Brian Kelly and his staff have a lot of stuff to fix in their 1st season at LSU.

The Tigers went 6-7 last season and 5-5 the year before that. Most of the most important players on those teams are gone.

LSU was below average on both offense and defense and was mostly devoid of playmakers on both sides of the ball.

So there is a weak foundation upon which Kelly begins to rebuild this program.

Here are the 5 biggest areas of concern for LSU … and possible solutions.

1. Leadership

Former head coach Ed Orgeron made a lot of coaching staff changes the last 2 years, and they did not work out well.

Kelly and his staff are making a fresh start.

Orgeron kept trying to turn the clock back to 2019 and the national championship season.

Kelly is looking forward. The solution for him is to use the offseason to get the players to do the same.

A lot of them have arrived since Orgeron’s departure. But even for the holdovers, it’s important to know that they have a fresh start individually and that the team is done chasing ghosts.

The message should be that a new era of LSU football is beginning, and they are privileged to be able to define it.

2. The pass rush

The defensive front was expected to be a strength of the team last season, but it didn’t live up to expectations.

Injuries had something to do with that.

The defensive front again has the potential to be a strength of the team — if the Tigers can keep the group at least mostly intact.

The Tigers struggled with a passive approach on defense at the start of last season. They changed their defensive approach during their open date, putting better athletes near the line of scrimmage and blitzing significantly more.

The new approach changed the mindset of the players, who became much more aggressive and were much more effective.

Kelly and defensive coordinator Matt House can avoid another slow start on defense by capturing that aggressive mindset and turning the Tigers loose from the start.

Maason Smith was effective inside and outside, tackle Jaquelin Roy is poised for a breakout season, Mekhi Wingo was an impactful freshman at Missouri last season and Ali Gaye and BJ Ojulari are very good outside rushers.

Turn them loose.

3. Creating turnovers

LSU was last in the SEC in interceptions and tied for last in takeaways last season.

The absence of a pass rush early in the season and the overall passivity to start the season were part of the problem.

The Tigers were pretty good at stopping the run (7th in the SEC). If they can contain the run and get into favorable down-and-distance pass-rush situations, the turnovers will come.

4. The running game

The running game is usually one of LSU’s strengths, but the Tigers were 2nd-to-last in rushing in the SEC last season.

That’s going to be a problem if it repeats itself.

Tyrion Davis-Price had 4 100-yard games last season, but he’s gone on to the NFL.

John Emery Jr. was academically ineligible, but it looks like he’s going to be back. Noah Cain arrives after a couple of solid seasons at Penn State. Corey Kiner and Armoni Goodwin were highly touted recruits, but they haven’t done much in 2 seasons. Tre Bradford and Josh Williams are also part of the competition.

So LSU has a bunch of running backs who could improve the running game, but none of them has actually done that.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with a running back by committee approach, but the Tigers would be better off if someone, anyone, could establish himself as a starter who can consistently help LSU establish a running game.

Spring practice will be a good time to try to start identifying who that might be.

5. The offensive line

The line kept changing throughout last season and never developed any continuity because of injuries and disciplinary action.

It could have been a good group, but now, virtually everyone is gone. Tackle Cam Wire is the only player with significant experience who returns.

A couple of significant transfers, a few highly regarded backups and a couple of highly touted recruits comprise another talented group.

But continuity will again be an issue, especially early on.

The primary continuity came with the retention of offensive line coach Brad Davis, who was acting head coach between the end of the regular season and the Texas Bowl.

The Tigers should be able to form a solid group of starters. The key will be keeping them together throughout the season.