Jerry Sullivan named LSU Senior Offensive Assistant

BATON ROUGE – Jerry Sullivan, a 25-year NFL coaching veteran who is considered to be one of the top wide receiver coaches at any level of football, is joining the LSU coaching staff and will serve as a senior offensive assistant and passing game coordinator, head coach Ed Orgeron announced on Thursday.

This will be Sullivan’s second stint at LSU as he held the title of wide receivers coach for the Tigers under Bill Arnsparger and Mike Archer from 1984-90. Sullivan spent the 2017 season serving as a consultant for Orgeron and the Tigers.

“We are proud to announce Jerry Sullivan as our senior offensive assistant and passing game coordinator at LSU,” Orgeron said. “Jerry is widely known in the NFL and college football as one of the great teachers of the passing game. He will be a great asset to our staff.”

Sullivan, a native of Miami and a graduate of Florida State, spent 21 years in the college ranks before joining the San Diego Chargers in the NFL. Sullivan worked with six NFL franchises during his pro career, most recently finishing a five-year stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016.

Sullivan was part of a San Diego staff that helped lead the Chargers to the Super Bowl in 1994, in what was his third year in the NFL.

At LSU from 1984-90, Sullivan helped develop Wendell Davis into a two-time All-American and a record-setting receiver for the Tigers. Under Sullivan’s tutelage, Davis set LSU records for receptions in a game (14 vs. Ole Miss, 1986), receptions in a season (80 in 1986) and career (183), receiving yards in season (1,244 in 1986) and career (2,708).

“Coach Sullivan is by far one of the best coaches and teachers at the wide receiver position that I have ever been coached by,” Davis said. “He was not only my coach, but he was also a mentor and a father-figure to me.

“He’s a great teacher and he does a great job of relating to the players. He does a great job of explaining the role of the receiver and how it fits in with the offense. He’s a very strong technician. He really teaches the basic fundamentals of the position. I’m excited to see that he’s back at LSU. He’s going to be a great asset for the LSU coaching staff.”

Sullivan got his start in coaching at Kansas State in 1971 where he spent two years with the Wildcats. From there, Sullivan coached receivers at Texas Tech (1973-75), South Carolina (1976-1982), Indiana (1983), LSU (1984-90) and Ohio State in 1991.