Former Alabama defensive line coach Bo Davis is back in the SEC, at one of the Crimson Tide’s most-heated rivals nonetheless.
Davis was hired during the offseason at LSU, his alma mater, after six seasons at Texas. Known as one of the top position coaches and recruiters in the country, he worked under Nick Saban at LSU (2002-05), with the Miami Dolphins (2006) and twice at Alabama (2007-10 and 2014-15).
LSU struggled mightily on the defensive line the last two seasons, leading head coach Brian Kelly to make hiring the 54-year-old Davis a priority for his 2024 staff. Davis has three national championship rings, one at LSU and two at Alabama.
“The sales pitch was certainly his opportunity, to rebuild the pride and tradition of, of LSU’s defensive line,” Kelly said. “There is a great and rich tradition of LSU football and I think that that had something to do with it. He wanted to be the architect of bringing that back.
“His ability to motivate, his ability to teach technique. He’s demanding, never demeaning. He has an incredible experience with success. He’s won national championships within the SEC. So players immediately identify with his success because it’s real, and that carries on to the recruiting trail — somebody that has done it, been there. I think we’re seeing that come to fruition, early on in his tenure here at LSU.”
Davis is part of an entirely new defensive staff at LSU, headed by former Missouri defensive coordinator Brian Baker. The Tigers ranked 13th among 14 SEC teams and 105th among 130 FBS teams in total defense, allowing more than 400 yards per game and six yards per play.
That was a stark contrast from LSU’s offense, which was led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels. The Tigers averaged an FBS-best 540 yards and 45.5 points per game.
“Obviously, being the No. 1 offense in the country was not good enough,” Kelly said. “I think you have to have much more balance. So the balance that we need is offensively and defensively, we’ve got to be able to complement each other and we didn’t do that last year.
“… We’re going to have to play better defense this year and I think we’ve made the necessary strides in the offseason to continue on that growth. Complementary football offense and defense — and I know that sounds like coach speak — but the numbers prove it out, you can’t have the No. 1 offense in the country and not play the kind of defense necessary to get you to the next level.”