BATON ROUGE — LSU coach Les Miles formally announced his staff for the 2005 season on Thursday as the Tigers added seven new coaches to go with Jimbo Fisher and Stacy Searels, who remain in the same capacity with the team.
“We really feel like this is easily as talented a staff as I have ever been around,” Miles said. “I really look forward to coming to work everyday because I think the coaches that we have assembled on this staff are very, very talented.”
Headlining the list of new coaches on the staff is defensive coordinator Bo Pelini, who served in the same capacity at Nebraska in 2003 before taking over a co-defensive coordinator for Oklahoma in 2004. Pelini also spent nine in the NFL, coaching with the 49ers, Patriots and Packers.
In 2003, Pelini’s Nebraska defense led the nation in pass efficiency (88.66 rating) and the Cornhuskers were second in the country in scoring defense at 14.5 points per game. Pelini served as interim head coach for the 10-3 Cornhuskers in their 17-3 win over Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl to cap the 2003 season.
“I had a difficult time moving the football against him (Pelini) when he was at Nebraska,” Miles said. “He then went over to Oklahoma and I had the same problem, so I decided it would be a good opportunity to get a guy with that kind of quality on my side. He is as good as there is from the Xs and Os standpoint.”
Pelini will be joined on the defensive side of the football by former LSU standout Karl Dunbar, who returns to LSU after stints with Oklahoma State (2002-03) and most recently the Chicago Bears. Dunbar, a first-team all-conference pick at defensive tackle for LSU in 1989, will serve as LSU’s assistant head coach, while also coaching the defensive line.
Miles also announced that Bradley Dale Peveto, the former defensive coordinator at Middle Tennessee, Houston and Northwestern State, will join the Tigers, serving as LSU’s special teams coordinator.
Pelini, Dunbar and Peveto all joined the LSU staff this week.
Other first-year coaches for the Tigers announced by Miles on Thursday include Josh Henson, Doug Mallory, Todd Monken and Larry Porter . All four coaches accompanied Miles to LSU from Oklahoma State.
Henson, a former standout offensive lineman for Oklahoma State, will serve as LSU’s recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach, while Mallory will coach the Tiger defensive backs. Mallory, a former team captain at Michigan, comes from a football family as his father, Bill Mallory, remains the winningest coach in Indiana history. Mallory also has two brothers in the business, both serving as assistant coaches at Illinois.
Monken will coach the Tiger wide receivers, while also serving as the passing game coordinator and Porter, the fourth-leading rusher in Memphis history, will coach the Tiger running backs.
Fisher, who enters his sixth season at LSU, will continue to coach the Tiger quarterbacks and serve as the team’s offensive coordinator. In five years with the Tigers, Fisher’s offenses have set numerous school records with four LSU quarterbacks going on to become NFL draft picks.
Searels, the former All-America lineman at Auburn, will coach the Tiger offensive line for the third season. In two years with the Tigers, Searels has produced two three All-Americas and two academic All-Americas on the LSU offensive line.
The Tiger support staff will consist of Dr. Sam Nader, who will serve as an assistant athletic director/football operations, while Mack Butler will take on the role of assistant athletic director/football administration. Nader is a 30-year member of the LSU staff, while Butler comes to LSU after spending four years with Miles at Oklahoma State.
Charlie Baglio will continue his role of serving as LSU’s coordinator of high school relations.
In addition, Tommy Moffitt remains as LSU’s strength and conditioning coordinator, with Bo Davis serving as his assistant.