College football saw another high-profile exit after LSU fired head coach Brian Kelly on Sunday after four seasons with the Tigers. Kelly was given the pink slip after LSU suffered a humiliating 49-25 loss to Texas A&M, which saw the Tigers lose for the third time in four games after a 4-0 start to the season.
The 64-year-old Everett, Massachusetts-born coach went 34-14 in his tenure with LSU, including 19-10 against SEC opponents. However, he was 5-11 when facing Top 25 teams.
Running backs coach and associate head coach Frank Wilson was promoted to interim head coach after Kelly’s firing went public.
Who Is Frank Wilson?
New Orleans native Wilson initially served as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator from 2010-15. He was instrumental in recruiting some of the nation’s top high school players to LSU, earning the national recruiter of the year award twice.
During that stint, he developed running backs, receivers and special teams and had a big influence in shaping the abilities of seven RBs who went on to be picked in the NFL draft, including Leonard Fournette, Steven Ridley, Spencer Ware and Jeremy Hill.
Wilson was part of the 2012 BCS National Championship game and helped the Tigers to six straight bowl appearances in his first stint with the team. He parted ways with LSU in 2016 when he was hired head coach for the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he served until 2019.
He returned to Louisiana in 2020 to coach McNeese State University for two seasons before joining Brian Kelly’s staff in Baton Rouge.
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Frank Wilson made an immediate impact in his first year back as LSU’s running backs coach, setting a program record for rushing touchdowns with 39. Josh Williams led the team, rushing for 532 yards with six TDs, while Noah Cain added 409 yards with 10 TDs. Josh Emery and Armori Goodwin contributed a combined 642 yards and 11 scores.
The following year, he operated a running back corps without a featured back. Logan Diggs and Williams led seven running backs with 1,515 yards and 22 TDs. Last season, he recruited freshman All-SEC awardee Caden Durham to help Williams.
The ploy worked, with Durham setting a freshman SEC record with 753 yards rushing, which included two 100-yard games. Williams and Durham combined for 12 TDs last year.
Wilson, who will turn 52 on Nov. 5, was also a wide receivers coach in Tennessee in 2009, Southern Mississippi (running backs/recruiting coordinator, 2008), Ole Miss (running backs/special teams, 2005-07), and Nicholls in 1996 as a student assistant.
Frank Wilson is now faced with the task of leading LSU in its final four games of the season, beginning with the Tigers’ clash against No. 4 Alabama (7-1, 5-0 in SEC) on Nov. 8 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. In PFSN’s CFB Playoff Meter, LSU has a rank of 26.
Wilson can focus the attack on the ground with Durham as the featured back. Still, he has to balance the offensive distribution with quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who’s expected to pass first when he is at center.
