LSU football: Ed Orgeron closing in on Tigers new defensive coordinator

Ed Orgeron has his eyes set on one candidate to replace Bo Pelini as LSU defensive coordinator.

LSU football is closing in on their new defensive coordinator.

This 2020 season for LSU football was a challenging one after winning it all in 2019. Not only did they lose their top players to the NFL Draft, but they also had to deal with opt-outs and inconsistent play. As a result, the defense suffered, resulting in LSU firing defensive coordinator Bo Pelini. It appears that head coach Ed Orgeron has a favorite to fill the defensive coordinator vacancy.

According to AL.com, an early candidate of interest to replace Pelini is current Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom, whom Orgeron is reportedly a big fan of.

Odom was previously head coach of Missouri

Odom has spent a total of one season as the defensive coordinator of the Razorbacks. Prior to that, Odom was the head coach of the Missouri Tigers from 2016-2019. During that span, Odom led the Tigers to a 25-25 overall record and two bowl game appearances (both losses).

This season, Arkansas surrendered 451.7 yards of total offense per game, which was the fourth-most in the entire SEC. That was slightly better than how LSU performed this year, as they surrendered 492 yards of total offense per game. Odom’s defense allowed 35.9 points per game, the same allowed by Pelini’s defense at LSU. That mark tied for No. 97 among 127 FBS teams.

If LSU can’t pry Odom away from Arkansas, sources told AL.com that they’re also targeting Cincinnati defensive coordinator Marcus Allen, Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Kris Richard and Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.

LSU previously had success prying Wisconsin defensive coordinators out of Madison. Dave Aranda was the coordinator from 2016-2019 before leaving this offseason to take the head coaching job at Baylor

Nothing is official, but Odom is the name to watch in LSU’s defensive coordinator search,

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