LSU Gold

Brick Haley Season 2024

LSU
Brick Haley
Title
Defensive Line Coach
Email
football@lsu.edu

Brick Haley‘s impact on the LSU football program can be seen each spring when the NFL Draft takes place. Since taking over at LSU in 2009, Haley has coached nine defensive linemen who have been selected in the NFL Draft, including a pair of first-round picks in defensive tackle Michael Brockers (No. 12 overall in 2012) and defensive end Barkevious Mingo (No. 6 overall in 2013).

Ego Ferguson was selected in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, extending LSU’s streak of years with at least one defensive lineman picked in the draft to a nation’s best 11 straight. LSU’s been so dominate on the defensive front that during the summer of 2014, ESPN.com tabbed LSU as Defensive Line U.

Haley, now in his sixth season at LSU, has coached in the NFL while also serving for 13 years in a major college football conference.

Under Haley, the Tigers have used depth and talent on the defensive line to wear down opposing offensive linemen. Thus, LSU continued to win the battle in the trenches, a key to success in the rugged SEC.

Since 2009, LSU’s defensive line has accounted for 98 sacks and forced 39 turnovers, while allowing only 57 rushing touchdowns and holding opponents to 120 yards rushing per game.

In 2013, Haley was again tasked with developing young players as the Tigers returned only one starter on the defensive line from the previous season. The Tigers lost three players to the NFL from the 2012 squad – Mingo, Sam Montgomery (third round) and Lavar Edwards (fifth round).

Despite losing three NFL Draft picks, Haley and his group responded by putting a unit on the field that featured two All-SEC picks in Anthony Johnson and Ferguson. Danielle Hunter (57 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks) and Jermauria Rasco (56 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks) shined in their first year as starters at defensive end.

In 2012, LSU’s defense again ranked among the best in the nation, allowing just 17.5 points per game (12th nationally) along with 101.6 rushing yards (No. 9 nationally) and 307.6 total yards (No. 8 nationally).

A year prior during LSU’s march to a perfect 13-0 mark during the regular season, it was the defensive line that often set the tone for the Tigers defense as they used their quickness and pass rushing ability to combine for 28.5 sacks and 64 tackles for loss. LSU’s defense ranked in the top five in the nation in four categories in 2011 as they allowed just seven rushing TD’s all season and held opponents to 10 or fewer points nine times.

In 2010, the Tigers had two defensive linemen picked in the NFL Draft – Drake Nevis and Lazarius Levingston – while Al Woods was taken in the draft a year earlier.

Under Haley’s direction, LSU’s defensive front combined for 39 tackles for losses and 15.5 sacks in 2010 after posting 44 tackles for losses and 14 sacks in 2009.

Haley joined the Tigers in the spring of 2009 after two years as the defensive line coach with the Chicago Bears.

In his two seasons with the Bears, Haley coached a defensive line that helped Chicago rank No. 5 in the league in rushing yards allowed per game in 2008. The Bears finished sixth in the NFL in sacks in 2007 with defensive end Tommie Harris earning a spot in the Pro Bowl.

Prior to his stop in the NFL, Haley spent three years as the defensive line coach at Mississippi State from 2004-06. Haley helped improve a Bulldogs defense that finished 41st in the nation in 2006 after finishing 113th a year before his arrival. Under Haley’s watch, Bulldogs defensive end Titus Brown developed into an All-SEC Second-Team selection after leading the team and ranking fifth in the conference in sacks in 2006.

In 2005, Haley coached the SEC leader in sacks (third in NCAA) and tackles for loss (fourth in NCAA) in Willie Evans, who spent four years in the NFL.

Before arriving at Mississippi State, Haley coached linebackers for two years (2002-2003) at Georgia Tech, where he helped the Yellow Jackets to a pair of bowl games. In 2003, he coached an All-ACC First-Team performer after Tech’s trio of starting linebackers finished the 2002 season as the team’s top-three tacklers.

Previously, Haley was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Baylor (1999-2001) after coaching outside linebackers for one season each at Clemson (1998) and Houston (1997). The defensive line coach at Troy State from 1994-96, he was promoted to defensive coordinator following the 1996 campaign before leaving for Houston. Haley coached the defensive line at Austin Peay from 1991-93 after starting his college coaching career as a graduate assistant at Arkansas in 1990. His first coaching job was at Enterprise (Ala.) High School in 1989.

The Gadsden, Ala., native played linebacker at Alabama A&M from 1984 88 and was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005. He received Alabama A&M’s Inspiration Award in 1987 and was named football MVP for the 1988 season.

Off the field, Haley is involved in raising awareness for autism as he annually hosts a golf tournament each year with all proceeds going to his foundation – Brick Road to Success. He and his wife, Tina, have three sons: Adrian, A.J. and Jeremy.

Assistant Coach Brick Haley
YEAR AT LSU: Sixth (appointed Jan. 5, 2009)
BIRTHDATE: May 16, 1966 in Gadsden, Ala.
WIFE: Tina DeLaine Haley
CHILDREN: Adrian, A.J., Jeremy
HIGH SCHOOL: Emma Sansom, ‘84
COLLEGE: Alabama A&M, ‘89

PLAYING EXPERIENCE
1984-88 Alabama A&M

COACHING EXPERIENCE
1989 Enterprise (Ala.) High School
1990 Arkansas (graduate assistant)
1991-93 Austin Peay (defensive line)
1994-96 Troy State (defensive line)
1997 Houston (outside linebackers)
1998 Clemson (outside linebackers)
1999-2001 Baylor (defensive coordinator/linebackers)
2002-03 Georgia Tech (linebackers)
2004-06 Mississippi State (defensive line)
2007-08 Chicago Bears (defensive line)
2009- LSU (defensive line)

BOWL EXPERIENCE
Season, Bowl, Team, Opponent, Results
2002, Silicon Valley, Georgia Tech, Fresno State, L, 30-21
2003, Humanitarian, Georgia Tech, Tulsa, W, 52-20
2009, Capital One, LSU, Penn State, L, 19-17
2010, Cotton, LSU, Texas A&M, W, 41-24
2011, BCS, LSU, Alabama, L, 21-0
2012, Chick-fil-A, LSU, Clemson, L, 25-24
2013, Outback, LSU, Iowa, W, 21-14