A surprising hire to say the very least
Late Thursday afternoon The Advocate’s Wilson Alexander broke the news that LSU is targeting former LSU defensive tackle Kyle Williams to be the next defensive line coach.
A deal has not yet been finalized but all signs point toward Williams accepting the position. The position was open after Bo Davis left the program to be the defensive line coach for the New Orleans Saints.
From a strictly on the field perspective, this makes a lot of sense for LSU. Williams played defensive tackle at LSU under Nick Saban and was a key piece in helping the Tigers win the national championship in 2003. Between 2002 and 2005, Williams appeared in 46 games with 33 starts. He was a two-time All-SEC selection and an All-American in 2005.
Williams was drafted in the fifth round by the Buffalo Bills and spent his entire 13-year NFL career with the Bills. Williams made six Pro Bowls and earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2010. As a pro, Williams had 609 tackles, 103 tackles for loss and 48.5 sacks in his career.
The Williams hiring isn’t as much of a slam dunk off the field however. Williams has never coached at the college level, but isn’t new to coaching as a whole. He’s spent the past five years serving as the defensive coordinator at Ruston, his alma mater, where the Bearcats won state in 2023, and competed for another state title this past season.
Can Williams coach up college-aged defensive tackles? Can he recruit? What’s his handle on the ever-changing NIL world we’re in? How will he coexist alongside Kevin Peoples and the other members of Blake Baker’s defensive staff? Those are all questions we don’t know the answer to, but Brian Kelly, obviously, must have been comfortable with.
We won’t have to wait long to see Williams coaching his position group as Spring Practice fo LSU begins on Saturday.