Jamar Cain leaving LSU to be a pass rush specialist with the Denver Broncos

Before LSU practiced Saturday morning, defensive line coach Jamar Cain gathered his players and told them it would be his last day with them. Cain was leaving to join the Denver Broncos as a pass rush specialist, reaching a longtime goal of coaching in the NFL.

Fourth-year junior Jacobian Guillory cried. Cain was the coach who believed in him most since he got to LSU. They butted heads last season over Guillory’s habits, but Guillory knew he had turned into a better player under Cain’s guidance.

“I don’t know if I want to be coached by anybody else,” Guillory said.

But Guillory knew what this meant to his coach. Cain had always told them about his desire to reach the NFL, and this let him work for Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. Cain walked through LSU’s facility later, smiling and excited about the new position even though it meant he wouldn’t coach a promising group of linemen.

“He’s doing it because this is what he always wanted,” Guillory said. “I can’t be mad at him. I can’t say, ‘Why now?’ I wish nothing but the best for him.”

Five practices into the spring, coach Brian Kelly now has to hire a new defensive line coach. It’ll be the second staff change this offseason, after the shakeup around special teams. That move promoted John Jancek from defensive analyst to special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach. With him in place, the next assistant will be focused on defensive linemen.

In the meantime, LSU can use analysts and graduate assistants. The Tigers have done it before back in 2019, when Dennis Johnson severely injured his knees playing pickup basketball and analyst Kenechi Udeze turned into an on-field coach.

One interim option could be Gerald Chatman, who returned to LSU as an analyst after he spent one season as Colorado’s defensive line coach. Chatman was LSU’s defensive line analyst in 2021.

“Whoever comes here, I’m ready to work,” Guillory said. “We’re all ready to work. And I’m going to make sure them boys ready to work, too. Regardless if stuff changes, if stuff stays the same, I’m going to make sure them boys ready to work.”