LSU to hire Missouri defensive analyst Jake Olsen

Brian Kelly continues to revamp his defensive coaching cabinet following the abysmal 2023 season for LSU’s defense. On Tuesday, On3 BengalTiger’s Billy Embody revealed that the Tigers are finalizing a deal to acquire Missouri’s Jake Olson.

While the news of Olsen’s contract is fresh, his presence on campus is not. The former Missouri defensive analyst has been working with recently hired defensive coordinator Blake Baker, who was brought in shortly after LSU’s narrow 35-31 ReliaQuest Bowl victory over Wisconsin.

Olsen joins Corey Raymond, Kevin Peoples, and Bo Davis as recently hired defensive coaches tasked with turning around the Tiger’s defense. Raymond will be LSU’s new defensive back coach, Peoples will lead the defensive ends, and Davis will focus on the interior of the defensive line as the defensive line coach.

All four, including Olsen, have worked with Baker at previous stops before joining him on LSU’s coaching staff.

Corey Raymond returns to LSU

Raymond is set to return to LSU as a member of Brian Kelly’s staff, The Bengal Tiger’s Shea Dixon reported. He spent 10 seasons with the Tigers before joining Billy Napier at Florida for the last two years.

Raymond’s and LSU are “working to finalize the deal,” Dixon reported. During his first stint with the Tigers, Raymond was the defensive backs coach and cornerbacks coach.

Corey Raymond and Sean Spencer were let go earlier in the offseason in a move Napier said came down to a “tough decision.”

“I think part of leadership is making tough decisions and I think that, ultimately, we felt like we needed to make changes there,” Napier said. “New voices, new leaders, new teachers. Those are tough. A ton of respect for Sean and Corey. They’re exceptional at what we do but we felt we needed to make a change and certainly excited about the new faces we’ve been able to add.”

Kelly has overhauled the defensive staff this offseason, most notably parting ways with coordinator Matt House, among others. LSU then made quite a splash to replace him, landing former Missouri DC Blake Baker. In fact, the Tigers are making Baker the highest-paid assistant coach in the country.

LSU is set to give Baker a three-year contract worth $2.5 million per year, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported — an increase from the $2 million salary he was going to get from Missouri as part of a new contract extension. For comparison, Baker made $1.4 million as part of his previous deal with Mizzou, according to the On3 Coach Salaries Index.

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this article