Reports: Steve Kragthorpe Hired at LSU

Kragthorpe will be asked to turn around a passing offense that finished No. 107 in the nation this season.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:09 pm

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Jan 20, 2011 11:19 AM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana – As reported by several outlets Thursday, LSU head coach Les Miles has hired former University of Tulsa coach Steve Kragthorpe as the Tigers’ new offensive coordinator.

The hiring was first reported by the Baton Rouge Advocate, and College Football Talk later confirmed this report and added details. The final wording of the contract is still being finalized, but the school is expected to make an official announcement by Friday.

Kragthorpe coached Tulsa from 2003-2006 before moving on to become the head coach at Louisville. After being fired by Louisville, he was later hired to be wide receivers coach at Texas A&M. However, he stepped down weeks before summer camp in 2010 to help his family through unspecified medical issues.

He had been listed as a potential candidate for the Tulsa head coaching position after Todd Graham left for Pittsburgh, but eliminated himself from contention last week. He reportedly interviewed for the LSU job earlier this week and jumped to the top of the Tigers’ list.

Kragthorpe will now be tasked with improving an LSU passing offense that has suffered through years of mediocrity. This season, the Tigers rotated Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee at quarterback, and the two combined to throw more interceptions (11) than touchdowns (nine).

The Tigers finished No. 107 in the nation in passing offense, amassing just 155.6 yards per game. By comparison, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State each had more than double that amount per game.

Kragthorpe will replace former LSU coordinator Gary Crowton, who left to assume the same position at Maryland.