When Brian Kelly took the job at LSU, one of the first big questions was how he’d assemble the coaching staff.
One thing that became apparent during the hiring process was the emphasis on hiring coaches with Louisiana. Though Kelly only retained one assistant coach, he brought in multiple coaches with ties to Louisiana. This makes sense considering one of the biggest knocks against Kelly is his inexperience in the state and region
One of the notable hires Kelly made was wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Cortez Hankton. Hankton’s stock was as high as ever, coming off a national championship at Georgia in the same role. A native of New Orleans, Hankton is another coach with Louisiana roots that LSU hopes will pay dividends on the field and in recruiting.
“It’s a great opportunity because I get the chance to coach at a University, at a program that I watched growing up,” Hankton said after getting the job. “When you’re from uptown New Orleans or you’re from the state of Louisiana, this is the team that you watch.”
A big part of Kelly’s philosophy since becoming head coach has been that of graduating champions. A bigger emphasis is being placed on off-the-field excellence compared to LSU’s previous coaching teams.
That was also part of Hankton’s philosophy when coming to LSU.
“Having an opportunity to grow here and coach in our state, to develop talent in our state, but more importantly to develop the young men as students, as football players and as people,” Hankton said. “And I feel like it’s only right to give back to the place that has given so much to me.”
Hankton takes over one of LSU’s best position groups and will look to further develop that elite talent. LSU has never had a shortage of good wide receivers, and Hankton is now tasked with keeping that pipeline rolling.
The one coach Kelly did retain was a notable one, offensive line coach and former interim head coach Brad Davis. Davis is a Baton Rouge native who spent his first season at LSU in 2021.
His path to LSU was a bit unconventional, with him being hired just months before the season last June. He was then tasked with turning around a struggling offensive line in a very short period of time.
The learning curve was evident last season, and LSU struggled at the line of scrimmage early on. From there, the whirlwind began as Ed Orgeron was fired during the season, and uncertainty loomed throughout the staff. In that time though, Davis’ unit continued to improve and he was chosen to be the interim head coach for LSU’s bowl game.
“Coaching offensive line is a position that will prepare you for these opportunities,” Davis said after the season. “For me it was something I had been prepared for, for quite some time.”
Davis now enters his second year at LSU, and steps into a more stable role. After a year of development and turnover on the offensive line, expectations are high that he can take the group back to the standard it held prior to the 2020 season.
Though bringing in Louisiana-based coaches was a priority, Kelly still brought some familiarity with him, including Brian Polian, a tag-along from Notre Dame who was an on-field coach.
Polian now serves the same role at LSU, and is also the recruiting coordinator. He comes from a background of player management, as he is the son of longtime NFL general manager and president Bill Polian, who most notably brought the Buffalo Bills to prominence as the General Manager from 1986-1992.
Though he is not from the south, his role is that of a relationship builder that he uses to recruit nationally.
“Who I am as a recruiter is genuine and relationship-driven,” Polian said in an interview. “I want to get to know each prospect, I want to know who’s important in their life, I want to know what’s important in their life, I want to know what’s unique about where they’re from and their families and communities. I want to build relationships and in the end, we are in a relationship business.”
Outside of the Louisiana ties, Kelly was big on hiring experienced coaches. That is evident with Polian, Hankton and Davis, along with the rest of the staff.
“We’re in the toughest division in the SEC,” Kelly said when introducing the staff. “You need experienced coaches, you need coaches that know what winning is about and how difficult it is to win in this conference.”
That trait is reflected through the whole staff, and is a contrast from what LSU’s coaching staff looked like under Ed Orgeron. Polian, Hankton and Davis alone have a combined 49 years of college coaching experience, despite all three still being relatively young coaches.
