NEW ORLEANS, La. — Even before the national championship game against Clemson, LSU has landed a significant victory.

Joe Brady, the Tigers’ first-year pass game coordinator and one of the hottest assistants in the country, has agreed to a new contract with the school through a memorandum of agreement, multiple sources tell Sports Illustrated. The agreement’s parameters remain in flux, but Brady would, as of now, receive a three-year contract and a salary that is expected to more than double his current earnings of $410,000. The deal protects LSU from losing Brady to college assistant jobs, but provides him flexibility for a jump to a college head coaching position or the NFL, where many believe his future lies.

The full contract will not be executed until a later date, but the signed agreement between the two parties is a significant step in keeping the coach in Baton Rouge. However, the next few days will be tense for the Tigers, aside from playing for it all on Monday night against Clemson. Multiple NFL teams have shown interest in the 30-year-old Floridian, school sources say, and like many college coaching contracts, this deal would give him the freedom to pursue gigs at the next level.

Partly responsible for overhauling the Tigers’ offense, Brady has become one of the most sought-after coaches in college football, his name emerging for college and NFL coordinator jobs, mostly recently the Carolina Panthers on Friday. Throughout the back half of this season, LSU officials have privately and publicly expressed confidence in keeping Brady, discussing a deal with his agent, Trace Armstrong, as far back as November. Brady has been open about his plan to remain with the team, even saying during Saturday’s CFP media day that his “intentions are to be at LSU” next season.

Ed Orgeron plucked Brady from the Saints’ staff during the offseason to transform the Tigers’ tradition offense to a spread scheme, a move that has not only helped them steamroll to a 14–0 record and the SEC championship but also produced a Heisman Trophy winner in Joe Burrow. LSU has excelled offensively despite an unusual setup, a two-man play-calling system with Steve Ensminger, a 61-year-old longtime staff member and former LSU quarterback who holds the title of offensive coordinator.

Most feel Brady is eventually bound for the pro ranks. He spent the previous two seasons as a lower-level Saints staff member, adopting coach Sean Payton’s passing concepts and deploying them with Burrow in Baton Rouge. He started his career as a defensive assistant at William & Mary, his alma mater, before serving two years as a graduate assistant at Penn State, where he studied under offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead, a guru of the run-pass option.

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