Blake Baker (born June 10, 1982) is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coach. He is the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

for

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, a position he has held since 2024. He was previously the defensive coordinator at Miami (FL),

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – Hig ...

, and

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, as well as previously being the

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

s coach at LSU.

Playing career

Baker was a

Tulane The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it be ...

from 2000 to 2004, redshirting the 2000 season. He played 42 career games, racking up 145 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, and six sacks in his college career.

Coaching career

Baker was hired as a graduate assistant at

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

in 2010, working under Longhorns defensive coordinator Manny Diaz. He was hired to be the safeties coach at Arkansas State in 2013 on Bryan Harsin's staff. After Harsin departed to accept the head coaching position at his alma mater

Boise State Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It ...

in 2014, Baker was hired to be the Broncos director of player personnel. He spent approximately a month there before accepting an assistant coaching position at

Louisiana Tech

Baker was hired to be the safeties coach at

in 2014, working once again under Manny Diaz. After Diaz left to accept the defensive coordinator position at

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

, Baker was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2015 and also assumed Diaz's role as the linebackers coach.

Miami (FL)

Baker was named the defensive coordinator at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

by head coach Manny Diaz in January 2019.. During his tenure, the Hurricanes were the 13th Best Total Defense in the country and Tied for 6th in Tackles for Loss.

LSU

On January 29, 2021, Baker joined

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

as linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator. He was only at LSU for one season as he was not retained by Brian Kelly.. In 2021, Baker coached Damone Clark, the nation's leading tackler and Butkus Award Finalist.

Missouri

On January 20, 2022 he was announced as

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

’s safeties coach. Baker had previously coached with Missouri Head Coach

Eliah Drinkwitz Eliah "Eli" Drinkwitz (born April 12, 1983) is an American college football coach who is the head football coach for Missouri Tigers football, Missouri, a position he has held since the 2020 Missouri Tigers football team, 2020 season. He previous ...

Arkansas State University Arkansas State University (A-State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States. It is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System and the second-largest university in the st ...

, where Baker served as safeties coach and Drinkwitz served as Co-OC and running backs coach. After a month on the job,

Steve Wilks Steven Bernard Wilks (born August 8, 1969) is an American professional football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). A defensive assistant for most of his career, he was the assista ...

returned to the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

, and Baker was promoted to defensive coordinator.

LSU (Second Stint)

On January 6, 2024, Baker was officially announced as the next defensive coordinator at

, where he received a $2.5 million-per-year contract that will make him the highest-paid assistant coach in college football at the time.

References

External links

Louisiana Tech profile

Arkansas State profile

Tulane profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Blake 1982 births Living people American football defensive tackles American football fullbacks American football linebackers Arkansas State Red Wolves football coaches Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football coaches LSU Tigers football players Texas Longhorns football coaches Tulane Green Wave football players Miami Hurricanes football coaches Missouri Tigers football coaches High school football coaches in Texas Players of American football from Houston