Joe Brady was 29 years old when LSU head coach hired him to be the team’s passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach prior to the 2019 season.
After a record-setting season that saw quarterback Joe Burrow win the Heisman Trophy and the Tigers win the national championship behind a high-powered offense, Brady was named offensive coordinator of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.
While Steve Ensminger remained as LSU’s offensive coordinator, head coach Ed Orgeron chose to replace Brady’s role with veteran NFL coach Scott Linehan.
That didn’t stop Orgeron from looking for other promising young offensive coaches, which led to the hiring of Russ Callaway as a senior offensive analyst in February.
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Callaway, who spent the past five years at Samford, including four seasons as the offensive coordinator, also spent time on Alabama coach Nick Saban’s staff as an analyst.
During his time at Samford, Callaway was in charge of some proficient passing teams, including in 2018 when Samford was the top passing team in the FCS.
He played a key role in the development of quarterback Devlin Hodges, who would go on to start six games as a rookie with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019.
Orgeron was on Off the Bench on ESPN 104.5 in Baton Rouge recently and specifically discussed Callaway.
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“He is tremendous,” Orgeron said. “I think Russ is going to be a great coach in college football. He already proved himself at Samford and had one of the best offenses in the country.”
“He is Ensminger’s right-hand man. He does a lot of work for us and has a lot of energy. I think he is a great young coach.”
Orgeron mentioned how closely Callaway is already working with Ensminger and the rapport he has built with the offensive staff in such a short time.
Replacing Brady will be tough, but it’s clear Orgeron and the Tigers have high hopes for Callaway in the future.
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