LSU Hires 'One Of Best Offensive Minds In The Game' in Cincinnati's Mike Denbrock

LSU confirmed the hiring of offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock away from College Football Playoff participant Cincinnati on Sunday night, as previously reported over the weekend.

"I've coached with Mike for many years," LSU coach Brian Kelly said in a release. "He's one of the best offensive minds in the game, and we share an established trust, respect and understanding that will help us maximize the talent of our players immediately."

Denbrock's offense finished the 2021 season ranked No. 13 in scoring at 36.4 a game, and quarterback Desmond Ridder was No. 13 in efficiency at 158.7 on 251-of-387 passing with 30 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Ridder's 3,334 passing yards were No. 19 in the nation.

The No. 4 Bearcats (13-1), who lost 27-6 to No. 1 Alabama in the CFP semifinals on Friday, set school records with 70 touchdowns and with 516 points. Denbrock, 57, has been Cincinnati's offensive coordinator since 2017.

"His offenses have maintained a consistent level of excellence throughout his entire career, and he knows how to develop players at every position," Kelly said.

Kelly and Denbrock have been coaching cronies since they were graduate assistants together in 1987 at Grand Valley State in Allendale, Michigan.

Denbrock was then Kelly’s offensive coordinator at Grand Valley State from 1992-95 before switching over to be his defensive coordinator from 1996-98.

A native of Albion, Michigan who played tight end at Grand Valley State from 1982-85, Denbrock was Kelly's tight ends coach at Notre Dame in 2010 and '11, then pass game coordinator in 2012 and '13 before becoming offensive coordinator in 2014. He was Kelly's wide receivers coach in 2015 and '16.

At Notre Dame under Kelly, Denbrock was part of six bowl games, including the 2012 BCS national championship game where the Irish lost 42-14 to Alabama. That was the closest Notre Dame came to winning a national championship since its 11th and last one in 1988 under coach Lou Holtz.

"I'm excited for him to join our staff and elevate our program," Kelly said.

Among Denbrock's other coaching stops was Stanford in 2001 as tackles and tight ends coach, Notre Dame from 2002-04 as tackles and tight ends coach, Washington as offensive line coach from 2005-08, and Indiana State in 2009 as special teams and linebackers coach.

Last week, Kelly, who left Notre Dame to become LSU's coach last month, also hired Kansas City Chiefs linebackers coach Matt House to be the defensive coordinator. House, who will remain with the Chiefs through the end of their NFL season, was Kentucky's defensive coordinator in 2017 and ’18 and was Pittsburgh's defensive coordinator in 2013 and ’14.

LSU (6-6) will play Kansas State (7-5) on Tuesday in the Texas Bowl in Houston (9 p.m. Eastern, ESPN) with interim head coach Brad Davis, who will be retained, and offensive and defensive coordinators Jake Peetz and Daronte Jones, who will be leaving LSU.

Follow along on Twitter: @LSUBeatTweet

Written by
Guilbeau joined OutKick as an SEC columnist in September of 2021 after covering LSU and the Saints for 17 years at USA TODAY Louisiana. He has been a national columnist/feature writer since the summer of 2022, covering college football, basketball and baseball with some NFL, NBA, MLB, TV and Movies and general assignment, including hot dog taste tests. A New Orleans native and Mizzou graduate, he has consistently won Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) awards since covering Alabama and Auburn at the Mobile Press-Register (1993-98) and LSU and the Saints at the Baton Rouge Advocate (1998-2004). In 2021, Guilbeau won an FWAA 1st for a game feature, placed in APSE Beat Writing, Breaking News and Explanatory, and won Beat Writer of the Year from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA). He won an FWAA columnist 1st in 2017 and was FWAA's top overall winner in 2016 with 1st in game story, 2nd in columns, and features honorable mention. Guilbeau completed a book in 2022 about LSU's five-time national champion coach - "Everything Matters In Baseball: The Skip Bertman Story" - that is available at www.acadianhouse.com, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble outlets. He lives in Baton Rouge with his wife, the former Michelle Millhollon of Thibodaux who previously covered politics for the Baton Rouge Advocate and is a communications director.