Kelly said he's considering all options before hiring a new D-line coach

LSU head football coach Brian Kelly said he’s going to take his time filling the Tigers’ defensive line coach vacancy caused by last week’s departure of Jamar Cain.

Cain was hired by new Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton as a pass-rush coach specialist.

Kelly said senior defensive analyst Gerald Chatman, who served last season as defensive coordinator and D-line coach for the University of Colorado, is coaching the interior defensive line for the remainder of spring practice. New special teams coordinator/outside linebackers coach John Jancek is coaching the pass rush ends.

“We have outstanding coaches here and we want to be able to get through the spring and then go from there," Kelly said Thursday at his weekly spring practice press conference. “We're putting together our thoughts relative to do we hire within or do we go outside? All of our options are on the table. We think it's important this is a position that we examine all options.”

Kelly said the two most important criteria in hiring any new coach is clear-cut.

“The ability to recruit in the SEC and develop talents has got to be A1 and A2,” Kelly said. "You can't be an inexperienced, never been in the SEC or doesn't the recruiting of this landscape and be a qualified candidate.

“One of the criteria would be certainly recognizing who they've recruited in the past. And then their understanding recruiting to LSU and the SEC.

“We could turn on the film and we could see a five-star defensive lineman. That's easy, but there has to be more to it than that and so having conversations with a defensive line coach that recognizes that it's much more than just the ability. They have to be somebody that we enjoy being around and want to teach as well.”

Here's Kelly on other subjects:

On how scrimmages the rest of the spring will take place with a lack of player personnel and will there be a spring game

“We've been very deliberate in terms of the way we've gone about our practice schedule. But it functioned very similar. We probably have chopped maybe 10, 15 minutes off of a normal schedule but I've done everything that we normally would do. I think we've just abbreviated it a little bit.

"(Offensive line coach) Brad (Davis) has been really good in terms of making sure his focus has been technique oriented more so than a heavy dose of contact. I think that that's worked out pretty good. So, you know, going into this weekend, I think we were in a pretty good position where we're rotating two- deep.

“There's going to be some spring game action if we abbreviate it and maybe you see some situational work as well. That's on the table, but there'll be some there'll be some live scrimmaging in the game, but expect to see maybe some situational work as well. And maybe we'll throw in a couple of other wrinkles in there to keep it lively for everybody.

"But I think we're in a pretty good position now, as we get closer and closer to the halfway point that we'll be able to get a good scrimmage."

On what position Harold Perkins will play this season

“We want him to play linebacker. We got him on the field last year in an accelerated role, based upon the fact that there was just too much for him to digest. . . paralysis by analysis. (Defensive coordinator) Matt (House) did a great job of making things a lot smoother for him so we can get him on the field and play fast.

“Now it's time to take the whole position and teach it. He's a linebacker, he's gonna play linebacker and he's fully invested in that position. So, you'll see him playing linebacker force."

On freshman wide receiver Kyle Parker

“(He has) a physical and a mental maturity beyond being a freshman. He's a guy that early on has shown in the weight room of physicality. He's really strong, he's fit. And then he translated that on the field. Parker brings a physicality to the group that is pretty impressive."

On the progress of running back Noah Cain from last season to now

“Noah is a lot more aware of the areas that he needed to work on. He's lost some body fat. I think it’s not that he was fat, but he's leaner. I think that that has allowed him to just move more fluid.

“You could see it just in the way he's running the football. Secondly, I think it's been really good for him because he's gotten a lot of work in pass protection.

“(Injured starter Josh) Williams had been our kind of our third down back. Now Noah is getting a chance to get all those reps which has been really good for him. So, I think just being more of a complete back, losing some of the body weight and leaning up has allowed him to be quicker and transitioning in and out of his breaks. Then from a tactical standpoint, picking up third down blitzes and things like that has really helped him."

On what it has meant to have a returning foundation of players

“We're able to focus a little bit more on the individual development than the program development.

“We were laying down foundational bricks for being more reliable, standards, showing up on time, how to practice, nutrition. You name it, it was a whole new way of doing things. And so, there's a lot of time and effort spent on that.

“Now we can get into a lot more of the technical and tactical development. Today we're working on red zone covers, zero pressures. all blitzes and pressures and making sure that we're communicating effectively on the back end and stacks and things just a little bit more than nuances. I don't know that we even got to that in preseason camp (last year).”