BREAKING: LSU Hires Kevin Peoples As Assistant Coach Peoples will handle defensive ends and edge rushers for the Tigers, Brian Kelly adds to a talented staff.
Brian Kelly has been on a tear over the last week as he begins filling up his defensive staff. It started with luring Blake Baker back down South and has since carried into the Tigers reeling in Bo Davis to join the staff.
Now, another hire has been made. Kelly and Co. will bring Missouri defensive line coach Kevin Peoples to Baton Rouge as a defensive assistant. ESPN’s Pete Thamel first reported the news.
After LSU made the move to sign Missouri defensive coordinator Blake Baker, all attention shifted to how he would fill out his staff. The Tigers reeled in Bo Davis as the defensive line coach and surely weren’t done in that area.
Peoples adds to what Kelly is developing on defense. That being, an elite-level crew. The possibility is that he focuses on the defensive ends/EDGE rushers.
A coach who has established a working relationship with recently chosen defensive coordinator Blake Baker, it’s a match made in heaven. He understands how Baker operates as a coordinator while also spent four years at Tulane as its defensive line coach.
Peoples has been noted for his development with EDGE rushers and is ready to form a strong combo alongside Davis.
A look into the other hires Kelly has made over the last week and a half:
The Hires
Blake Baker: Defensive Coordinator
Baker joins the LSU staff after serving as the defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Missouri for the past two seasons. Baker coached the linebackers at LSU in 2021. Prior to that, he served as the defensive coordinator at Miami (Fla.) in 2019-20 and at Louisiana Tech from 2015-18. He brings eight years of defensive coordinator experience to the LSU team
“Blake brings a wealth of experience and success as a defensive coordinator throughout his career, including the last two years in the SEC at Missouri,” Kelly said. “His ability to develop and motivate his players while putting together highly successful defenses sets him apart in his field. I am pleased to welcome Blake and his family back to Baton Rouge.”
Baker’s 2023 Missouri defense had a key factor in the Tigers winning 11-2 overall and capping the season with a 14-3 triumph over No. 7 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. Missouri’s 11 wins were the most for the institution in nearly a decade. In the win over Ohio State, Missouri held the Buckeyes without a score for the first time since the 2016 season.
Bo Davis: Defensive Line
Davis joins the LSU staff after spending the past three seasons at Texas where he helped the Longhorns reach the College Football Playoffs in 2023 with one of the nation’s finest defenses. Davis served six years with the Longhorns, first as defensive tackles coach from 2011-13 and then as defensive line coach from 2021-23.
Davis played for the Tigers in the early 1990s, served as a graduate assistant with the football department from 1995-97 and was a member of the strength and conditioning staff when LSU won the 2003 national championship.
Davis comes to LSU with a history of developing some of the greatest defensive lineman in college football. In 12 years of coaching the defensive line in college football, Davis has produced 17 all-conference picks and seven all-Americans. He’s also coached players who have earned the Outland Trophy, the Defensive Player of the Year in the Big 12 and Conference USA, along with the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year.
“As a defensive line coach Bo brings a wealth of proven success at both the professional and collegiate level throughout his distinguished career,” Kelly said. “Additionally, coach Davis is an outstanding recruiter and developer of the players in his charge. I am thrilled to welcome back to LSU coach Bo Davis.”
Davis has been part of three national championships throughout his collegiate career, capturing the 2003 title at LSU along with victories at Alabama in 2009 and 2015 as the defensive line coach for the Crimson Tide.
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