Brian Kelly came to the LSU Tigers for the 2022 season and put together a coaching staff that was ready to win. They’d go on to win 10 games and the SEC Western Division.
LSU Tigers Coaching Staff
Head Coach, Brian Kelly
Kelly was hired as LSU’s 34th head football coach in December 2021. Kelly has the most wins of any active coach in FBS college football, having previously coached at Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Central Michigan, and Grand Valley State.
A proven winner, Kelly has done so everywhere he’s been. Kelly is a three-time winner of the Home Depot Coach of the Year Award, while no other coach has won more than once.
Kelly led the 2012 Notre Dame team to the BCS Championship game and recorded 12 wins that season. In 2018, he led Notre Dame to the Cotton Bowl and then the Rose Bowl in 2020. He finished his Notre Dame coaching career, winning 73.9% of his games.
While at Cincinnati, he won two Big East titles and made appearances in the Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl. At Central Michigan, he led the Chippewas to their first bowl game in 12 seasons and they won a Mid-American Conference championship. In his first season at LSU, he led them to the SEC Championship game by winning the SEC Western Division.
Kelley played linebacker at Assumption College for four seasons, graduating in 1983.
- Assumption (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers, 1983-1986)
- Grand Valley State (Graduate Assistant/Defensive backs, 1987-1988, Head Coach, 1991-2003)
- Central Michigan (Head Coach, 2004-2006)
- Cincinnati (Head Coach, 2006-2009)
- Notre Dame (Head Coach, 2010-2021)
- LSU (Head Coach, 2022-Present)
Defensive Coordinator/ Linebackers Coach, Matt House
Matt House began the 2023 season with 6 years of experience as a defensive coordinator: one at LSU, two at Kentucky, two at Pitt, and one at Florida International.
House spent three seasons with the St. Louis Rams as the defensive quality control/assistant linebacker coach after one season as the special teams/ strength and conditioning assistant for the Carolina Panthers. From 2019 to 2021, he was the linebackers coach of the Kansas City Chiefs; during that time, the Chiefs had two Super Bowl appearances, including one Super Bowl championship.
- Michigan State (Graduate Assistant/ Secondary, 2001-2002)
- North Carolina (Defensive Assistant, 2003-2004)
- Gardner-Webb (Defensive Line, 2005)
- Buffalo (Defensive Backs/ Recruiting Coordinator, 2006-2007)
- Carolina Panthers (Special Teams Asst., 2008)
- St. Louis Rams (Quality Control Coach/ Defensive Assistant Linebackers Coach, 2009-2011)
- Pittsburgh (Secondary Coach, 2014; Defensive Coordinator, 2013-14)
- Florida International (Defensive Coordinator/ Linebackers, 2015)
- Kentucky (Inside linebackers/Special Teams Coordinator, 2016; Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers, 2017-2018)
- Kansas City Chiefs (Linebackers, 2019-21)
- LSU (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers, 2022-2023)
Offensive Coordinator/ Tight Ends Coach, Mike Denbrock
This is Mike Denbrock’s third time on Brian Kelly’s staff. He worked with Kelly at Grand Valley State for seven seasons, then later for another seven at Notre Dame.
Prior to rejoining Kelly at LSU, Denbrock was at Cincinnati as offensive coordinator for Luke Fickle. He was the offensive coordinator for Desmond Ridder, who would become a two-time AAC Offensive Player of the Year and was selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
He was a semifinalist for the 2021 Broyles Award for the nation’s top assistant coach.
Mike Denbrock is known for his development of tight ends. In 2011, Tyler Eifert was a Mackey Award finalist and first-team All-American. In the NFL, Eifert would be selected to the 2025 Pro Bowl. Kyle Rudolph played for Notre Dame and Denbrock in 2010. Rudolph would go on to be a two-time NFL Pro Bowl tight end.
