LSU, Nebraska reportedly battling for Elijah Robinson’s services as DL coach
After Fran Brown demoted Elijah Robinson from defensive coordinator to defensive line coach, Robinson is drawing interest from Nebraska and LSU to join their staffs. Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer
Support The Daily Orange this holiday season! The money raised between now and the end of the year will go directly toward aiding our students. Donate today.
UPDATE: This story was updated at 6:21 p.m. on Dec. 8.
After online publication Football Scoop reported Saturday that Elijah Robinson is leaving Syracuse to join Lane Kiffin’s new coaching staff at LSU, the site confirmed Monday that Nebraska is trying to poach Robinson at the last minute to be its defensive line coach instead.
Robinson was expected to be a defensive line coach with the Tigers, the same position he would’ve served at SU in 2026 if he’d returned to the program after being demoted from defensive coordinator. Now, it appears multiple big-time programs are battling for his services.
According to On3, Robinson was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Friday to meet with Kiffin and talk about the details of his new role.
Robinson has a previous connection to Huskers’ head coach Matt Rhule. From 2014-16, Robinson served under Rhule while he was the head coach at Temple as the Owls’ defensive line coach.
Regardless of where he goes, it won’t be SU. Robinson served under head coach Fran Brown’s staff from 2024-25 as the Orange’s defensive coordinator. Before that, Robinson was a defensive line coach at Texas A&M from 2018-23. In his final year with the Aggies, he stepped in as the team’s interim head coach for their bowl game following former head coach Jimbo Fisher’s firing.
Robinson also previously coached at Baylor, and Penn State. He has no immediate connection to Kiffin, who LSU poached from Ole Miss in a controversial end-of-season coaching change.
This past season, with Robinson calling plays for Syracuse’s defense, the Orange allowed 34.92 points per game — which ranked dead last in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
SU struggled to rush the passer, ranking in Pro Football Focus’ bottom-30 teams in pass rushing grade, and notably conceded 70 points against then-No. 9 Notre Dame in a historical loss. This came after the Orange surrendered nearly 30 points per game in the 2024 season, where their defense cost them repeatedly despite a 10-3 campaign in Brown’s debut.
Syracuse was set to eliminate Robinson’s responsibilities as a playcaller. The same week, he engaged in discussions to leave.
Along with Robinson’s demotion, Brown fired four other assistant coaches at the end of the season, including special teams coordinator Ricky Brumfield.
“The results this season were not reflective of the high standards I have for this program,” Brown said in a statement Tuesday. “After carefully evaluating our entire organization, I made the difficult decision to seek new leadership for some units of our football team.”
