Brian Kelly on Blake Baker: 'He's the best defensive coordinator in the country'

Since Brian Kelly took over at LSU in 2022, the program has yearly produced one of the best offenses in the country. However, the same couldn’t always be said about the Tigers’ defense, which ranked No. 108 in college in 2023.

Last season, Kelly looked to change this narrative by hiring defensive coordinator Blake Baker. The former Missouri DC immediately made an impact for LSU, but couldn’t maximize the team’s potential due to a lack of tools at his disposal.

This offseason, Kelly ensured Baker had whatever he needed to succeed. Kelly’s efforts paid dividends on Saturday when LSU defeated No. 4 Clemson, 17-10. During an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show on Monday, Kelly made a bold claim about Blake Baker.

“We needed to get Blake the weapons he needs to be the coordinator that he is. We think he’s the best defensive coordinator in the country,” Kelly said. “But, if you don’t have the weapons — I know this in my time as a coach, I’m a much better coach with better players — and we needed to get him a roster that allowed him to do the things that he’s really good at.

“So the roster is different, Paul. You’ve seen the remake, in particular, on the defensive side of the ball. Blake likes to call them the ‘Old Bayou Bandits.’ They have their own T shirts. He’s created a great mindset and demeanor about our guys. But it starts with us making sure that he had the players and he’s got a better roster to work with.”

Baker’s defense certainly looked like one of the best in the country this weekend. LSU held Clemson to just 261 yards of total offense. For reference, Clemson averaged 451.9 yards of offense per game last season.

Clemson can’t blame roster turnover, either. The team returned eight starters on offense from last season. LSU’s defense was simply that excellent.

Clemson QB Cade Klubnik, who is a Heisman contender this season, didn’t throw a single touchdown in the loss. Instead, LSU picked him off once and sacked him twice. In total, LSU logged four tackles for loss, and plenty more quarterback hurries.

As Kelly mentioned, LSU’s defensive success is largely due to its new pieces on defense. The Tigers reeled in the No. 2 class in On3’s 2025 Team Transfer Portal Rankings this offseason.

The group was highlighted by defensive standouts such as safeties AJ Haulcy and Tamarcus Cooley. With both an elite offense and defense, LSU has everything it needs to be a legitimate national title contender this season.