LSU football coach Brian Kelly might be traveling up the Mississippi River to hire his next defensive coordinator.
The Tigers have targeted Missouri’s Blake Baker as the top choice to replace Matt House, who was fired earlier this week, according to a report from 24/7 Sports.
Baker has ties to LSU, coaching linebackers there in 2021 under Ed Orgeon. He left there to coach safeties at Missouri in January 2022. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in late February.
The Tigers defense improved dramatically under Baker. It was ranked 113th in total defense two seasons ago and was 33rd this year, 25th in scoring. They held Ohio State to 3 in the Cotton Bowl, the fewest points ever scored by a Ryan Day team.
LSU defensive coordinator target Blake Baker played college ball in Louisiana
Baker signed a new contract at Missouri in December that will pay him $1.1 million and increase his earnings by at least $100,000 per year through 2025.
Baker played linebacker just down the road from Baton Rouge at Tulane in New Orleans from 2000 to 2004. He played 42 games, had 145 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and six sacks.
He was the defensive coordinator at Louisiana Tech from 2015-18 and at Miami 2019-20.
