Orgeron completes coaching staff
Scooter Hobbs
Ed Orgeron’s LSU staff is complete.
The Tigers’ head coach rounded it out by hiring 13-year NFL veteran Andre Carter away from the New York Jets to coach the defensive line and University of Miami defensive coordinator Blake Baker as his linebackers’ coach.
“I think we have assembled as fine a coaching staff as there is in college football,” Orgeron said. “I know our players are going to benefit tremendously from our coaches, not only the field, but off the field as well.”
The completed staff includes five out of 10 new faces, including all three coordinators.
Carter, a All-American defensive lineman at Cal and first-round NFL pick by the 49ers, also played with Washington, New England and Oakland.
Other than a year as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, this will be his first college coaching job after spending two years with the Miami Dolphins and the last two with the Jets.
“Andre was an outstanding defensive lineman for a long time in the NFL and now he’s translating what he did and learned as a player to those he’s coaching,” Orgeron said. “Andre is a very bright up-and-coming coach who will do a great job with our defensive line … They are going to be able to learn firsthand from an NFL veteran on what it takes to become a dominant player.”
The 38-year-old Baker, a Houston native and a linebacker during his playing days at Tulane, was defensive coordinator for the last four of his five seasons at Louisiana Tech before taking the same job at Miami the past two seasons.
Baker’s Miami defenses played well in 2019, but struggled last season to the point that Hurricanes’ head coach Manny Diaz recently said he would take over defensive play-calling duties next season after finishing this season with a 62-26 loss to North Carolina and a 37-34 loss to Oklahoma State in the Cheez-It Bowl.
But the previous season Baker’s Hurricanes were No. 13 nationally in yards allowed and No. 23 in scoring defense.
His last defense at Louisiana Tech in 2018 was sixth the national in sacks.