, dropping from 22.5 points allowed per game (33rd in the country) to 28 the following year (81st). LSU’s defense finished 26th in ESPN’s final SP+ rankings for the 2022 season. This year’s Tigers defense is ranked 52nd.
LSU ended the season with a 35-31 ReliaQuest Bowl victory over Wisconsin on Monday.
