Less than a year since Joe Brady's departure, LSU has handed its offense to two of his assistants.
The Tigers announced Wednesday the hiring of Jake Peetz as offensive coordinator and DJ Mangas as passing game coordinator, each of whom spent the past year with the Carolina Panthers.
"Both Jake and DJ come highly recommended from one of the premier and innovative offensive coaches in the game in Joe Brady," coach Ed Orgeron said Wednesday via a news release. "Jake brings 10 years of NFL experience with him to our staff. He spent a season coaching alongside and learning from Joe so we couldn't be more excited about Jake joining our staff. His knowledge of football, combined with the players we have on our roster , will make for a dynamic offense for LSU in 2021."
Peetz served most recently as the Panthers' quarterbacks coach under new head coach Matt Rhule and Brady, the offensive coordinator.
The former Nebraska defensive back worked with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2008 to 2012, the Washington Redskins in 2014 and the Oakland Raiders from 2015 to 2017 before joining the Panthers in 2019.
He spent his first season in Carolina as the running backs coach, working with star Christian McCaffrey, before transitioning to quarterbacks in Rhule's and Brady's first season.
Peetz began his coaching career at the college level in 2006 as the special teams coordinator, safeties coach and strength & conditioning coordinator at Santa Barbara City College.
He worked as a defensive assistant at UCLA in 2007 and, between other NFL stops, spent the 2013 and 2018 seasons as an offensive analyst under Nick Saban at Alabama.
"We are excited about the opportunity that Coach O has given us to move our family to Baton Rouge and be a part of the LSU football program," Peetz said in the release. "Dealing with Coach O and Scott Woodward through this process has shown me the commitment made to winning more national championships, and I am grateful to be a part of that. We can't wait to get to work."
Mangas worked as an offensive analyst at LSU during the record-setting national championship run in 2019, before departing with Brady, his college teammate at William & Mary, for the NFL as an offensive assistant in Carolina.
"We are very happy to bring DJ back to LSU," Orgeron said. "He did a tremendous job in his one season with us in 2019 working alongside Joe to produce one of the most explosive and productive offenses in college football history."
The former wide receiver and quarterback began his coaching career with the Tribe following graduation, serving as a student assistant working with running backs and quarterbacks.
He spent one season each at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia and Georgetown in Washington, D.C., as the quarterbacks coach and running backs coach, respectively, before returning to his alma mater as offensive coordinator in 2017 and 2018.
"I'm beyond excited for the opportunity to be back in Baton Rouge and coaching for LSU and Coach Orgeron," Mangas said. "I was fortunate enough to be a part of the 2019 team and see exactly what this offense and these players are capable of. It fires me up to see the potential we have for the 2021 offense. I can't wait to meet with the rest of the staff, coaches, and players and get to work."
A young Carolina team finished No. 21 in the NFL with 349.5 yards per game and No. 24 with 21.9 points per game this season in the lone season together for Rhule, Brady, Peetz and Mangas.
But those numbers came in the first year of a new staff battling through the unusual circumstances presented by COVID-19 and an injury that limited McCaffrey to just three games.
