Tag: Mike Denbrock

Report: Mike Denbrock and Joe Sloan added to LSU coaching staff

LSU adds offensive experience to the coaching staff.

LSU head coach Brian Kelly has been busy hiring coaches for his coaching staff. It is being reported Mike Denbrock will be the offensive coordinator, and Joe Sloan will become the quarterback coach. Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports reported the news as of Friday night.

Denbrock ran the Cincinnati Bearcats offense this year; he helped lead them to a College Football Playoff berth. The Bearcats were 13-1 this season, and they averaged 38.8 points per game. Also, Cincinnati averaged 429 yards per game.

Denbrock spent time as wide receiver coach, tight ends coach, associate head coach, and offensive coordinator in his six seasons coaching with Kelly at Notre Dame. He has also spent time at Stanford, Buffalo, and Grand Valley State. DenBrock has 35 years of coaching experience and will bring a lot to the table for LSU’s offense.

The LSU football staff is continuing to come together in the upcoming days as sources told Yahoo Sports that Cincinnati offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock is expected to join Brian Kelly’s staff in Baton Rouge.

LSU is also expected to add former Louisiana Tech offensive coordinator Joe Sloan to coach quarterbacks and former Oklahoma assistant Jamar Cain, who was committed to join Lincoln Riley at USC, as the defensive line coach.

For two years, Sloan had been Lousiana Tech’s offensive coordinator and coached the quarterbacks. Sloan has been with Lousiana Tech for nine seasons. In 2020 Sloan coached quarterback Luke Anthony, who became 2020 C-USA Newcomer of the Year. Anthony threw for 1,479 yards and 16 touchdowns last year. Lousiana Tech quarterback Austin Kendall passed for 1,884 yards, 13 touchdowns, and nine interceptions this past season. Also, Lousiana Tech used quarterbacks Aaron Allen and JD Head, and the two of them combined to throw eight touchdown passes.

The Tigers are bringing a dynamic offensive coordinator in Denbrock; LSU’s offense, if they gel quickly, should have no problem putting up points. Between Denbrock and Sloan, LSU’s offense is in good hands.

Who is going to be LSU’s offensive coordinator

Could Mike Denbrock be on his way to Baton Rouge?

Brian Kelly has filled the roles of two coordinators for the LSU Tigers in 2022. First, it was Brian Polian, who comes over from the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Recently Kelly also named Matt House as the new defensive coordinator. House currently serves as the linebackers coach for the Kansas City Chiefs.

This leaves the offensive coordinator role left up for grabs. Based on the delayed announcement, one can only presume that it will end up being Mike Denbrock. On Friday, Denbock’s offense is set to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide in the CFP semifinal at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Not making an announcement could mean one of two things.

Either he wants to wait until the conclusion of the Cincinnati Bearcats season or Kelly is still working through candidates. I would lean towards the former. Denbrock and Kelly have a previous relationship from their time together at Grand Valley State and Notre Dame. It seems fairly simple to connect the dots here.

Denbrock’s scoring offense in Cincinnati:

Albert Cesare / The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
  • 2017: 20.9 PPG (No. 111)
  • 2018: 34.9 PPG (No. 23)
  • 2019: 29.6 PPG (No. 60)
  • 2020: 37.5 PPG (No. 17)
  • 2021: 39.2 PPG (No. 9)

Three times over the past five years the Bearcats have produced a top 25 offense under Denbrock. Kelly saw that offense first hand against his defense in 2021. The Bearcats beat the Irish 24-13 behind the performance of the quarterback, who accounted for all three touchdowns. Desmond Ridder threw for 297 yards with two touchdowns and added 26 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.

At this point, it feels like a foregone conclusion that it will be Mike Denbrock, who takes over as the offensive coordinator. It is just a matter of when.

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Two coordinator targets emerge as Brian Kelly looks to finalize his coaching staff

Reports indicate that Brian Kelly is targeting two assistants for his coordinator roles.

The LSU Tigers are continuing to work on finalizing the coaching staff under the new head coach and we could be closer to naming the two remaining coordinators.

According to Football Scoop, Brian Kelly is targeting a former offensive coordinator in Mike Denbrock. He is currently the offensive coordinator in Cincinnati as they prepare to take on Alabama in the College Football Playoffs.

Offensively, numerous sources this week told FootballScoop that Kelly is expected to reunite with Mike Denbrock, Kelly’s former Notre Dame offensive coordinator and assistant head coach who spent seven seasons alongside Kelly in South Bend, Indiana.

Denbrock worked with Kelly at Grand Valley State and at Notre Dame. He is very familiar with what he likes to do on offense. This could also bring Danny Lewis of Westgate into pay for the Tigers. He is currently committed to the Bearcats but remains the lone commit who has yet to sign with Cincinnati.

Football Scoop also stated that Kelly was looking at Todd Monken of Georgia but reports indicate that he would like to remain at UGA. Bringing in Denbrock would likely give LSU their play-caller and tight ends coach.

The other name is for the defensive coordinator, but it appears that Kelly is eyeing a candidate from the NFL. That likely means he wouldn’t join the staff until late February.

On the defensive side of the ball, Kelly has set his target – per sources — on an up-and-coming NFL assistant coach Matt House, the Kansas City Chiefs’ linebackers coach who spent almost two decades coaching at the collegiate level before he exited the University of Kentucky three years ago for an opportunity with the Chiefs.

House last worked in college at Kentucky as the defensive coordinator. In his final season before joining the Chiefs in the NFL, his defense allowed just 16.8 points per game. They finished 10-3 that season.