BATON ROUGE — John Thompson, the defensive coordinator at Memphis last season, and Jimbo Fisher, the offensive coordinator at Cincinnati, are among four coaches hired by LSU coach Nick Saban, it was announced on Tuesday.
Thompson, who turned Memphis into one of the top defenses in the nation this past season, will serve as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator, while Fisher will take on the role of offensive coordinator.
Joining Thompson and Fisher on the LSU staff are Rick Trickett, who spent the 1999 season as the head coach at Glenville State College in West Virginia and Michael Haywood, who has been at LSU since the 1995 season. Trickett will coach the offensive line, while Haywood will continue his role as running backs coach.
Thompson, a native of El Paso, Texas, spent only one season at Memphis as he transformed the Tigers from the No. 6 rated defense in Conference USA in 1998 into the nation’s 23rd-ranked defense in 1999. Under Thompson, Memphis allowed only 313.5 yards a contest this year, compared to 455.3 in the season prior to his arrival. In addition, Thompson’s defense allowed only 16.5 points a contest, which ranks 11th in the nation, just a half point behind that of Florida State. Thompson’s defense also held Southeastern Conference teams Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Tennessee to a combined total of 33 points its games against Memphis this season.
Prior to his arrival at Memphis, Thompson served as the defensive coordinator at Southern Mississippi from 1992-98 where the Golden Eagles consistently ranked among the nation’s leaders in total defense. Thompson has also had coaching stints at Louisiana Tech, Northwestern (La.) State, Alabama, and Arkansas.
“John has a very impressive track record of creating problems for offenses,” Saban said. “He had a great deal of success against SEC teams during his stay at Southern Miss and Memphis and we’re excited about having him join our staff at LSU.”
Fisher, who joined Cincinnati this season after coaching at Auburn for six years, turned the Bearcats’ offense into one of the most productive in the nation. Cincinnati finished the 1999 season ranked No. 16 in the nation in total offense with an average of 424.4 yards a contest (172.2 rushing, 252.2 passing).
Before joining the Cincinnati staff, Fisher served as the quarterbacks coach at Auburn from 1993-98 where he tutored record-setting quarterbacks Stan White, Patrick Nix and Dameyune Craig, who is the only 3,000-yard passer in Auburn history. Fisher, a native of Clarksburg, W. Va., also served as the offensive coordinator at Samford for two years before joining the Auburn staff.
“Jimbo is a very bright, young coach,” Saban said. “He did an outstanding job at Cincinnati, and before that he did a great job with the quarterbacks at Auburn.”
Trickett, a Morgantown, W. Va., native, spent the 1999 season as head coach at Glenville State where he led his team to a 5-6 mark at the Division II school in Glenville, W. Va. Trickett served as the offensive line coach at Auburn from 1993-98 where he produced three first round draft picks. Trickett also served as the offensive line coach at Mississippi State, Memphis, New Mexico, Southern Mississippi, Southern Illinois and West Virginia. Trickett has been a collegiate coach since 1974.
“I think Rick is one of the best offensive line coaches in the nation,” Saban said. “He produced more first round draft picks at Auburn than anybody else in the SEC in that six-year period. He’s an outstanding
recruiter and he’s a man of great character and we’re fortunate to get him.”
Haywood, who has been at LSU since the 1995 season, will continue to serve as the Tigers’ running backs coach. Haywood was instrumental in developing Kevin Faulk and Rondell Mealey into two of the most productive running backs in school history. Faulk left LSU with virtually every rushing record, while Mealey capped his career ranked in the top 10 in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.
“I’ve known Michael for a long time and I have great respect for him both as a person and as a coach,” Saban said. “He’s had a lot of success coaching the running backs at LSU and I’m pleased that he wants to stay at LSU.”