Bo Davis was one of the highest-paid assistant coaches in college football for a reason. He is an ace recruiter and was a part of Nick Saban’s first national championship staff at LSU. Then, he was a vital aspect of Steve Sarkisian’s rebuild in Texas as they successfully built one of the best defensive tackle tandems which earned them their first playoff berth. Owing to his skills, LSU fans always wanted to see him return to their side, and he did. He came back for a lone 2024 season and walked off to the NFL’s New Orleans Saints after wrapping up his duties. Saints’ GM Mickey Loomis really did a number on LSU fans by poaching their dear coach.

This is a big deal for LSU fans, considering the position has lacked stability for years. The last DL coach who held the position for more than two years was Brick Haley (2009-2014).

• 2025 – TBD
• 2024 – Bo Davis
• 2023 – Jimmy Lindsey / John Janeck (interim)
• 2022 – Jamar Cain
• 2021 – Andre Carter
• 2020/2019 – Bill Johnson
• 2018 – Dennis Johnson
• 2017 – Pete Jenkins
• 2016 – Ed Orgeron (Pete Jenkins interim)
• 2015 – Ed Orgeron
• 2014 – Brick Haley

Here’s the issue though. Anytime an assistant coach exits from a college program, a recruiting fallout is bound to happen. So this looks like a poorly timed exit with the 2026 class producing several blue-chip defensive tackles. Let us take defensive tackle Richard Anderson as an example. He is LSU’s top 2026 commit but his recruitment is not done. He is moving toward finishing as a five-star prospect and LSU’s new defensive coach will have to establish a relationship with him.

However, on the positive side, LSU may survive it due to its proximity to its prospects. On a similar tangent, Glen West, an LSU insider, discussed the ripple effects of Davis leaving on the YouTube channel ‘LSU Tigers on 247Sports’.

He revealed: “What we understand is that they had a nice team meeting or they had a defensive line meeting pretty much as the news was breaking or right after the news was breaking. So you know they tried to inform the players in that respect but, at the end of the day, yeah I mean, could there be a little bit of attrition with some of the guys that just climbed on board? For sure, like, I mean, that’s why you can’t ever rule that out. I mean, they have four freshman defensive tackles that they just signed in the 2025 class.

“They are not going to lose all four of them or anything like that, but could one maybe go somewhere else? Maybe. We will see, kind of how it all shakes out in the spring and what kind of intel is coming out of the spring of where guys are in the pecking order.”

This means that the departure of Bo Davis will have its own repercussions. Major recruits who had personal relationships with Davis may look to switch ships and leave LSU. After all, why would they stay with the team if the likes of Ohio State, Notre Dame, or Alabama come calling?

Additionally, many players commit to playing for a specific coach. If that very coach changes jobs, a player may want to explore other options. But on a positive note, Lamar Brown, a five-star LSU target, took to X to share how none of this was enough to change his mind. “MY recruitment doesn’t change for me Tigers still #1,” he wrote. So it seems the program can focus on retaining other players.

Bo Davis had a far-reaching influence in LSU’s 2026 recruitment class, where players like Richard Anderson were recruited by the man. I mean, this is a prospect who is coming close to being 5-star rated and will be a top priority for teams if he intends to jump ship and decommit from LSU. Furthermore, Davis was also central in ongoing negotiations in recruiting 4-star prospect Dyrrus McKinley and Dylan Berymon. Davis’s departure may also influence them, but this problem can also extend to the current squad, and here’s why.

LSU has three main defensive linemen right now in their 2025 roster: Ahmad Breaux, Jacobian Guillory, and Dominick McKinley. Furthermore, they also added Sydir Mitchell from Texas, which was majorly due to Davis’s connections. We could potentially see some of these players jumping ship if Brian Kelly doesn’t convince them enough to stay. Now the main question that looms is:

Why did Bo Davis leave LSU?

Well, the first answer could be due to the glamour that the NFL usually carries with itself. Of course, not many coaches could resist that, but still, Bo Davis was the highest-paid position coach in college football right now, slated to earn around $1.35 million this year. Surely, there must be more than the reasons of money and fame that influenced his decision, right?

Well, it might actually be. Matt Moscona in the ‘After Further Review Podcast’ shed light on some reasons that influenced Davis to leave. “Throughout his career [Davis] has been a very, very good recruiter. And whenever recruiting becomes more about money and less about relationships, that’s going to be off-putting to someone who’s been so good at that piece of the game for so long because he’s very good at building relationships… I think there was some frustration from Bo at the lack of resources invested in the defensive line.” For context, hear this.

Davis had several high-level prospects on his mind, including Damonic Williams and Siemon Barrow Jr. So, it may be due to the fact that Kelly, at that time, refused to invest in these prospects, and that has ultimately set his heart elsewhere. The verdict? Surely, the departure of Bo Davis will hurt Brian Kelly.

Not only because there aren’t many coaches of his caliber right now but also because he was heavily invested in the program, which can falter after his departure. Brian Kelly needs to take swift action in order to avoid any potential calamities surrounding departures. What do you think?