It’s rare to see a college assistant pass up the NFL dream, but one LSU coach just did exactly that. Choosing a national title chase over the $7.6 billion franchise, he’s staying in Baton Rouge to finish what he started and finally get the job done for the Tigers in Lane Kiffin’s inaugural season.

LSU fans can breathe a sigh of relief because safeties coach Jake Olsen has decided to turn down the NFL and stay in Baton Rouge per Pete Nakos of 0n3. For a minute there, it looked like he was heading to the pros to join the $7.6 billion Washington Commanders franchise. The Commanders’ new defensive coordinator, Daronte Jones, was hell-bent on locking in Olsen.

Losing him would’ve shattered folks in Baton Rouge, especially since he just helped the Tigers’ secondary reach some handsome milestones in 2025. The connection to Washington was genuine as Jones and Olsen worked together at LSU back in 2021. Usually, when the NFL comes calling, especially with a former coworker, coaches jump at the chance without thinking twice or not thinking at all. But after weighing his options, Olsen decided his work with the Tigers wasn’t finished.

This is as big a win as it gets for new head coach Lane Kiffin as he tries to keep some stability in the program in his inaugural season. Olsen has been coaching the safeties for the last two seasons. He has a very solid relationship with defensive coordinator Blake Baker. That chemistry paid off in 2025 when LSU’s defense surged into the Top-25 nationally for total defense. They just allowed just 18.3 points per game last fall, ranking 4th in the SEC. The Tigers only allowed just 204.6 passing yards per game last year.

However, he isn’t the only assistant coach in Baton Rouge to say no to better opportunities elsewhere. Back in January, Blake Baker turned down his HC promotion to stick with Lane at his alma mater. As a Tulane alum with a fleur-de-lis tattoo on his arm, the Tulane head coaching job was essentially a prophecy call for LSU DC. He even interviewed for the head coaching vacancy at Memphis, but after sitting down with Lane Kiffin. Just like Olsen did.

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Olsen has developed potential first-round or second draft prospect stars like A.J. Haulcy. The former Houston athlete is easily top 3 or top 4 in this year’s draft. He ended his career at Baton Rouge with All-America honors under Olsen’s guidance after racking up 88 tackles and 3 interceptions. Olsen’s impact was so deep that LSU became the only team in the country in 2025 to record more interceptions (17) than passing touchdowns allowed.

With spring practice kicking off on March 24, having the staff settled allows everyone to focus purely on football. Olsen’s ready for the 2026 season under his current contract. end of the day, letting his NFL dream slide for a minute and having faith in Lane Kiffin’s a big gamble, but a very well-deserved one.

With the retention job completely secured and on the books, let’s look at how their safety room’s looking for next year.

LSU Tigers safety room for next season

LSU’s safety room is looking absolutely stacked for 2026. With even AJ Haulcy headed to pursue his NFL, the Tigers got depth for days. The projected starters have to be Tamarcus Cooley and Dashawn Spears. Both have combined for four picks last year. Needless to say, they already know the defensive system inside and out.

To make the group even scarier, the Tigers hit the transfer portal hard to find replacements for departing stars. They brought in veteran Ty Benefield. He was a tackling machine at Boise State where he accounted for 28 career starts under his belt. Matter of fact, they also poached one from Ohio State in Faheem Delane.

Overall, this room is the perfect mix of old heads and young stars who are ready to break out. Solely based on that, fans should expect a unit that is aggressive who can be very good at forcing turnovers as they chase a national title this fall.