Panthers OC Joe Brady responds to speculation linking him to LSU opening

The LSU Tigers are looking for a new head coach, and one well-connected name is responding to speculation that it might be him.

Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady spoke this week on the LSU opening amid the news that the Tigers have mutually agreed to part ways with coach Ed Orgeron at the end of the season.

“I didn’t really have any thoughts on it,” said Brady, per ProFootballTalk. “Unfortunately for us, we had just come off of a loss when all that stuff came out, so there was a lot more things on my mind. I don’t have many thoughts on that. I had a great experience during my time there, but I was way more concerned with our performance this past Sunday and finding ways to improve it this Sunday.

“All those things from a coaching perspective are things I don’t really pay a lot of attention to,” Brady added. “It’s one of those things that after the season I think about those things. But right now I have to do a better job at being the offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers, and that’s all I’m really concerned about right now.”

The 32-year-old Brady had been generating plenty of buzz as a potential candidate for the LSU job, and it makes a lot of sense. After all, he rose to prominence as the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach for the Tigers, helping lead them to the national title in 2019. Brady’s success working with players like Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson established him as one of the top young offensive minds in football. He even won the Broyles Award in 2019 as the best assistant in all of college football.

Brady left LSU in 2020 to join Matt Rhule’s staff in Carolina. Although they have lost their last three games in a row in Christian McCaffrey’s absence, the Panthers are on the rise and are eyeing their first playoff berth since 2017. Brady himself may also have some higher upside potential than returning to coach LSU.