Times Picayune/NOLA.com ranked the LSU football coaching hires all time

LINK

10. Bernie Moore

The promotion of Moore, the school’s head track coach, freshman football coach and scout, came only after LSU had been rebuffed by Tulane’s Clark Shaughnessy and Alabama’s Frank Thomas. Turns out, Moore was a hit. He led LSU to nine-win seasons and Sugar Bowl berths in each of his first three years. His 13 teams finished 83-39-6 and earned five bowl invites.

9. Gerry DiNardo

DiNardo earned the job by default only after TCU’s Pat Sullivan backed out of the job at the 11th hour. DiNardo was considered a hot prospect after leading perennial SEC doormat Vanderbilt to a 5-6 record in his fourth season, but not everyone was excited about his hire. Scores of the LSU football players were so upset by the news Tigers defensive coordinator Phil Bennett had to meet with them at the school's athletic dormitory to calm them down. DiNardo was picked from an underwhelming list of candidates that included Sullivan, Washington Redskins receivers coach Terry Robiskie, Florida special teams coordinator Ron Zook, Bennett and Texas A&M offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger.

8. Charles McClendon

“Cholly Mac” was Paul Dietzel’s handpicked successor in 1962 when he left to take the head coaching job at Army. During his assistant coaching tenure under Dietzel at LSU, McClendon tutored the legendary “Chinese Bandits,” the defensive unit that was the catalyst for LSU’s 1958 national championship season. McClendon’s teams went 137-59-7 and made 13 bowl appearances in his 18 seasons. He was also National Coach of the Year in 1970.

7. Charles “Bo” Rein

Ohio State coach Woody Hayes called Rein “probably the best young coach in the country” when LSU hired him away from N.C. State in 1980. Arkansas coach Frank Broyles called the precocious 34-year-old “a highly educated overachiever.” Rein had compiled a 27-18-1 record in four seasons at N.C. State, and Dietzel, then the LSU AD, was convinced he had hired LSU’s next great young coach. But the story ended in tragic fashion just 42 days later, when Rein was killed in a small plane crash.

6. Paul Dietzel

Dietzel was a coveted assistant under legendary Army coach Red Blaik, when LSU hired him to succeed Gus Tinsley and resurrect its football program in 1955. The LSU job attracted a slew of interested candidates, but the school’s board of supervisors shrewdly picked the handsome 31-year-old line coach from a list of more heralded and experienced coaches. Dietzel quickly turned things around, leading LSU to its first national championship in 1958. His seven teams went 46-23-1 and ranked among the top 4 in the nation three times.

5. Les Miles

In luring the 51-year-old Bo Schembechler acolyte from Oklahoma State, the Tigers were following the Saban blueprint. Miles, like the man he was replacing, had been successful at a major program despite having to play second fiddle in the state in terms of resources and popularity. On the surface, the former Michigan man seemed an odd cultural fit, but he quickly adjusted to the SEC and led the Tigers to double-digit wins in his first three seasons, capped by the 2007 national title. Miles’ teams went 114-34 and never won fewer than eight games in any of his 12 seasons.

4. Nick Saban

Hindsight obviously helps here. By no means was Saban considered a sure thing at the time of his hire. Many questioned Saban’s fit in Baton Rouge. Some wondered if he could coach and recruit in the SEC. Credit to then-chancellor Mark Emmert, who had the vision and ambition to lure Saban away from Michigan State, when no one – and I do mean, no one – saw it coming. Miami head coach Butch Davis, Minnesota head coach Glenn Mason, Marshall head coach Bob Pruett and Florida State offensive coordinator Mark Richt were among the candidates. LSU certainly got the right guy.

3. Bill Arnsparger

The hiring of Arnsparger was a major surprise and quite the coup for then-athletic director Bob Broadhead, who poached Arnsparger from the Miami Dolphins. Arnsparger was the architect of the undefeated 1972 Dolphins’ famed No-Name Defense, and Miami head coach Don Shula fought hard to keep him. He only coached at LSU for three years, but he immediately elevated the program. His LSU teams went 26-8-2 and never finished worse than second in the SEC. Arnsparger was twice named SEC Coach of the Year and is considered by some to be the best pure football coach in LSU history.

2. Brian Kelly

Obviously, it didn’t work out, but in the moment, this was a home run hire for the Tigers, one that spoke to the lure and lore of the LSU program. To coax Kelly away from Notre Dame, the bluest of blueblood programs, required moxie, cunning and, of course, a now infamous 10-year, $100 million contract. Kelly went 34-14 but ultimately failed because of complacency and a faltering offense, but the hire was widely heralded at the time it was made.

1. Lane Kiffin

LSU’s hiring of Kiffin was the biggest story in sports. Given the high demand for his services and the soap opera-like events that led to his departure from Ole Miss, Kiffin’s hire generated even greater hoopla than the stunning acquisition of Kelly in 2022. LSU has never hired a coach in greater demand than Kiffin. The jury is still out on whether this hire will end up being the “best” or not. Kiffin, 50, is a brilliant offensive mind and proven SEC winner, but he will encounter the greatest expectations of his career in Baton Rouge. National championships are the goal at LSU, a lesson Kelly learned the hard way.