LSU will soon be in search of a new offensive coordinator, as the person currently holding the position is leaving to return to his former employer.
Mike Denbrock is leaving Baton Rouge to take the offensive coordinator's position at Notre Dame, according to multiple reports. Denbrock is leaving LSU after two years of coaching there, helping guide quarterback Jayden Daniels to the Heisman Trophy and receiving a nomination for the Broyles Award for the nation's top assistant coach this season.
Denbrock previously coached at Notre Dame from 2010 to 2016 under current LSU head coach Brian Kelly. According to WWL's Mike Detillier, the opportunity to return to familiar surroundings was too much for Denbrock to ignore.
"The money is going to be close no matter where you go today, but I think home sort of hits you at this stage of your life, and Mike's bounced around," Detillier said of Denbrock. " He's lived a nomad's life like most assistant coaches do. Getting close to home, I think, is important for people of a certain age. They have a new quarterback coming in from Duke who they need to develop and develop and offense around. I think that was the main reason why he went back to Notre Dame: it had everything to do with returning back close to his home and to a place where he's coached before."
Detillier believes Brian Kelly already has a qualified successor to Denbrock on his coaching staff.
"I think (quarterbacks coach) Joe Sloan is the unsung hero. He's like the guy who has sandpaper and smooths out some of the rough edges in Jayden Daniels. Joe is a Louisiana-ties guy. He was at Louisiana Tech before he got to LSU. For me, it would be a very smooth transition from Mike Denbrock to Joe Sloan in calling plays.
Regardless of who succeeds Denbrock, former LSU quarterback and WWL Tiger Tailgating Show host Herb Tyler believes LSU's new offensive coordinator will have a chance to put his stamp on the program.
"You do lose the name in Coach Denbrock and what he's accomplished over the last few years," Tyler said. "What is exciting is the fact that: What can be tweaked and what can be changed? I don't' think they're going to change it 100 percent, but (they will look at) what can we tweak and what kind of adjustments we can make to make this offense look even better going into next year."
LSU will face Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl on New Year's Day.