Not surprisingly, Bo Pelini will be paid handsomely for returning to LSU.
After a few days worth of speculation, it was reported earlier Monday that all signs were pointing to a Pelini reunion down on the bayou. A few hours later, after Youngstown State announced it was losing its head football coach, it was confirmed that Bo Pelini is the new defensive coordinator at LSU.
Pelini replaces Aranda, who left earlier this month to take the head job at Baylor.
“We are privileged to have one of the top defensive coordinators in all of football in Bo Pelini join our staff,” LSU head coach Ed Orgeron said in a statement. “Bo has had some of the best defenses in football during his career and we are looking forward to him bringing his tremendous amount of knowledge and expertise back to LSU to continue to win championships.”
From 2005-07, Pelini served as the Tigers’ coordinator. He went on to spend seven seasons as the head coach at Nebraska. The past five seasons, he was the head coach at FCS Youngstown State.
According to reports out of the area, Pelini has agreed to a three-year deal that will pay him $2.3 million annually. The man he replaced, Aranda, was the highest-paid assistant in college football at $2.5 million this past season.
At Youngstown State, Pelini was paid less than $400,000 in 2019. Of course, there were also the millions paid to Pelini by the Cornhuskers as part of his buyout, so it’s not like he was forced to eat Hydrox instead of Oreos the past few years.
“The opportunity to return to LSU is truly unique,” Pelini said. “Culturally, with my prior experience at LSU, I know it is a great fit for me. The chance to work with Coach Orgeron, the ability to take charge of the Tigers defense, is something that I’m extremely excited about. All of that in a place that both my family and I immensely enjoyed when we were there before is very exciting for us. We are very honored and looking forward to this next chapter.”
