Louisiana football hires former LSU analyst to coach tight ends, names new strength coach

Jorge Munoz is returning for another stint on the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football coaching staff.

UL announced Munoz's hiring as tight ends coach/associate head coach on Wednesday.

UL also announced the promotion of assistant strength and conditioning coach Connor Neighbors, a former LSU football assistant strength and conditioning coach, to director of strength and conditioning.

Munoz takes over the position group previously coached by Michael Desormeaux, who was promoted to head coach after Billy Napier left for Florida.

Desormeaux is the third Cajuns coach Munoz has worked under.

Munoz has spent 10 seasons as an assistant at UL, including a stint as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach in 2016. He also coached QBs under Rickey Bustle from 2008-10 and receivers under Mark Hudspeth from 2011-15 and in 2017.

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Prior to coming to UL, Munoz spent three years as an Eastern Illinois assistant coach, including offensive coordinator in 2007.

Napier didn't retain Munoz, who was an LSU offensive analyst from 2018-19 and Baylor's receivers coach/pass game coordinator in 2020. He returned to LSU as an offensive analyst under Ed Orgeron in 2021.

Munoz worked closely with quarterback Joe Burrow during LSU’s 2019 national championship season and attended Burrow’s Heisman Trophy ceremony.

Neighbors played fullback at LSU from 2013-14.

He was an Alabama football/baseball strength and conditioning staffer in 2018, spent two seasons (20-17-18) at Florida Atlantic and worked two seasons under former LSU strength and conditioning coach Tommy Moffitt before joining Napier’s 2021 staff.

Neighbors replaces Mark Hocke, who joined Napier at Florida before UL’s New Orleans Bowl win over Marshall. Neighbors was interim strength coach for the bowl game.

The Cajuns still haven't announced replacements for three assistant coaches who also followed Napier to Florida – defensive coordinator/outside linebackers coach Patrick Toney, running backs coach Jabbar Juluke and assistant offensive line coach Darnell Stapleton.

They also haven't named a new offensive coordinator, though Desormeaux plans to call plays and co-coordinator Tim Leger remains on staff.

A potential replacement for Toney as defensive coordinator is Vanderbilt cornerbacks coach LaMar Morgan, a former Cajuns defensive back who coached UL corners under Napier from 2019-20.

A UL spokesman, however, wouldn't confirm a Fox Sports report from last week that Morgan is expected to become the Cajuns’ defensive coordinator, and Morgan still identifies himself as a Vanderbilt assistant on his Twitter account.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Louisiana football hires former LSU analyst Jorge Munoz as assistant