Louisiana heads in a new direction under Lee. He took over for Jessie Evans, who left the Cajuns for San Francisco after a successful seven-season run at UL.

But before Lee landed in the top spot, the longtime Cajuns assistant and his team had to endure some offseason controversy.

Former Oklahoma State aide Glen Cyprien was named to replace Evans in May. But in August, Cyprien's résumé was found to be false and he was fired. Lee, a New Roads native, was quickly elevated to the top spot.

Though he said the tumultuous end to Cyprien's short tenure was an obstacle, Lee said the Cajuns have remained focused on their task at hand.

"The guys who were here last year have adapted very well, and a lot of that has to do with them being familiar with me," he said. "There hasn't been much of a change with me taking over. We might be a little more deliberate on offense and a little more aggressive on defense because that's my personality."

Something that won't change is the high expectations placed on the UL program. The Cajuns have won three consecutive Sun Belt Conference championships and have been predicted to win again this season, despite Lee's challenge of replacing three starters.

"I think the media in our conference wanted to put the rookie coach on the hot seat right away," Lee said with a chuckle. "We're going to have to have to replace a lot of scoring and fill some holes. With the guys we have back and the ones we've added, I do think we have the right team to repeat again, but it's going to take a lot of hard work."

The beginning of the story

By RANDY ROSETTA
rrosetta@theadvocate.com
Advocate sportswriter