New LSU offensive coordinator Steve Kragthorpe found himself in an unusual position last fall.
Things had changed quickly since spring 2010, when he was set to coach the wide receivers at Texas A&M. But as the saying goes, things can change in an instant.
Doctors diagnosed Kragthorpe’s wife Cynthia with multiple sclerosis last summer, shifting his priorities from football to family. A pre-existing condition made it impossible for her to receive medicine for MS before undergoing heart surgery first.
Kragthorpe went to Texas A&M head coach Mike Sherman in July to inform him he would be taking a leave of absence to concentrate on his family.
“I said I don’t know if things are going to work for me to be here right now,” Kragthorpe said Monday. “I wanted to take time to make sure my No. 1 priority, which is my wife and kids, were in good position and good shape.”
So off to the couch he went.
Kragthorpe didn’t quite know what to do with his newfound free time after 20 straight years of coaching. He spent the fall in Tulsa, Okla. attending his children’s games, watching college football on TV and twiddling his thumbs.
By the time November came around, he found himself missing the sidelines. The 45-year-old Kragthorpe got back on the coaching carousel with the blessing of Cynthia, whose health had improved significantly since July.
“At the end of the season, everything was going great. She was doing great with the medicine, her heart surgery, things that were on her EKG for 40 years were gone,” Kragthorpe said. “Everything’s full speed ahead in terms of that. If she didn’t feel good about it, I wouldn’t jump back into coaching.”
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They say everything comes full circle, and so it was for Kragthorpe. Family led him away from Texas A&M, but ultimately brought him to LSU.
Kragthorpe spoke enthusiastically Monday about the way LSU coach Les Miles ran his program, particularly his family atmosphere.
“He’s a great man of character,” Kragthorpe emphasized. “I like the way he operates … the way he involves our families. I think that’s one of the things to me that was so appealing about coming to LSU. I know the atmosphere that Les creates for his coaches and his teams and his players, and that’s a family atmosphere.”
Kragthorpe interviewed with multiple teams for head coaching and coordinator positions before he sat down to talk with LSU. But once he got to Baton Rouge, he said the decision was an easy one.
“When I was interviewing with Les and the other offensive coaches, (Cynthia) had a chance to go look around Baton Rouge,” Kragthorpe said. “She came back and said this is a great place. She’s pretty perceptive. She’s made one bad decision in her life, and that was marrying me.”
Kragthorpe said a football game that occurred the other day summed up everything about Miles’ program. The children of the coaching staff got together to play a game of touch football on the lawn in front of the Lod Cook Alumni Center.
The quarterback was offensive line coach Greg Studrawa, whose name gave Kragthorpe quite a bit of trouble. He stumbled over the pronunciation before smiling and joking that he already called him “Stud.”
 
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Contact Katherine Terrell at [email protected]