It didn’t take long after the news broke on Friday morning that LSU offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock was returning to Notre Dame that Tigers coach Brian Kelly named Joe Sloan and Cortez Hankton as the co-offensive coordinators for ReliaQuest Bowl matchup against Wisconsin.
“I’m confident in Cortez and Joe’s ability to run the offense, Kelly said. “They will collaborate in the passing game and work with Brad (Davis) and Frank (Wilson) in the running game. They will execute a great game play for us. They are a cohesive group of coaches and I’m excited about this opportunity for them. I know they will do a good job.”
Sloan is LSU quarterbacks coach while Hankston is the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach.
Sources say both men are candidates to fill the role as the offensive coordinator going forward.
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Sloan is known as an excellent recruiter with his strong ties with high school coaches in Louisiana. Prior to LSU, Sloan spent nine seasons at Louisiana Tech, the Bulldogs won nine games four times during that run.
Sloan started at Tech in 2013 as inside receivers coach and in 2015 he was named the assistant head coach. Prior to the 2019 season, he was promoted to co-offensive coordinator and he was named offensive coordinator for the Bulldogs in January of 2020.
Sloan came to LSU with Brian Kelly in 2021 and helped develop Jayden Daniels into a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback. Garrett Nussmeier recently spoke highly of his connection with Daniels.
Hankton, a New Orleans native, was considered a big time hire when he was added to Kelly’s original staff at LSU. The former NFL wide out helped Georgia win a national championship and coached George Pickens.
He’s been instrumental in the development of future first round picks Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr.
It appears LSU is in good hands for the bowl game with Denbrock back in South Bend.
But this is such a critical hire for the future of the program. A bad hire at coordinator can sink a program. Ed Orgeron’s selection of Bo Pelini is the most classic example.
Les Miles’ hiring of Cam Cameron as offensive coordinator helped seal his fate.
Kelly has an excellent reputation of hiring assistant coaches. And Kelly is quick to respond when he knows he made a mistake. At Notre Dame in 2016, Kelly fired his defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder a few games into the season after the Irish were upset by Duke.
Kelly mentioned this move earlier this year when he talking about firing a coach who stood up in his wedding.
Many LSU fans are upset with Tigers defensive coordinator Matt House. But House’s resume coming to LSU was stellar. A successful run as an assistant with the Kansas City Chiefs. He also did an outstanding job as a defensive coordinator at Kentucky.
It’s possible House could be leaving too, especially when assistant jobs start opening up in the NFL again.
I don’t expect Kelly to move quickly in hiring an offensive coordinator as I’m sure he’ll want to look at a multitude of candidates.
Plus, there’s no real urgency. The 2024 recruiting class is signed, and just added a quarterback and receiver out of the transfer portal.