LSU’s hiring of Lane Kiffin away from Ole Miss was made official Sunday, with the longtime Rebels coach heading to Baton Rouge despite his team still being in the College Football Playoff picture.
After various reports, statements and rumors were thrown around throughout Sunday, Kiffin publicly stated that he is accepting the position and has already moved on to focus on his next role.
Among many initial responsibilities Kiffin will have is determining who to maintain on the Tigers’ staff, and one name stands out among the rest in that category.
According to reports by FootballScoop.com, defensive coordinator Blake Baker is at the top of Kiffin’s list to retain and will be a focal point of his early efforts.
Hired prior to the 2024 campaign, Baker spearheaded LSU‘s efforts in having the 16th ranked scoring defense in the nation this past season, despite receiving little help from a struggling offense.
Prior to his time in Baton Rouge, Baker held coordinator positions at Louisiana Tech, Miami and Missouri.
The main contention to Baker remaining in Baton Rouge appears to be the recently opened Tulane head-coaching job. A Texas native who is a a Green Wave alum, Baker may want to take his first stab at being a head coach with his alma mater after Jon Sumrall left the program to take over at Florida.
Parker is currently the sports editor for the Enterprise-Journal in McComb, Mississippi. He's a graduate from Mizzou who has experience covering the Tiger football and basketball beats for SB Nation, and he's worked for a variety of sports news outlets in the past.
