Ideally, Brian Kelly should be a busy bee working hard to improve from their record 9-4 record last season. However, in a twist of fate, besides worrying about a roster revamp, looks like the LSU head coach will also have worry about his coaching room. Why? Well, some dependable members of the team might be hopping over to the other side sooner than expected.

On April 3, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg was back with another list. This time, not jotting down the best quarterbacks, or the best wide receivers—but instead taking his analysis to “College football’s top assistant coaches and coordinators in 2025”. The goal was simple: Identify assistants who are close to clinching that elusive head-coaching role.

While Georgia Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann—with his glittering cabinet of six championships—topped the list, also included in the ‘Other names to watch’ section were Brian Kelly’s two right-hand men: Offensive coordinator Joe Sloan, and defensive coordinator Blake Baker…

While Baker joined LSU for a second stint in January 2024, becoming the nation’s highest-paid assistant with a $2.5 million/year contract, and even found his name on the list, Rittenberg still had some qualms about the coach (which we’ll get to later). For now though, there’s an interesting context behind the ESPN journalist including LSU’s two names on the list, which Locked On LSU’s Matt Moscona shed some light upon…

“Daniels showed up on campus, and the knock on Jaden was his inaccuracy,” Moscona noted. He recalled, “I can remember in fall camp of 2022; So, Jayden’s first season in Baton Rouge. [G]oing and watching quarterback drills where Joe Sloan’s working with the likes of Jayden Daniels and Garrett Nussmeier, and the accuracy drills they were doing was effectively target practice.”

For the unversed: Sloan joined the LSU ranks back in January 2022, as a quarterbacks coach, and was elevated to an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coaching role in January last year. In this time with the team, the 38-year-old, he oversaw the development of Jayden Daniels, who later became the program’s third Heisman Trophy winner following a blistering 2023 senior season where he completed 236-of-327 passes for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns, and just four interceptions, while also rushing for 1,134 yards and 10 TDs, leading the team to a 9-3 regular season. Notably, in Sloan’s first season as an OC, the Tigers ranked No. 2 in the SEC and No. 7 nationally in passing offense, averaging 315.2 yards per game. Not just that, under the coach’s tutelage last season, Garrett Nussmeier also ranked No. 2 in the SEC and No. 5 nationally in passing yards per game with 311.7, while leading the SEC in completions (337) and ranking No. 2 in passing TDs (29) with a 64.2% passed completed.

Having said that, Moscona shed some more light on how those drills were designed. “They would set a basket with a target on it in the back corner of the end zone. These guys had to stand at all different points [in] the red zone and just pepper that target. They’d play a game where they had to throw a ball, hit the upright, hit the crossbar. I mean, so much of what they did was intentionally fine-tuning accuracy. And it certainly paid off for Jayden Daniels and I would argue for Garrett Nussmeier now.” Thanks to Sloan’s dedication, Daniels is an NFL superstar and won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award in the NFC in his first season.

However, Moscona had some mixed reviews about DC Blake Baker. He came to LSU from Missouri after creating a stellar defense out of an underwhelming one at Missouri. At LSU, he was faced with the challenge of improving what was then the program’s worst defense in its history. Moscona said, “In year one, there was dramatic improvement. But it was still a mid to lower-tier defense nationally. If this year, especially with all these transfers, Blake Baker can oversee that sort of parabolic runup defensively for LSU and get them back to elite level, then yes, I do think Blake Baker will be at the forefront of everybody’s list as coordinators set to be head coaches.”

Interestingly, even Rittenberg had a similar take: “LSU is still waiting for its breakthrough on defense, which could come this fall with improved talent and depth. If so, Baker, who has worked extensively in the state, will see his head coaching profile grow.”

Looks like, this year, he really has to up his game to improve LSU’s defense rankings from last year. Having said that, Sloan, despite having a better time on the other side of the ball, should be worried about Nussmeier.

Brian Kelly still has to work on Garrett Nussmeier’s issues

The LSU QBs’ numbers tell two different stories. However, their most obvious point is that the star isn’t performing as expected. People once touted him as a top Heisman Trophy favorite. Nussmeier sure made 4000+ yards, but there’s also the 11 interceptions he threw. The Texas A&M game showed that Nussmeier can struggle big time. Three of those interceptions, thrown in this game, gave A&M a 21-point advantage.

Decision-making remains an issue for him, especially with that gunslinger mindset. Ahead of the Alabama game, DC Kane Wommack remarked about his aggressiveness. He said that they would “[do] all the different things to be able to create some confusion for really good quarterbacks.”And it worked; LSU lost 13-42. Preston Guy also commented about the same issue. “He made some outstanding plays last year. Showed you flashes of greatness, but there were also other times where he was too un-careful with the ball, particularly down the stretch of the season. In his first six games, I believe he only had two interceptions, so to finish the back half of the season with 10, that’s highly concerning.” Sloan would have to go harder at Nussmeier to fix these issues because the QB doesn’t have more time for improvement in the lead-up to his pro career.

Nussmeier also has trouble with the deep throws, as it’s observed that there are consistency and accuracy issues in that department. Along with that, the QB also needs to work on improving his mobility, which seems to be limited when the ceiling is raised. A mix of all these issues prevents him from exploiting his talents to the maximum level.

Brian Kelly still has some time before the chances of his assistant coaches taking better positions elsewhere become more prominent. However, he also has to make sure not to have a repeat of 2024 this season and, hopefully, draw more from the success of 2023. Meanwhile, Garrett Nussmeier has to give it his all in his last dance in college football. Without fixing these issues, people might start backtracking on the hopes they had for him this season.