Just a few short months ago, LSU football seemed to be one of the favorites to win the national title in 2025 after getting a road win over Clemson. Now, that win has aged like milk, and it turns out neither of those two teams were contenders in the first place.
On Sunday, after LSU lost its third game of the season with an embarrassing second-half collapse at home against Texas A&M, the Tigers made the controversial decision to move on from Brian Kelly and eat a buyout north of $53 million.
On Monday morning, the staff purge continued.
LSU has now fired offensive coordinator Joe Sloan in addition to the decision to part ways with Kelly, according to On3 Sports.
Sloan has been with LSU since the 2022 season, spending two years as the quarterback coach before becoming the offensive coordinator and primary play-caller in 2024. Tight ends coach Alex Atkins is taking over for Sloan as the new play caller under interim head coach Frank Wilson.
Sloan oversaw the development of Jayden Daniels during his time as the quarterback coach, including helping the Arizona State transfer win the Heisman Trophy in 2023. He also called an elite offense in 2024 with Garrett Nussmeier at quarterback, but those numbers have fallen off drastically this season.
LSU currently boasts the third-worst offense in the SEC, which is unthinkable considering Nussmeier (despite playing through injury) has not missed a game and the fact that LSU invested heavily at wide receiver in the transfer portal this offseason. The only offenses worse than the Tigers in total offense this year are Auburn and South Carolina, both of whom are dealing with glaring offensive line issues.
While Nussmeier and the passing game have been frustrating, it’s the running game that really caused the ship to sink in Baton Rouge. LSU is running for just over 106 yards per game this season, good for dead last in the SEC. That puts Nussmeier behind the sticks, and he hasn’t been able to dig them out of those holes this season.
After losing to Texas A&M, LSU sits at 5-3 and its hopes of pushing for an SEC Championship and a College Football Playoff berth are nearly dead. It has a bye week to settle in with a new-look staff, but they will have their hands full in Week 11 with a road trip to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama.
