After only one year on the Tiger Stadium sidelines, LSU defensive line coach Bo Davis is leaving for the NFL. Newly minted New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore continued raiding the college coaching ranks by poaching Davis to coach the same position for the Saints. Brian Kelly accomplished what many thought he couldn’t by pulling Davis away from Texas. Suddenly, LSU is once again in need of a defensive line coach.
LSU Defensive Line Coach Takes Job with Saints
Big Impact in Short Time
Davis took over an LSU defensive line that lost three defensive tackles to the NFL draft after 2023. Then he lost the only returning defensive tackle with experience, Jacobian Guillory, to a season-ending injury after the second game of the year. Despite the circumstances, the LSU defense averaged 21 fewer rushing yards in 2024 than it did in 2023. Of course, that statistic is a credit to the whole defense, but it starts up front.
Highly regarded on the field and the recruiting trail, it didn’t take long for Davis to impact the roster positively. He capitalized on the relationships he built while at Texas to bring in defensive tackles Brandon Brown and Zion Williams. In all, Davis brought in four high school defensive tackles and one transfer in LSU’s 2025 recruiting class.
Revolving Door of the Defensive Staff
The good news is that Kelly has hired talented and accomplished coaches to run his defensive lines. Unfortunately, the better the coach, the harder it is to keep him. Kelly’s first defensive line coach at LSU was Jamar Cain, who left for the Denver Broncos in 2023.
Next, Kelly hired Jimmy Lindsey from South Carolina’s staff. However, Lindsey didn’t coach in the 2023 season due to an unnamed illness. The historically inept defense of that season led to the whole staff getting fired, so Lindsey never got the chance to make an impact.
Kelly was determined to avoid a repeat of the defensive collapse that wasted one of the best LSU offenses ever. Blake Baker made headlines as the new defensive coordinator, but Kelly also made Bo Davis one of the highest-paid defensive line coaches in the nation.
Even that wasn’t enough to overcome the allure of the NFL for Davis. The college game has always demanded more from coaches with recruiting and Spring training. Now, the transfer portal has added another challenge to the never-ending nature of the college football world. However, the resources, pay, and recruiting advantages make the opportunity to be the defensive line coach at LSU attractive in any era.
What’s Next?
Spring practice is only a week away, so LSU will presumably add defensive line responsibilities to another coach like Kevin Peoples, the current edge rusher coach for the Tigers. Other than coaching ends and edges at LSU and Missouri, Peoples has coached the defensive line at Indiana and Tulane. He has the experience to be effective until the Tigers can find their next full-time defensive line coach.
As always, time is still a factor. LSU needs to find its man to calm any concerns current players might have before the next transfer portal window comes after Spring training. Two very talented rising sophomores return in Ahmad Breaux and Dominick McKinley. The LSU defense is counting on their growth in the middle to get back to the standard to which Tiger fans have grown accustomed. It’s critical to keep those guys on the roster, along with the new arrivals.
Whoever replaces Davis will come into a challenging but promising situation in recruiting. LSU has one elite defensive lineman already committed to the 2026 class, Edna Karr’s Richard Anderson. There are other national-level defensive line recruits in-state for next year’s class, including McKinley’s younger brother, Darryus McKinley, and Ouachita’s Dylan Berymon.
Main Photo: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
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