Bo Davis left for the New Orleans Saints earlier this month. Davis earned his reputation as one of the top recruiters and developers in the country while serving as LSU’s defensive line coach, drawing significant financial rewards for his role. Losing Davis felt like a huge blow to Kelly’s strong rebound hope in 2025. On the top, they missed the top target, Gerald Chadman, as he decided to stay in Florida. They moved on and handed the job to the LSU alumna, Kyle Williams. But now the question it begs is: Can the new ace in the hole, Williams’ arrival, fill in the shoes of Davis’ elite recruiting streak, or can it make Kelly forget the regret of not having a past LSU defensive analyst on the chair?

The question seems pretty tricky, bringing out some reward wrapped in a gamble. As perplexing as it sounds! LSU couldn’t stabilize their DL coaching room for a while now. It’s the sixth consecutive season with six different coaches at the DL position. The Tigers expected a long haul from Davis. Can Williams provide some continuity for the first time in years? That’s another question to pipe in. But first, let’s brood about the money.

In a finalized deal, Williams will make $700,000 in 2025, and he will make up to $775,000 and $850,000 in 2026 and 2027, respectively. Divulging to the investment prudence of Kelly, insider Matt Moscona said, ”bringing in Kyle Williams at 700 with escalators that go to 775 and 850, I was surprised to see the numbers that high, especially considering you’re still taking a risk.’

Coming to the reward part, Williams brings enough to the table. ”There’s a part of me that loves it for the same reason a lot of you love it, from Louisiana went to LSU, played on a national championship team, 13 years in the NFL heartbeat of that team, captain in Buffalo, knows the state well, was a DC at Rustin for five years who knows High School in the state well, you know, footprint in North Louisiana, got two guys from Rustin on the team, right now there’s a lot of things that make sense with Kyle Williams,” the insider highlighted.

Well, among all these points, lifting a Natty in 2003 as a player is huge. I mean, it denotes a coach who knows all the basic traits and styles and, of course, the distinctive success formula of a team. Now, the team has undergone deep evaluation over the years, but considering the base structure remains the same, Kyle’s past experiment can be a real game changer.

But there is a history that didn’t indicate any good. Robert Steeples, the former LSU cornerback coach, came from an NFL background with zero college coaching experience, and it didn’t bode well. After a lackluster year, Kelly let him go in early 2024. ”You hired Robert Steeples to his first ever College coaching job, he was the cornerbacks’ coach at LSU, he fell flat on his face. I’m not suggesting that’s going to happen with Kyle; I’m just saying you are taking a risk, and it’s pretty expensive on,” Moscona issued another red flag for Kelly and the squad.

However, welcoming an inaugural college football coach can be favorable from another perspective.

Kyle Williams’ no college football tie can be a blessing for the Tigers 

In this NIL-driven era and the tiff transfer portal battle, you need to be careful about your resources. Paying a lump sum buyout to a school releasing their coach is a big burden, something Kelly strategically avoided by welcoming someone who is a brand-new face in college.

You get through this wave of candidates, and I think the financial component was another part of this – where you didn’t have to pay another school. He wasn’t coaching in a college. You didn’t have to pay another school’s buyout, and you’re not going to have to pay him $1.25M that you were paying Bo Davis,” analyst Ryan Theriot said.

So, LSU needed a good asset in their DL room that wouldn’t cost them another L in the budget department. Ryan Theriot didn’t hold back when asked about what is expected of Kyle Williams: “I want him to take the talent that comes to the school and make them elite, NFL staples like he was. That’s what I want.”

Now, it will be interesting to see if Kyle can really get the job done with some fresh, new faces in the D-line and make a record, staying more than a year under Kelly’s defensive unit going forward.