After a month-plus of waiting, LSU
fans can rest easy as it appears Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator Bo Pelini
will be the Tigers’ next defensive coordinator.
ESPN.com, among other news
services, had the story this morning, however, there is official word from LSU
or Miles. An announcement is expected before the end of the week.
Pelini served as the interim coach
at Nebraska
after Frank Solich was fired two seasons ago. A protege of Pete Carroll, the
current coach at Southern California and former coach of the New England Patriots, Pelini was an assistant in the NFL for nine years, coaching on the
staffs of the San
Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers.
Pelini re-entered the college ranks
with the Cornhuskers as their defensive coordinator. A graduate of
Ohio State, where he played for John Cooper, Pelini’s name
has surfaced for several head coaching positions including those at Pittsburgh and Syracuse.
In his only season at Norman, Pelini shared the
role of defensive coordinator with assistant head coach Brent Venables. Pelini
specialized in the secondary where the Sooners defense struggled finishing fifth
in the Big XII and 48th nationally giving up 204.38 yards per
game.
As a whole, though, the Oklahoma defense led the
conference and finished 13th in the country in total defense allowing
299 yards per game. The Sooners rushing defense was the best in the league (94.6
ypg) and giving up just 16.8 points each contest was good enough for first place
in the conference and 11th in America.
DUNBAR FOLLOWS MILES TO LSU
It is also being reported by
chicagobears.com that former LSU All-SEC defensive lineman Karl Dunbar will
leave the Bears’ staff and return home to Baton Rouge to coach defensive line on Miles’
staff.
Dunbar, who played at LSU from
1986-89 and served as the school's assistant strength and conditioning
coordinator from 2000-02, has been hired as an assistant head coach and
defensive line coach by first-year head coach Les Miles.
Dunbar coached defensive linemen on
Miles' staff at Oklahoma State for two seasons before accepting his
first NFL job with the Bears.
"I've told (Miles) 'no' three times
already, but I guess he's just like the Godfather," Dunbar said. "He made me an offer I couldn't refuse to go
back home. It took care of my family and that was the foundation of it all."
A native of Plaisance, La., Dunbar
began his coaching career as the defensive line coach at Opelousas (La.) High
School in 1996 before serving as defensive coordinator at Beau Chene
High School in Arnaudville, La., in 1997.
Dunbar then spent two seasons as
defensive line coach at Nicholls
State University in Thibodaux, La., before returning to his alma mater in
2000.
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Information was gathered
from ESPN.com, soonersports.com and Chicagobears.com.