PALMER: Next LSU coach must avoid Kelly’s error

By Hunt Palmer

LSU’s next head coach faces a whirlwind for a next two months.

Let me lighten his load.

Tell Frank Wilson and Corey Raymond to stay put. Some offices in the football operations building will get new furniture, decor and a name plate. Those two should remain untouched.

Brian Kelly made a wise move bringing Wilson back to LSU from McNeese. He made a grave error letting Raymond walk out the door.

DBU was part of the fabric of LSU football in this 25-year golden age, and it dissolved into the 118th ranked pass defense in the country two seasons after Raymond left.

He’s not been back for two years, and LSU boasts the best cornerback in the country and a pair of underclassmen that are blossoming under Raymond’s tutelage.

Mansoor Delane was a good player at Virginia Tech. He was a third team All-ACC performer who made 29 starts. After 10 months under Raymond, he’s going to be a Thorpe Award finalist and a first round pick.

Saturday, he was a star.

Arkansas tried Delane on more occasions than they should have. It may have cost them the game.

With 40 seconds to play in the first half, Arkansas called timeout to stop the clock and plot its next move. The Razorbacks entered the game with the best red zone touchdown percentage in college football. That percentage dipped when Taylen Green fired for O’Mega Blake in one-on-one coverage with Delane. The senior corner picked it off to squash the threat and set LSU up for a half-ending field goal to take the lead.

Mansoor Delane 1 INT, 3 PD, 3 TKL vs Arkansas Today.

CB1? https://t.co/B9PDcojQJl pic.twitter.com/ZP5VZT3AFs

— Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) November 15, 2025

Delane was credited with two pass breakups in addition to the interception.

DJ Pickett, the top prep cornerback in the class of 2025, also had a breakup in the game. He’s emerged as a playmaker with a monster future. Pickett is the type of talent Raymond lures to LSU annually. That wasn’t happening while the DBU caretaker was in Gainesville.

Green finished Saturday’s game with 11 completions for 165 yards, both season lows. The 11 completions tied for the fewest in Green’s two-year run as the Arkansas starter. The 165 yards were 110 below Arkansas’s season average. It was just the second time all season Green did not throw a touchdown pass.

Delane’s time in Baton Rouge may only last two more weeks. Pickett’s should be two more years. He and PJ Woodland would form a formidable cornerback tandem next season should they stick around. If Raymond does, they just might.

As far as Wilson goes, his team has played exceptionally hard through the most tumultuous internal circumstances in program history. A coach and an athletic director being canned in a four-day stretch can be taxing. That’s not to mention the circus surrounding it all in press conferences and lawsuits.

Off the field, only one commitment has jumped ship from LSU recruiting class, and perhaps the brightest star of the offensive season is a true freshman who plays Wilson’s position and hails from his hometown.

Harlem Berry carved up Texas A&M’s defense for a half three weeks ago and sealed LSU Saturday win with a devastating cut and run that finished with a savvy and selfless slide to secure the win despite six points being right in front of his face.

He’s a hell of a player who has been well coached.

Saturday’s win will be soon forgotten by most. The difference between the Liberty Bowl and the Music City Bowl is insignificant to the fanbase that is locked in on the next coach. The result of the coaching search will trump any of LSU’s next three games.

That coach will be asked to hit the ground running on retaining the current roster, signing a crop of freshmen, scouring the portal and assembling a staff.

The easy part involves Wilson and Raymond.