BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Head coach Brian Kelly is familiar with yearly staff turnover, especially at the defensive line position in his time at LSU. It’s a trend Kelly’s trying to curb by bringing on former Buffalo Bills standout Kyle Williams as his next defensive line coach.
Williams was hired in the weeks leading up to spring ball after Bo Davis departed for the same position with the New Orleans Saints after just one season with the Bayou Bengals. The former LSU Tiger becomes the fourth defensive line coach in Kelly’s four years at LSU.
Williams returns home to LSU with an impressive resume. While he was with the Tigers, he won a national championship and was named an All-American. Then in the NFL, he played 13 seasons with the Bills being named a Pro Bowler at defensive tackle six times.
It wasn’t just his resume that got Williams the job at LSU. He also could connect and communicate with the players. More importantly, Kelly was looking for a candidate who would provide continuity at the defensive line coaching position.
“We certainly have a group that we want to feel as though there’s going to be some continuity at the position,” Kelly said. “I will say that that was part of ultimately, when we looked at the candidates, we had that as part of our process. Kyle was looking to settle in. That was an attractive match for us from that perspective. There were certainly other things, but that was one of them.”
LSU began spring camp without some of their key players as they continue to rehab from injuries. Kelly said both Whit Weeks and Harold Perkins are on track to be cleared by June, ahead of fall camp.