With the announcement that offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock will be going to Notre Dame to run the Irish’s offense next season, LSU has made adjustments in how it will operate in the Reliaquest Bowl.
Quarterbacks coach Joe Sloan and receivers coach Cortez Hankton will be co-coordinators in the Tigers game against Wisconsin at noon ET on Jan. 1.
Sloan will be in the booth and Hankton will be with head coach Brian Kelly on the field.
Jayden Daniels opted out of the Reliaquest Bowl
LSU was already looking at a different feel with its offense after Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels announced that he was going to focus on the NFL Draft and not participate in the bowl game.
Daniels had 3,812 passing yards and 40 touchdowns with four interceptions. He ran for 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns. He averaged 8.4 yards per carry.
In NFL Draft projections, Daniels is the third quarterback on the board, behind Caleb Williams of Southern Cal and Drake Maye of North Carolina.
Mike Denbrock will be going to Notre Dame for the third time
Denbrock was a finalist for The Broyles Award, given to the top assistant coach in the country after directing one of the best offenses in the country. LSU led the nation in scoring at 46.4 points per game and total offense with 547.8 yards per game.
He was going to be paid $1.5 million next season after agreeing to a contract extension that would have kept him at LSU for another three years. That contract was not approved by the LSU Board of Supervisors, according to reports.
Denbrock has been an assistant at Notre Dame two other times. He was there in 2002-04 and again in 2010-18. During the second stint, he worked with Marcus Freeman, who was the defensive coordinator.