As LSU approached the offseason, it appeared that the whole coaching staff would return until Slade Nagle accepted the offensive coordinator position at Houston, reuniting with Willie Fritz. Slade Nagle’s departure left two positions, since he was Brian Kelly’s Tight Ends and Special Teams coach. In addition to losing Slade Nagle, LSU has lost or moved on from multiple analysts this offseason, as well as a couple coaches who worked with special teams.
The Tigers most certainly needed to hire a Special Teams Coach whether Slade Nagle resigned or not, as the squad was a nightmare this season. LSU had it all—poor snaps, horrible holds, blocked kicks, failed kicks, bad punts, and big returns.
The one bright area was the return game as Zavion Thomas was a spark while Aaron Anderson’s lone kick return went 100 yards for a touchdown.
The Tigers appear to have found their answer on special teams as LSU will hire Grambling State’s Aman Anand as Football Scoop reported the news
Anand served one season at Grambling State before moving on to coach Special Teams at Texas Southern, where his teams rated in the top 25 in kick and punt returns. Anand has previously worked as an assistant special teams coordinator at Baylor and Penn State. He also served as a student or graduate assistant at Old Dominion, the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Northern Arizona, Utah State, and Memphis.
It’s unclear whether he’ll be the Tigers’ Special Teams Coordinator or an Analyst, but talking about Special Teams was key. Anand gets a ton of terrific pieces, including elite returners like Barion Brown, Aaron Anderson, and Zavion Thomas. The Tigers also re-signed punter Peyton Todd and added excellent transfer punter Grant Chadwick. Aeron Burrell, one of the best kickoff specialists, and Damian Ramos, a place kicker, are both at LSU.