Source: LSU’s Joe Brady is heading to the Panthers as their new offensive coordinator
Carolina’s offense is about to get interesting.
The Panthers have hired LSU’s Joe Brady as the team’s offensive coordinator, according to a source with direct knowledge of the decision.
On Monday Brady was part of a National Championship-winning LSU team after spending the last year as the Tigers’ passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach. Now Brady, 30, will take on his first offensive coordinator job, becoming the youngest to hold the position in the NFL. He is currently 37 years younger than Norv Turner, the team’s previous offensive coordinator. Baylor defensive coordinator Phil Snow is expected to take the same role with the Panthers.
Brady helped revolutionize LSU’s offense this past year with quarterback Joe Burrow. The Tigers led FBS in completion percentage (75.1 percent), total offense (568.5 yards per game) and points per game (48.4) and was second in first downs (418) and passing yards per game (401.6). The team continued to set records in the National Championship game, putting up 42 points with Burrow throwing five touchdown passes.
Burrow won the Heisman Trophy this season with a record 90.7 percent of first-place votes and was the first LSU player to receive the award since halfback Billy Cannon won it in 1959. The 60-year gap is the largest for any school with multiple wins. Brady was also the winner of the Broyles Award, given to the top assistant coach in college football.
With Cam Newton turning 31 in May, Brady is just more than five months younger than the Panthers’ starting quarterback.
Brady became one of the hottest offense names in football after just one season at LSU. While Brady did not call all of the plays at LSU, he was responsible for talking to Burrow after drives from the booth to go over what to improve. He was not responsible for calling all of the plays, but he would call red zone, third down and other packages.
Prior to joining Ed Orgeron’s staff, he spent two years as an offensive assistant with the Saints. Before that, he was a graduate assistant at Penn State, where new Panthers coach Matt Rhule played as a walk-on linebacker in college.
During his college career, he was a wide receiver at William & Mary for four years (2009-12) and then coached the team’s linebackers for two seasons (2013-14) before joining the Nittany Lions. Brady had originally enrolled at the Air Force Academy, but transferred after one year. He grew up in Florida.
Brady will bring with him some staff from LSU and his time with the Saints, however the Panthers will likely be retaining running backs coach Jake Peetz from last year’s staff.
The Panthers’ offense struggled to be consistent throughout the year with three different quarterbacks starting games for various reasons. No word has been given yet of Turner being hired elsewhere, such as joining his son, Scott Turner, in Washington or if he may have a role in the Panthers’ new offense. The offensive line was a major issue as Carolina allowed 58 sacks, tied with the Dolphins for the most in the NFL. The lone bright spot was Christian McCaffrey, who had a historic season, becoming the third player in NFL history with 1,000 receiving yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a single year.
This story was originally published January 14, 2020 at 6:09 PM.
