Having nurtured and produced numerous football talents, including Jayden Daniels and Garrett Nussmeier, Joe Sloan has already become a strong pillar for the Tigers in his three-year stint in Louisiana. An established coach and a leader in the Tigers’ coaching staff, Sloan can pretty much do anything he wants in Louisiana. Yet, in his own eyes, he’s still chasing greatness—because for Sloan, no matter how far he climbs, the LSU offensive coordinator still falls short of the impact his father had on those around him.
“I watched his interaction with other people. That was something that maybe people couldn’t put their finger on. He was able to be very successful,” Sloan said about his father while speaking to Greg Taylor. He may be a successful coach in college football, but his beginning was never easy. Back in 2006, just when he started his football journey with East Carolina University, the world went upside down for the young Sloan.
Shortly after his spring practice for the 2006 season, Joe found out his father, Bill Sloan, was diagnosed with lung cancer. At just 21, Joe found himself juggling more than most his age—caring for his ailing father, holding together the family’s construction business, and staying committed to his football journey. But the toughest blow came in the summer of 2008, when Bill succumbed to cancer and the real estate market bottomed out. Most recently, while speaking on The G-Sportz Podcast, Sloan opened up about how those testing times shaped the man we see pacing the LSU sideline today.
“You know, I think life happens, right?” Sloan began, recounting the loss of his father in 2008 following a sudden battle with lung cancer. “Society doesn’t prepare you to lose a parent at 20, 21 years old. It’s not a normal thing.” Reflecting on how he tried to help run his father’s construction business while processing the grief, Sloan said, “And he and I were tight. I mean, that was my guy. And he had been a really successful businessman, and watching some of the things that had to go on and some of the different adversities we went through in that time, that I tried to help with. We’re not promised tomorrow.” His biggest takeaway? “Just be all in. Be all in, in what you do… take advantage of every day.”
Being all in. You might think it’s a cliche. But do you know how clichés are discovered? It’s when generations of humans fail because of the same thing, and then they convey to the next generation to be cautious. Sloan also shared how the challenges shaped who he is now. “Going through those adversities and those challenges, it shaped who I became,” he shared. “As a coach, a father, a husband.”
So the next time you see Joe Sloan on a Saturday afternoon with that LSU headset on, remember: behind the X’s and O’s is a man who knows the stakes beyond the scoreboard. And he has just one thing to tell you. Life moves fast. Don’t wait for it to slow down. Be all in, every play, every day.
Sloan’s memories of a teammate who lit up the locker room
The jersey may have read No. 2, but to those inside LSU’s football facility, Kyren Lacy was one of one. And Joe Sloan watched him grow. And now, as Sloan reflects, it’s clear that what stings most isn’t just the silence on the field, but the absence of the energy that once filled every room Kyren walked into.
“I think as soon as you met Kyren, you knew he was full of life,” Sloan shared on The Verdin Verdict. “His personality was just, he was emotional, right? So the positives of that were that he would show you, he would tell you.” It was that same emotional depth that made Lacy not just a favorite target in the offense but a beloved brother to everyone around him.
Sloan had known Lacy since his early teenage years, and he spoke about watching him mature through the years. “I felt like he matured so much over time,” he recalled. “That I knew him from when he was 14, 15 years old, to really being able to not let things affect him as much.” Those closest to Lacy still feel that absence like a missing heartbeat. There were inside jokes, playful jabs, recruiting visits he volunteered for, and late-night talks. Lacy represented the purple and gold with his whole heart.
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