It’s the start of a new season for Ragin’ Cajuns football, and the start of the Coach Michael Desormeaux Era (even though the 36-year-old was officially named head coach at University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL) last December). While this is Desormeaux’s first season as a college football head coach, he comes to Cajun Field with plenty of experience – a UL student and graduate, a winning quarterback, and a member of the UL coaching staff, working alongside previous UL coach Billy Napier in various positions and gaining valuable insight into how this elite football team is run.

A Football Story

The native New Iberian began his athletic career as a star player at Catholic High School and was named the All-District offensive MVP. After graduation, he attended UL, where he was a star quarterback from 2004 to 2008. More precisely, he was the eighth quarterback in NCAA history to post back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons, he broke Jake Delhomme’s single-season school record for passing efficiency, and he was inducted in NFF’s Hampshire Honor Society’s Hall of Fame.

Desormeaux got his coaching start as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Catholic High and later became head coach at Lafayette’s Ascension Episcopal. He returned to UL in 2016 as receivers coach, then served as running backs coach under Coach Mark Hudspeth. In 2017, prior to Napier’s arrival, he served as the interim head coach for the program. Under Napier, Desormeaux became a tight end coach for four years, before being promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2021, the year the team won its fourth consecutive Sun Belt West Division title and its first outright Sun Belt Championship in program history. 

Recruiting for the Win

Coach Des (as he’s affectionately referred to by his players and others) is not a man trying to change the winning culture of this top 25 nationally-ranked football program. He believes winning is a by-product of great people who do their job very well and with integrity. “Before you start with talent, you’ve got to recruit great people to be in the organization,” he contends. “In 2018, when we started, we began with great people – like-minded with similar goals.”

Once the right people are in place, Desormeaux contends, the natural culture of the team can take over. “Our culture cares about people and doing things selflessly,” he says. “It’s easier to put in the time when you do it selflessly. Our players genuinely enjoy each other’s company and working together. A winning culture also comes down to doing the small things really well. The difference is in the details; that’s one of our themes this year. A lot of people run some of the same plays; it’s about the details that are taught, practiced and executed.” 

Last December, UL athletic director Dr. Bryan Maggard reported that Desormeaux personally recruited more than a third of the scholarship athletes on the top 25 roster and he referred to the 36-year-old as a “relentless recruiter.” When asked what he looks for in a player, Desormeaux responds, “Someone who has the values of our culture. Someone who thinks that the team is more important than they are and that they are a part of something important. Obviously, they have to love football.”

Attracting players that will support the culture while advancing the team’s winning record takes time and finesse. “Recruiting also involves talking to the parents and finding out what the guys like. It’s talking to their high school coaches, to teachers, principals and administration. It’s not a pitch or a scripted thing; it’s about building authentic relationships. It’s being diligent and organized and spending time doing it. Recruiting is every day, year-round.”

Strategy for Success

Committed to the academic achievement of the football student athletes, Coach Des says one of his first tasks after taking the job was improving the academic infrastructure for the players. “We now have a director of player engagement who meets with the players on weekly assignments, so that they have every resource to be successful. This spring and summer, we graduated 16 football players.”

Coach Des knows that a strong coach-athlete relationship is important for a team’s overall performance. Going into the new season, he has the advantage of having built relationships with many of the players since they were recruited. “I want our environment to feel like we all work together, not like they work for me,” he notes. “Everyone deserves respect. You talk to people the way you’d like to be spoken to. I believe honesty can be done with tack; you get a better response that way.” 

The list of great influencers in Desormeaux’s career is short but somewhat predictable for a man described as having stellar integrity. “My dad was my first coach growing up and instilled a love for the game and a passion for sports,” he shares. “I saw the way he motivated young people. My high school coach, David Comeaux, is the reason I wanted to get into coaching. I witnessed the impact he made, and I wanted to make a difference, too. And of course, Coach Napier. He answered any questions I had and showed me that you could win in college football with integrity, while still having fun. He showed me how to represent your state in a way that you could be proud.”

Going into this 13-game season, Desormeaux is reminded of some coaching advice that he’s never forgotten. “Coach Napier told me, ‘You gotta do it your own way.’ We’re keeping a lot of things in place, but that advice – coming from someone who’s done such significant things – is something that I’ve taken to heart. Because if you’re not comfortable doing something, it isn’t genuine.” 

That’s the sort of life lesson he teaches when developing men first and players second. “I can make a difference in their lives and show them what’s out there, and teach them to be successful every day,” he says. “Getting to work with young people who have ambition keeps me excited. Our group loves to come to work and loves to be pushed to do their best. It means a lot for the guys to wear Louisiana on their chests.”