re: Opinion: It's not Baker

It’s McConnell

True, but my response was to the OP talking about the coaching changes board of the past decade.

Find the posters that were saying it's Brian Kelly as LSU new coach. I want to see what THOSE posters are hearing from their sources.

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Just saw on “x” (twitter) that LSU is going hard after Baker.

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According to who? Who benefits from this news being out there?

Hint

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Missouri is giving him a lot of reasons to stay, including making him one of the highest paid DC’s in the country.

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it's lance guidry

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Seen him mentioned and Miami did improve their defense....higher ranked than Missouri I think. However, giving up 33 to A&M, 31 to UNC, and 31 to Louisville is a bit scary. Also, the ACC is not exactly known for great offenses in general.

1) Harbaugh is bolting
2) They won't promote the DC to head coach
3) LSU will hire the former MI DC

I think it’s Baker if he wants it but if not I think it could be Jim Leonard.

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If there's ANYTHING the Coaching Changes board has taught us all over the past decade or more is that whoever is the subject of all the rumors and smoke couldn't be further from who actually gets hired.

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What does this even mean? How could somebody be not be further from who is actually hired? They are just different people than who were rumored. It's not like they are aliens or anything.

But seriously, I know what you mean--this staff does keep things close to the vest and names that seem to have been leaked previously, have been done so with an agenda: 1) to throw people off the trail so we can negotiate with the guy(s) we want without their current school or team knowing, so if it doesn't work out and Kelly decides not to offer them or they decide they want to stay, they can do so without burning bridges and pissing off their current admin and players, 2) if we talk to Candidate A 1st and decide to with Candidate B or C (and I'm only ranking them based on order of interview, not necessarily who we want most), then the guy we do wind up hiring doesn't feel like he wasn't 1st choice, 3) the candidate's camp leaks it for more leverage for a raise/extension with their current school.

I also think LSU--and all schools--occasionally send out test balloons to gauge the temperature of the fanbase. I'm not saying that's what happened here at all--Kelly's seat is nowhere near hot, and he's damn sure not going to let the fanbase decide who he hires as his DC. But the historically bad defense juxtaposed against the historically good offense has lead to a lot of pissed off people (rightfully so) who think that his original defensive hires "wasted" this season and cost us a National Championship. He's lost a little political capital and would probably prefer to hire somebody that the fanbase hates. Again, I don't necessarily buy this too much--hes going to hire whoever he thinks is the best guy, the fanbase be damned.

But speaking of the fanbase, I'm not sure Baker's name being out there didn't actually come from here or other LSU sites. One thing this site has proven is that most posters don't know shite about CFB assistant coaches unless they have some ties to LSU. Corey Raymond, Bo Davis, Will Muschamp, Chevis Jacksson, Corey Webster, Kevin Mawae, Kyle Williams--all just some of the names that people have pined for over the years. And Baker has been one of them too, but it didn't just start. People have been mentioning his name all year wanting him as DC, but before the Ohio State game, their main arguments for him were:

-- "look at what he did with Damone Clark--think of what he could do with Perk"
--"he's a great recruiter and would kill it here even more than he did in his 1st stint"
--"his wife played soccer at LSU, he played at Tulane, their family loved it here, and he would definitely take the job"

Very few people were talking about how he was actually doing as a coordinator. They didn't know what kind of defense he ran. They just saw Mizzou having a really good season, and assumed he must have had a lot to do with it (which, obviously, he did). So when it appeared obvious House was gonna get shite canned, you started seeing all these "Don't overthink it. Go get Baker" posts popping up every day. But most people--myself included--wouldn't even know his name if he hadn't been at LSU previously. People tend to want names they are familiar with rather than who would be the best guy for the job. Because we have no idea who would be the best guy for the job. We don't have enough information.

So my "theory" is that all the Baker talk really started on here, got picked up by the local radio shows, then local podcasts, then spread a wider audience. And somewhere along the way, either LSU's camp--as a diversion from Kelly's true target(s)--or Baker's camp--to leverage himself for an even bigger raise/extension than the one he just signed--leaked it even more, adding fuel to the fire to get us where we are today.

HOWEVER, just because the leaking and rumors of him being the top target are out there now, does't necessarily mean Kelly doesn't think he's the right man for the job. He did do a great job this year as a coordinator. He's proven to be a great recruiter, especially in Louisiana, he's worked well with guys currently on the staff who likely can vouch for him (him and Sloan were the DC and OC at LA Tech under Holtz, and he worked together with Raymond here if that's who we wind up hiring as CB coach), you could probably get him without having to throw some crazy $2 million+ # out there to do it to entice him, and since he's relatively new to being a DC at a P5 school, he's likely to stick around for a few years and bring some continuity.

I have no idea what Kelly thinks about him as a coordinator. And that's, obviously, the biggest part in all this. But he does also bring some other traits that have value relative to what BK is trying to do--having a cohesive, collaborative staff that works well together and that the players both respect and love (the toxicity on the defensive side of the ball was apparent between the coaches and players, and I'd imagine the coaches themselves), and creating a monster Louisiana recruiting staff to aid Kelly's philosophy of locking down Louisiana high school kids, developing them, and building strong enough relationships that make it easier to retain them.

tl:dr--I agree with you that I'm not sold on the rumors that Baker is leading candidate. A lot of entities have motivation to put his name out there in the media. If I had to guess, I think it will be someone else. But just because his name is out there as the leading candidate doesn't necessarily mean it WON'T be him either.

You pop an adderall this morning? Geez son

ChatGPT summary of text wall:

The writer questions the credibility of rumors surrounding a coaching hire, suggesting various motivations for leaks, such as negotiation tactics and fanbase appeasement.

The focus is on the potential hiring of a specific candidate, Baker, whose popularity is attributed to familiarity rather than a clear assessment of his coaching abilities.

The writer acknowledges the uncertainty but highlights Baker's positive aspects, speculating on his fit within the team and head coach Kelly's goals.

Overall, the writer remains skeptical about the accuracy of the rumors but does not rule out the possibility of Baker being hired.