When LSU goes to Kentucky on Oct. 10 for the first time in five years, the Tigers will run into a familiar name on the other sideline: Joe Sloan.
Kentucky first-year head coach Will Stein brought in the former LSU offensive coordinator to direct his opening offense, and Stein made it clear at SEC Media Days that Sloan will be the one handling play-calling duties on Saturdays.
“Joe’s having the play calling ability on Saturdays,” Stein said. “We’ll build the game plan up together, but I have to be involved in all facets of our program. There’s just too much going on to only worry about the offense.”
Stein had plenty more praise for Sloan, calling him “one of the best in the country” and highlighting the traits that helped make him a fast riser in the SEC.
“I think he’s one of the best in the country. Elite communicator, especially for a coordinator.
Communication’s huge. Presence, confidence that he has I’ve been very impressed with,” Stein said.
“And then the man can recruit. He can really recruit.
He can move the needle. He seems to know everybody.”
Sloan’s reputation as a recruiter was a big part of why Brian Kelly elevated him from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator in 2024 after Mike Denbrock left for Notre Dame. That move paid off immediately. Working with Garrett Nussmeier, Sloan helped guide an LSU attack that finished No. 2 in the SEC and No. 7 nationally in passing, averaging 315.2 yards per game in 2024.
But the 2025 season told a much different story. Nussmeier dealt with an abdomen injury that sharply limited his passing ability, LSU couldn’t get the run game going for a second straight year, and the offense never found enough explosive plays to keep the Tigers in playoff contention for a fourth straight season under Kelly. LSU fired Sloan on Oct. 25, and then-athletic director Scott Woodward was fired the next day before LSU’s Board of Supervisors, via Governor Jeff Landry, removed Woodward a few days later.
By the time Sloan was let go, LSU’s offense had slid to 96th nationally in total offense at 355.5 yards per game and 82nd in scoring at 25.5 points per game.
Even so, Stein believes the 2024 version of Sloan is the better reflection of what he can bring to Kentucky.
“I think he’s one of the best in the country. Elite communicator, especially for a coordinator.
Communication’s huge. Presence, confidence that he has I’ve been very impressed with,” Stein said.
“And then the man can recruit. He can really recruit.
He can move the needle. He seems to know everybody.”
Kentucky’s roster overhaul makes Sloan’s job even more interesting. The Wildcats’ 2026 recruiting class sits 53rd in Rivals’ Industry Rankings and last in the SEC, though they did land four-star portal quarterback Kenny Minchey, a backup at Notre Dame.
“He’s one of the main reasons I’m at Kentucky,” Minchey said Monday. “Like Stein, he’s a great guy, great person to be around, a lot of energy.
He loves football, and is obviously really smart. He’s coached some really good quarterbacks in the past, and he knows what he’s doing.”
Sloan’s time in Baton Rouge included helping Denbrock develop Jayden Daniels into a Heisman winner and Nussmeier into one of the nation’s top passers in 2024. Whether that success was driven more by the talent around him or by Sloan’s own offensive touch will get another test in Lexington, where Kentucky’s rebuilt roster and Blake Baker’s defense await on Oct. 10.
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