After being named LSU’s head football coach last Nov. 30 and disappearing from public view aside from a couple of bust-a-move/potential dislocate-a-hip dance videos with recruits, Brian Kelly re-appeared as master of ceremonies Wednesday.
It was Part 1 of his staff reveal to area media in LSU’s Lawton Room with Kelly introducing his new defensive coaching fama-lee as well as the special teams coordinator. The curtain gets pulled back on the offensive side of the ball Thursday.
“As I looked at assembling a staff, we're in the toughest division in the SEC,” Kelly said. “You need experienced coaches. You need coaches that know what winning is about, and how difficult it is to win in this conference. And then you need to recruit.
“Player development is at the core of who I am in my over 30 years of experience. You'll see that in the hires. The theme is experience, winning and the ability to recruit, communicate, motivate and develop our players.”
Three of Kelly’s defensive hires -- coordinator/linebackers coach Matt House, D-line coach Jamar Cain and safeties coach Kerry Cooks – have 51 years college coaching experience with House having five seasons experience as a D-coordinator at three FBS schools including Kentucky.
Cornerbacks coach Robert Steeples, who went from being a high school state championship head coach in the St. Louis area to serving as assistant special teams coach with the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, has never coached in college.
Special teams coordinator/recruiting coordinator Brian Polian, son of Pro Football Hall of Fame member Bill Polian who built Super Bowl teams in Buffalo and Indianapolis, has coached five different positions at five colleges in 18 seasons and served as head coach at Nevada for four seasons.
“I'll circle back with coaches that I have coached with before and then some coaches that I've never coached with before,” Kelly said of compiling a staff. “I'm at a point in my career where there is a connection in some fashion, even if it's not a direct connection. You know, somebody that knows that coach, even if you haven't coached with him before, you know, somebody that knows him very well, and you feel comfortable, you know, making that decision.”
It wasn’t a hard choice for any of the defensive hires or Polian to join Kelly’s staff.
“Coach Kelly’s belief in the development of the total person at a championship standard with championship resources excited me,” Steeples said. “But most importantly, going into a community that is passionate and isn't afraid to care is something that I firmly believe in.
“My wife attended LSU for a brief period. So, hearing her rave about LSU for the past seven years has definitely been eye opening. She talked about her experience as a student with the game atmosphere, the passion, the foods.”
Cain’s connection to LSU is his first coaching job as a graduate assistant in 2005 at Ohio under Jim Burrow, father of Tigers’ 2019 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback.
“I talk to Jimmy all the time,” Cain said. “You're talking a phone call a month just talking ball, talking life stuff. Words can't express what he has meant to my career. He never once turned my phone call down. Every time I've switched jobs, he's the first guy I’ve called just to ask `What do you think, is this a good move for me?’ He's helped me so much.”
And Cain, though he may not have known at the time, witnessed the beginnings of the legend of Joey Burrow. He not only served as his babysitter once or twice, he was little Joey’s first film coordinator.
“I’d be in Peden Stadium (Ohio’s home field) on Sunday breaking the (Ohio) game (film) down and and Joey would be playing Pop Warner Football in the stadium,” Cain said. “He was good. He was running all those little kids over.
“I had to go film the game and make a highlight film for Coach Burrow so he could watch Joe’s game while he was game planning.
"I remember making a highlight film for the family. I had all Joey's games filmed. One Christmas, Coach said, `Make a highlight film of all of Joey’s top plays as a 7-year old so I can give it to the family for Christmas gifts.’ I’m like, `Are you serious?’ He said, `Yeah, it better be good.’ I’m like “Oh my God.’”
Polian was the lone Notre Dame full-time assistant who made the move with Kelly to LSU.
"I was emotionally connected to Notre Dame as any assistant could be," Polian said. "I wasn't a graduate of the place, but I spent 10 years there (in two different stints) 10 years and they were all very formative. And I'm grateful for them. And I think that I did a great job for them.
"I missed those players, miss the community, but I was not going to lose the opportunity to be with Brian Kelly at LSU. How many places in the country would you leave Notre Dame for? Not very many, but this is why. And I understand.
"I have an outsider's understandings of what LSU is and what the football means in the state. And now that I'm becoming indoctrinated in it, it's everything and more. I cannot wait for the first Tiger Walk. I cannot wait for the first Saturday night NFL. I can't wait.
"So the chance to be a part of that to be with a man that I respect that I believe will win a national championship here. Doing the things the way that he does that culture that belief system that process I wanted to be part of that.
"And I wanted to come experience with this was gonna be like and hopefully do it for a bunch of years, win a bunch of games and hopefully be at a point where we come back and LSU fans welcome you back and say, `Hey, it's good to have you back. So remember that year we won the title?'"
