By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Former LSU coach Nick Saban did not enjoy losing, but he enthusiastically reacted to some of them because they were excellent teaching points.
After a fortunate, 22-21 overtime win by his No. 4 and defending national champion Tigers over unranked Oregon State to open the 2004 season, Saban actually said it may have been better to lose that game, because he felt his team was overconfident. When he did lose games, he usually fully took advantage.
Over his last three regular seasons from 2002-04 of his five as LSU’s coach, Saban never lost consecutive games and won the national title in the 2003 season. As Alabama’s coach from 2007-23, he never lost consecutive games in a regular season from 2008-23 and won national crowns in 2009, ’11, ’12, ’15, ’17 and ’20.
“Never miss an opportunity to learn from a loss,” LSU coach Lane Kiffin said he remembers Nick Saban saying while Kiffin was Saban’s offensive coordinator from 2014-16.
Kiffin, as the head coach from Florida Atlantic from 2017-19 and Ole Miss from 2020-25, split four games with Blake Baker, the aggressive, blitz-happy defensive coordinator now entering his third season at LSU. He was previously DC at Louisiana Tech (2015-18), Miami (2019-20) and Missouri (2022-23).
And Kiffin remembers the losses well.
Oct. 26, 2018 – Louisiana Tech 21, Florida Atlantic 13: Baker was in his fourth season as Tech’s defensive coordinator. Kiffin was in his second as Florida Atlantic’s head coach, and he did not have a good day in a home game at Boca Raton. Baker’s defense allowed one third down conversion to Kiffin’s offense in 11 tries while collecting three sacks and holding FAU quarterback Rave Peavey to 15-of-26 passing for 115 yards with an interception.
“We just screwed up with some turnovers and were atrocious on third down,” Kiffin sad after the game.
Oct. 12, 2024 – No. 13 LSU 29, No. 8 Ole Miss 26 In Overtime: Kiffin brought in a 5-1 team ranked No. 9 in the nation with the No. 1 portal class in the country. The Rebels dominated the first quarter with 140 yards to 42, but didn’t score on Baker’s defense. Ole Miss led 17-13 at the half, but it should have been by more as Kiffin went for it on fourth and one from the LSU 4-yard line and failed.
The Rebels allowed six sacks to Baker’s blitzing, and the loss kept them out of the College Football Playoff as they finished 10-3 and 5-3 in the SEC. The year before without Baker at LSU and Matt House running LSU’s defense, Ole Miss beat the Tigers, 55-49, with 706 total yards – the most against LSU in history. Quarterback Jaxson Dart threw for 389 and four touchdowns, and Quinshon Judkins rushed for 177 yards on 33 carries.
“Playing LSU every year like we did at the previous place (Ole Miss), we had to watch the transformation defensively when Blake got here and how much they improved each season,” Kiffin said when he retained Baker after the 2025 regular season after Kiffin left Ole Miss for the LSU coaching job.
At the time, Baker’s alma mater Tulane, where he played linebacker from 2000-04, tried to make him its head coach. Baker’s defenses at LSU have improved incrementally from 2023 to 2024 and from 2024 to 2025.
“It was really critical to keep him, because now we want to go to another level and play really physical, dominant defense that creates a lot of havoc and turnovers and plays with great discipline,” Kiffin said.
Tennessee transfer edge rusher Jordan Ross was taken aback by Baker during LSU’s spring practice.
“You don’t expect the defensive coordinator to be in some cleats and just start jukin’ everybody, but he definitely got me,” Ross said. “To be honest, he kind of surprised me when he had the cleats on. I’m like, ‘Why does he have cleats on?’ Because I’m not really used to that. I remember the first day, he’s just running out there. I’ve never seen that before. And he’s just having a blast being out there with us.”
If a coach’s goal is creating havoc, he has to look and act the part.
“We’re going to cause havoc on the field,” Ross said. “That’s what we worked on in spring.”
Baker’s defense is all about pushing chaos. And for the first time at LSU, he appears to have the type players at all positions to do that with his disguised coverages, gap blitzes and blitzes from all areas on the field, particularly cornerback.
“We like to keep opponents on their toes and guessing where we’re coming from,” Baker said. “It’s about pressure.”
Kiffin remembers that.
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