Who is on your, as the great Taylor Swift wrote, Wi$h Li$t to be the next head coach at LSU?
Dee
It’s Kiffin’s to turn down as far as I’m concerned. I’ve always gotten the vibe that he genuinely wants to be at LSU
one day. He’s done a good job at Ole Miss (it makes me nauseous to admit that) and I think he would be a great culture fit here. Also, a couple of years ago I walked into Hotworx by campus and he was absolutely belting Kesha’s “Praying.” It’s hard to not like him after that.
Adam
As far as wishlists go, mine looks similar to anyone else with a passive interest in college football: Lanning, Key, Dillingham, yes Kiffin. But I’ll give you a little more left field answer.
I think the best play on the board is to hire Willie Fritz. Yes he is 65 years old, but I think LSU can use this to their advantage by securing a (relatively) cheap contract. LSU can then either retain Baker or hire Kelvin Sheppard, an alum who is making waves as an up and coming DC. Bring them on staff with the understanding when Fritz steps away, likely at the end of his first contract, they will assume the role. Give them three, four years to learn from probably the best program builder of this era of college football how to run a program, maybe winning a title in the process. All for a fraction of what Lanning or Kiffin would cost.
This process can also be operated with one Nicholas Lou Saban for more money, by the way.
Max
Top of my wish list is Brent Key. I think he embodies the right side of everything I’m about to talk about. I think there’s a serious shot he’s the next great one in CFB, and I hope we’d be able to pry him from his alma mater should we have the seriousness and judgment to make the attempt (press X to doubt). Georgia Tech is rolling, and they built it from nothing by doing everything right. They recruit well, which you’d expect considering he was Saban’s OL coach (most important position coach on a staff) from 2016-2018, they evaluate well, they generate financial buy-in which much less reason for boosters to care than LSU has, their coordinators are elite and cutting edge, and they are far better than us right now with a lot less of a head-start. Oh, and he doesn’t cry about academic restrictions despite having to work through quite enormous ones.
Evan
As for what’s next? Frankly, I have no goddamn idea. I don’t know enough about these other coaches to know who fits this description, but there is a type of guy I want: a football junkie. Someone who is obsessed with football. Someone who enjoys the work, not just the winning. Basically, football Jay Johnson. Some guys who I think fit this description: Dan Lanning, Brent Key, Curt Cignetti, Jon Sumrall. Don’t know which of those are attainable or realistic, but that’s what I would look for.
One last note on the reality of the search. I was very critical of the way Scott Woodward handled the 2021 search. I hope the end result of that search being an abject failure results in him looking in the mirror and reevaluating his process. I just brought up Jay Johnson, and you might remember him not being the safe or popular choice at the time. Scott deserves credit for that, but it’s time to do it again. His job is on the line this time. He needs to be smart and thoughtful with whom he entrusts this job to.
That being said… we all know who his first call will be. While I laughed at his name being floated for other jobs… I do think there is a chance he picks up the phone for this job. And if Scott can land him… even if it’s for just three or four years… I will rescind all my criticisms of Woodward. If this idea doesn’t excite you, I want you to imagine Week 1 of next season when Clemson and Dabo come to Death Valley, and I want you to imagine the energy in the building if he is back on the sideline. It might not matter who we have in uniform.
Poseur
Who do we get?
I’ll be honest, I’m terrible at picking out coaches. Guys who I thought would be stars have bombed out, and guys who I thought would suck have become championship coaches. There’s just no way to tell.
All I can say is… I know who I would like to root for. After Kelly, I don’t care about winning so much as I care about someone who “gets it.” I want someone who makes me feel joy. Someone, as a joke I think, suggested Sam Pittman as LSU’s coach. You know what? I would love that. I could root for him. (I understand he’s not a serious candidate, but let that be our guide… who makes you smile?)
That’s all I want. Someone I can root for. Let’s go back to being everyone’s second favorite team. Losing is okay. Not being fun? That isn’t.
I hate you, Brian Kelly.
Zachary
Look I’ll just say it: are we SURE Nick wouldn’t take the job if Scott Woodward makes the call? He’s not going to…but what if he did?
Now that that’s out of the way, Key is the tops of my list and I wouldn’t say no to Dillingham, Sumrall, or Kiffin. Alex Golesh at USF probably deserves a look, too. I just wonder with Key and Dillingham how much being at their alma maters matter, and would that make LSU have to sweeten the deal a little bit more.
But I think the bigger question we should be asking isn’t “who will LSU hire” but rather who at LSU is doing the hiring? Is it Woodward? Is it Austin Thomas? How much will Jeff Landry try and meddle? It is Louisiana after all, so of course there’s going to be a little bit of politicking involved.
