LSU football coach Brian Kelly didn’t waste time in finding his replacement for outgoing defensive coordinator Matt House.
Kelly announced today that he’s hired Missouri defensive coordinator Blake Baker to the same position in Baton Rouge, giving the up and coming coordinator a 3-year deal with $2.5M per season.
Baker, 41, has been Missouri’s defensive coordinator for the past 2 seasons. In that time, Missouri went from one of the worst defenses in the country to one of the best – the same task Baker will be staked with in Baton Rouge.
This past season, Baker’s Tigers were among the SEC’s best in most every major defensive statistic, ranking also in the Top 30 nationally in most defensive statistics, as well – a dramatic turnaround for a unit that was outside of the Top 100 in total defense before Baker’s arrival.
“Blake brings a wealth of experience and success as a defensive coordinator throughout his career, including the last two years in the SEC at Missouri,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said. “His ability to develop and motivate his players while putting together highly successful defenses sets him apart in his field. I am excited to welcome Blake and his family back to Baton Rouge.”
Baker will be in his fourth stint as a defensive coordinator at the FBS level. From 2015-2018, he was the defensive coordinator at Louisiana Tech, then he held the same position at Miami from 2019-2020. This will be his second go-round in Baton Rouge. Before being the defensive coordinator at Missouri, Baker was the linebackers coach at LSU in 2021 – Ed Orgeron’s final season with the team.
He was not retained by Kelly during the coaching transition – in part because the coordinator opportunity became available at Missouri.
Baker has enjoyed success as a coordinator at each stop. At Miami, his 2019 defense ranked No. 13 in the country in total defense, and he coached several All-Conference players as a coordinator with Louisiana Tech.
But what could be most beneficial to LSU with this hire is his familiarity with Louisiana and the LSU program, which could prove huge in recruiting.
Baker is a Houston native who was a 4-year letterman at Tulane. He is married to Roslyn Jones, of Mandeville. Jones is a former All-SEC soccer player at LSU.
With the Tigers, Baker will be tasked with fixing a defense that had few redeeming qualities in 2023. The Tigers struggled in all phases and squandered one of the best offensive seasons in LSU history, routinely allowing 30+ and even 40+ points to opponents.
Baker and Kelly will now work together to fill out the rest of the LSU defensive staff. In firing House, Kelly announced that he had also fired the entire defensive assistant coaching staff – a complete reboot for that side of the football.
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“… staked with…”? Autocorrect maybe?