LSU coach Brian Kelly will be looking for a new special teams coordinator. On Tuesday, it was reported by Pete Thamel of ESPN that Brian Polian would be shifting to an off field role, opening up a spot for a new special teams coach.
Polian’s new role will see him evaluate and manage the current roster, NIL and the transfer portal moving forward. It’s similar to his role as the recruiting coordinator where he assessed the needs of the future and was integral in organizing what players the purple and gold pursue in recruiting classes.
This always seemed like a happy middle ground for the program and Polian to come to after the special teams took a pretty steep decline in year one under Kelly. Polian has played an integral role in helping shape this roster since Kelly arrived and there’s a lot of trust built in that relationship since their time together at Notre Dame. He was in charge of drawing up the plans for LSU out on the recruiting trail and which positions and players the team would put focus on.
“It’s always fluid. Academics, transfer portal, all of those things could change the scenarios. We set our priorities pretty early and I think they’re holding pretty true right now,” Polian said of recruiting last offseason.
But the Tigers struggled with fielding punts throughout the season as well as some inconsistency in kickoff and punt coverage. For a team with national championship aspirations this year, there needs to be dramatic improvement in the consistency where special teams are concerned.
It would be expected that this role is filled pretty quickly with spring camp coming up in less than three weeks and the need for a new coordinator to get in the program and start cultivating relationships and developing a plan right away.
