LSU football filled its vacant defensive line coach on Thursday, hiring former Tiger Kyle Williams.
LSU has had a revolving door at the position for nearly 10 years. For LSU head coach Brian Kelly, the Williams hire marks his fourth defensive line coach in four years. 2025 will be LSU’s sixth straight year with a new defensive line coach.
The position opened when Bo Davis left for the New Orleans Saints earlier this month. Davis was the highest paid defensive line coach in the sport while at LSU and considered one of the top recruiters and developers in the country.
When Kelly hired Davis last January, the Tigers were hoping for stability at the position. Davis was a member of Nick Saban’s national title staff at LSU. For years, there was speculation about Davis returning. Kelly and co. finally made it happen, but it only lasted a year. Davis is one of several top college assistants to jump to the NFL in recent years. He won’t have to worry about losing the Saints‘ top defensive linemen to the transfer portal.
With Davis out and Williams in, let’s take a look at what this means for Brian Kelly and LSU.
Williams is one of the best defensive tackles in LSU football history
Williams played at LSU from 2002-05. He won a national championship with the Tigers in 2003 and is one of the most impactful defenders in LSU history. He played in 46 games and started 33 in his four years with the Tigers.
He ranks 11th on LSU’s all-time sack leaderboard and was an All-American in 2005. He notched 7.5 tackles for loss along with 4.5 sacks that year as he led one of the top units in the country. Williams racked up 26 TFLs over his career, also one of the top marks in program history.
We’ve said this every time LSU has hired a defensive line coach in recent years, but there’s optimism Williams can bring stability to a group. He doesn’t fit the profile of a coach that will leave after one year. He won’t be a candidate for coordinating jobs at the college level and the NFL will want to see Williams prove himself for a couple of years before he starts getting looks to join professional staffs.
Williams had a lengthy NFL career with the Buffalo Bills
After his time at LSU, Williams was selected in the fifth-round by the Buffalo Bills. He went on to make six Pro Bowls and was second-team All-Pro in 2010.
Williams spent his entire career with the Bills. In 13 years, he racked up 48.5 sacks and over 600 tackles. Few defensive linemen were as reliable as Williams year in and year out. Williams proved to be versatile as Buffalo deployed 3-4 and 4-3 schemes throughout his career.
Even in the era of NIL, it means something to recruits when a guy with this much NFL success calls you up.
Williams got his start in coaching at Ruston High School
After Williams was done in the NFL, he returned to his hometown of Ruston, Louisiana to coach his former high school. Williams served as Ruston’s defensive coordinator for five seasons.
Ruston is one of the top high school programs in the state. In 2023, with Williams as DC, Ruston went 14-0 and won a state title.
LSU will be Williams’ first college coaching job, but he has experience working with D1 level players. At Ruston, he coached current LSU defensive tackle Ahmad Breaux. The two are now reunited in Baton Rouge.
Brian Kelly continues to hire coaches with Louisiana ties
LSU’s staff is always full of coaches with deep ties to LSU and Louisiana. Even more so the last couple of years.
LSU lost Davis, a coach who made two previous stops at LSU, and replaced him with one of the best defensive linemen in LSU history. Williams was born and raised in Louisiana. He’s spent the last five years coaching high school in Louisiana. All of that will help the Tigers on the recruiting trail.
One of Williams’ first jobs at LSU will be getting in touch with Richard Anderson, LSU’s top 2026 commit who is one of the nation’s top defensive linemen and on his way to five-star status. Williams is new to recruiting, but given his experience at the high school level and familiarity with Louisiana, it shouldn’t take him long to get the hang of it.
LSU has insurance with Kevin Peoples
The presence of LSU’s defensive ends coach Kevin Peoples is what allows LSU to take a risk on a first-time college coach like Williams. Peoples has coached defensive line before and is familiar with defensive coordinator Blake Baker’s system. Peoples and Baker worked together at Missouri before coming to LSU.
Expect Peoples to have involvement with the entire defensive front.
Peoples should also help ensure a smooth transition with recruiting. LSU won’t be starting from scratch with its 2026 and 2027 prospects.
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Five takeaways: LSU hires Kyle Williams as defensive line coach
