We have all been there. After that first week at a new job, you sit back for a moment and say to yourself, “Not a bad first week.” Or you might say to yourself, “What did I get myself into?”
For new LSU football coach Lane Kiffin, it was a great first week, and it finished on Friday night with his announcement that Blake Baker will return as the Tigers' defensive coordinator.
It appeared that Baker, who played at Tulane, was going to return to his alma mater and replace Jon Sumrall as the head coach.
But Baker has decided to pass up on his first head coaching job and will run LSU’s defense in 2026.
Two years ago, LSU had one of the worst defenses in the country. This season, LSU is ranked 15th nationally in scoring defense and 25th in total defense, allowing 320 yards a game.
Baker will have the opportunity to coach some young defensive linemen at LSU.
On Wednesday, the nation’s number one defensive tackle in nation, Richard Anderson from Edna Karr High School, signed at LSU.
On Friday, the nation’s number one overall player, University High defensive lineman Lamar Brown, also signed. Brown did not sign on Wednesday because he did not know who would be on LSU’s defensive coaching staff.
It takes a dominant defensive line to win in the SEC, and Kiffin and LSU did not just stop with Anderson and Brown.
On Friday, they also signed defensive tackle Deuce Geralds from Suwanee, Georgia. He is ranked by On3.com as the third-best defensive lineman in the country.
The Tigers also inked a top ten edge rusher in Trenton Henderson out of the state of Florida.
On3.com ranks LSU’s recruiting class as the 11th best in the country. Not bad for Kiffin and his new staff, with help from the old staff as they held a very good recruiting class together.
There are no quarterbacks or running backs in the class, but the transfer portal opens in January, and there is another high school signing period in February.
The focus now is to take that first good week and make it a couple of good first few months on the job.