Change of plans? Wunderkind LSU assistant Joe Brady is reportedly headed to the NFL
By Keith Farner
Published:
Even with the celebrations ongoing, and a parade yet to come, star LSU assistant Joe Brady has reportedly made a decision about where he will coach in 2020.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Brady, LSU’s passing game coordinator, “has told people today that he is planning to return to the NFL and the Carolina Panthers, per league sources.”
Before the national championship win over Clemson, Brady responded to questions about his job future.
“I haven’t been contacted by anybody,” he told reporters. On being an NFL OC: “It’s something that I haven’t even thought of.”
But Sports Illustrated reported that he agreed to a contract extension ahead of the title game, and Brady would, as of now, receive a three-year contract and a salary that is expected to more than double his current earnings of $410,000. The deal protects LSU from losing Brady to college assistant jobs, but provides him flexibility for a jump to a college head coaching position or the NFL, where many believe his future lies.
Coach Ed Orgeron since the regular season has discussed his intention to keep Brady beyond this season, and that a plan has been in the works to do just that. Brady was presumably in line to see a substantial raise and possibly more responsibility.
Brady was largely credited with transforming the LSU offense in a way that hasn’t been seen in recent memory, if ever. He deflected the credit to colleague and offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger, but Brady also won the Broyles Award, as he became the first assistant who isn’t an offensive or defensive coordinator to receive the honor. The award, which has been handed out since 1996, is given to the top assistant coach in the country.
Brady was in his first season at LSU after he spent the previous two years as an offensive assistant for the NFL’s New Orleans Saints. Prior to that, he had brief stints at William & Mary (linebackers coach from 2013-14) and Penn State (graduate assistant from 2015-16).
Before the College Football Playoff, Brady helped LSU set school records for points (621), points per game (47.8), total yards (7,206), 50-point games (six) and 40-point games (10).
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
