What happened to the National Championship winning 2019 LSU coaching staff is proof that talented college kids can overcome the incompetence of adults. Okay, maybe that analysis is a bit harsh. But with Joe Brady being unceremoniously fired by the Carolina Panthers, nearly every coach on that team has face planted since brushing aside Clemson in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
What’s shocking is that this wasn’t some long, slow decline. The 2019 LSU coaching staff won the National Championship and then proceeded to crap in the bed immediately. It is a really bad story apart from one notable exception.
Let’s start with the lone bright spot, Dave Aranda. After winning the College Football Playoff, the then Tigers Defensive Coordinator landed the Baylor head coaching gig. That first season in Waco was dicey, but he recovered in year two to win the Big XII title. His story is the only one with a happy ending.
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Here’s what happened to the National Championship winning 2019 LSU coaching staff
Aranda’s former boss, Ed Orgeron, was shown the door after two average seasons in Baton Rouge. At the end of the day, Coach O is a great character, but a decidedly mediocre head coach. That 2019 happened because LSU was too talented to screw up.
The fate of so-called offensive wiz Joe Brady has already been mentioned, but he only served as passing game coordinator for the Tigers. The offensive coordinator for the team was Steve Ensminger who retired alongside defensive line coach Bill Johnson at the end of the 2020 season. Realistically speaking, both would have been fired had they not stepped aside.
Offensive Line Coach James Cregg was fired after that season for violating NCAA rules. He then turned around and sued his former employer and didn’t work in college football in 2021.
Wide Receivers Coach and Assistant Head Coach Mickey Joseph survived both post-championship seasons but recently left to take a similar role at Nebraska. Running Backs Coach Tommie Robinson found work at Texas A&M after the title game.
Over on the defensive side of the ball, Corey Raymond has stuck around for the past two years although given just how bad the Tigers’ secondary has been torched, fans probably wish he hadn’t. Safeties coach Bill Busch only survived 2020.
Two other members of the 2019 LSU coaching staff recently left the program. Special Teams Coordinator Greg McMahon chose to retire while new Tigers Head Coach Brian Kelly decided not to retain Strength and Conditioning Coordinator Tommy Moffitt.
That’s what happened to the National Championship winning 2019 LSU coaching staff. Less than two years after hoisting the trophy in New Orleans, they are either retired, working somewhere else, out of work or Dave Aranda. If we’re being honest, the success of that team was due mostly to an amazing group of players.
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