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Pete Thamel, Senior College Sports Insider
Louisiana has agreed in principle to a new five-year deal with football coach Michael Desormeaux, sources told ESPN on Monday.
The deal will run through the 2029 season.
Louisiana went 10-3 this season, which included a power-conference win over Wake Forest. The double-digit win total marks just the fourth since the school jumped to Division I in the 1970s. The prior three came under former coach Billy Napier.
The Ragin’ Cajuns hosted the Sun Belt title game against Marshall this season after going 7-1 in the conference and winning the league’s West Division. Louisiana still has a high-profile opportunity remaining against TCU in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl to pick up an 11th win.
Desormeaux has reached bowl games in all three of his seasons as head coach at his alma mater.
Since taking over for Napier, he has gone 23-17 overall and built the program into a Sun Belt contender. Louisiana won eight of nine games at one point this season, a run that ended with a loss to Marshall in the Sun Belt title game.
Desormeaux earned the promotion from co-offensive coordinator to take over the program in 2021 after Napier left for Florida. Desormeaux’s first game in charge on the sideline was a win in the New Orleans Bowl.
Louisiana picked up one of the most significant transfer portal pickups in this cycle, with former Ole Miss and LSU quarterback Walker Howard committing to the school. He’s a former top 50 overall recruit from the class of 2022.