Lane Kiffin targeting elite SEC assistant to join LSU defensive staff, per report
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Lane Kiffin is targeting top South Carolina assistant Sterling Lucas to join his first defensive staff at LSU, according to a report by FootballScoop on Friday morning.
Lucas has become 1 of the elite defensive line coaches in the SEC during his 5 seasons at South Carolina. Over the past 4 seasons, he’s been the on-field assistant coach overseeing the Gamecocks’ ends and outside linebackers, and he’s also dabbled as a defensive running game coordinator, so his experience is vast, and his versatility is extensive.
Now, Lane Kiffin and LSU reportedly want what South Carolina already has in Lucas, who would be joining an already stacked defensive staff in Baton Rouge that’s led by much-heralded defensive coordinator Blake Baker. The LSU defense has been led by Baker for the past 2 seasons, and Lucas would be adding to that expertise if Kiffin is able to lure him from Columbia.
A deal has not been finalized yet between LSU and Lucas, but discussions are ongoing, according to Friday’s FootballScoop report.
Before zeroing in on Lucas, LSU had brought in Elijah Robinson to discuss the defensive position. But Robinson, a former Syracuse defensive coordinator and longtime assistant at Texas A&M, is no longer a candidate for the defensive position at LSU, according to the FootballScoop report.
After engaging in “deep discussions” with Robinson, according to FootballScoop, LSU has now centered its attention on Lucas as 1 of the potential key pieces to Baker’s defensive staff in Baton Rouge in 2026.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
