LSU Decides To Stick With Orgeron

Orgeron, the 55-year-old coach who officially won the LSU job Saturday morning, the school announced in a news conference, is now on the hunt to revamp his coaching staff – mainly a big-name, high-powered offensive coordinator. LSU was impressive in a 54-39 road win over Texas A&M on Thanksgiving Day.

Former LSU head coach Les Miles issued a tremendous statement on Saturday after news broke that the university hired Ed Orgeron as its permanent head coach.

Of the many elite jobs in the Power 5, LSU’s elite in-state talent might be the most conducive to having a strong players’ coach at the helm.

Nov 5, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron and Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban talk following a game at Tiger Stadium.

Orgeron, 55, took over as interim coach of the Tigers after Les Miles was sacked in late September after a crushing loss to Auburn. Although it wasn’t ideal (10-0 and 16-10 losses to Alabama and Florida hurt), LSU also picked up some very convincing wins in the middle of the season.

Plus, that was more than a decade ago, and he’s evolved as a head coach, which is underscored by his success at both USC and LSU during hard interim stints.

Houston coach Tom Herman, the other finalist for the job, informed LSU late Friday night that he was leaning toward taking the job at Texas despite a $6 million offer, according to report.

“I’ve always felt God had a plan for me, and this is where I was supposed to be”, Orgeron said. “I know Louisiana is happy today”. Everywhere we went it was ‘Coach, we want you to be the coach and represent us.’ We know what we’re representing and proud to be a part of Louisiana.

In Orgeron’s pitch for the 2017 season, Ensminger would remain with the staff in a different position, and defensive coordinator Dave Aranda would return.

Orgeron’s first order of business must be to bring aboard a top-tier offensive coordinator who can develop a scheme that can consistently rival the defense’s standing as a national leader. Reports said that LSU initially targeted Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher – a former LSU offensive coordinator – both last November and this season, only to be rebuffed.

But LSU scored at least 38 points in each of Orgeron’s five wins, despite the lack of a 100-percent healthy Leonard Fournette most of the year. While LSU’s offense hit lows in those frustrating losses, Orgeron helped balance that out with some record-setting performances.

After being spurned by the Trojans, Orgeron went back to his home state to coach the defensive line at LSU for Miles in 2015.

“We’re going to go back in this afternoon and start making decisions”, Orgeron said. The best way to bring that scale closer to balance is to hire away Lane Kiffin as Orgeron’s offensive coordinator. They are friends and Orgeron worked for Kiffin at Tennessee and USC. In interviews after the game, players renewed their calls to keep Orgeron.

As a player, Orgeron was a four-year starter on the defensive line for Northwestern State, captaining the Demons as a senior. I’ll be a football coach.’ He knew that.