Saturday’s Kentucky-LSU game includes several coaching ties between the two staffs.
LSU quarterbacks coach Steve Kragthorpe was Louisville’s head coach from 2007-2009. He was 0-3 against Kentucky during that time.
LSU secondary coach Ron Cooper was Louisville’s head coach from 1995-1997. His team beat UK 13-10 in ’95 and 38-14 in ’96. It lost to the Cats 38-24 in ’97 and Cooper was replaced at the end of a 1-10 season by John L. Smith.
UK assistant Greg Nord was an assistant under both Cooper and Kragthorpe at U of L.
UK offensive coordinator Randy Sanders and LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis worked together for 15 years as assistants under Phil Fulmer at Tennessee.
Sanders and Chavis were assistants on the 1996 Tennesee national championship team quarterbacked by Tee Martin, who is now Kentucky’s wide receivers coach.
As for the head coaches, Joker Phillips said he doesn’t know Les Miles well, aside from their dealings in various SEC coaches meetings. Miles was an assistant in the Midwest and the Dallas Cowboys before becoming head coach at Oklahoma State.
“I know he’s done a good job of keeping players in Louisiana,” Phillips said.