- Grand Valley State (Graduate Assistant, 1986-1987)
- Michigan State (Graduate Assistant, 1988-1989)
- Illinois State (Offensive Tackles/Tight Ends, 1990-1991)
- Grand Valley State (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks/Wide Receivers, 1992-95; Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers, 1996-98)
- Buffalo – Arena Football League (Defensive Coordinator/Offensive Line/Defensive Line, 1999-2000 )
- Stanford (Offensive Tackles/Tight Ends, 2001)
- Notre Dame (Offensive Tackles/Tight Ends, 2002-2004)
- Washington (Offensive Line, 2005-2008)
- Indiana State (Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator/Linebackers, 2009)
- Notre Dame (Tight Ends, 2010-11; Outside Wide Receivers/Passing Game Coordinator, 2012-13; Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers, 2014; Associate Head Coach/Wide Receivers, 2015-16)
- Cincinnati (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks, 2017; Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends, 2018-21)
- LSU (Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends, 2022-Present)
Associate Head Coach/ Running Backs Coach, Frank Wilson
Frank Wilson returns to the LSU staff, where he spent six seasons from 2010-2015. Between his departure and return to LSU, Wilson spent six seasons as a head coach at UTSA and McNeese State.
Frank Wilson is known for his recruiting abilities and running back development. Seven LSU running backs coached by Wilson have been selected in the NFL Draft. He was also able to recruit Leonard Fournette, Tyrann Mathieu, Jarvis Landry, and Odell Beckham Jr.
Defensive Line Coach, John Jancek
John Janecek is a Grand Valley State alum and started his coaching career as a graduate assistant under Kelly.
He served as defensive coordinator at Grand Valley State when they made two runs to the national title game, winning it in 2002. He also has defensive coordinator experience at the major college football level at Colorado State, Tennessee, and Cincinnati.
Safeties Coach, Kerry Cooks
Kerry Cooks is an Iowa alum and spent two stents with Brian Kelly at Notre Dame. From 2010 to 2014, he rotated between being outside linebackers coach, cornerbacks coach, co-defensive coordinator, and defensive backs coach. Then, from 2020-2021, he was a defensive analyst for Notre Dame.
Special Teams Coordinator/ Outside Linebackers Coach, Bob Diaco
Bob Diaco won the Broyles Award for the nation’s top assistant coach in 2012 while defensive coordinator at Notre Dame, the year they reached the National Championship game. That season, Notre Dame only allowed 15 offensive touchdowns. He also served as co-defensive coordinator for Brian Kelly in 2005 at Central Michigan.
Offensive Line Coach, Brad Davis
Brad Davis joined the LSU coaching staff in 2021 under Ed Orgeron. He served as interim head coach in the Texas Bowl after Orgeron was fired. In 2022, two freshmen tackles earned Freshman All-American honors.
Brad Davis played at Oklahoma and was part of the 2000 national championship team.
Defensive Line Coach, Jimmy Lindsey
Jimmy Lindsey came to LSU after two years at South Carolina. While there, he coached Zacch Pickens, who would go on to become a fourth-round pick in the NFL Draft.
Lindsey played and began coaching at Chattanooga, where he was a graduate assistant and then linebackers coach.
Passing Game Coordinator/ Wide Receivers Coach, Cortez Hankton
Cortez Hankton was the wide receivers coach for four seasons at Georgia, including for their 2022 National Championship. He played at Texas Southern, graduating in 2022 and set the school records for season and career receiving yards.
Quarterbacks Coach, Joe Sloan
In his first season at LSU, the Tiger’s offense gained the second most passing yards in school history, 3,770. Prior to LSU, Sloan was at Louisiana Tech from 2013 through 2021, where he was inside receivers coach, recruiting coordinator, co-offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, and offensive coordinator.
Cornerbacks Coach, Robert Steeples
Robert Steeples is early in his coaching career. He graduated from Missouri in 2022 and was head coach at De Smet Jesuit High School from 2016-2020. He then became the Assistant Special Teams coach for the Minnesota Vikings in 2021 before joining LSU in 2022.