Orgeron promises championships, innovation, success at LSU

South Terrebonne student dies, weeks after severe injury
November 26, 2016
There is no doubt: Ed Orgeron is what’s best for LSU
November 27, 2016
South Terrebonne student dies, weeks after severe injury
November 26, 2016
There is no doubt: Ed Orgeron is what’s best for LSU
November 27, 2016

Remove the word interim from LSU head football coach Ed Orgeron’s title.

In his two-month audition running the program, school officials feel he did enough to earn the job on a full-time basis.

LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva announced on Saturday morning Orgeron will be the school’s full-time head coach – a move that officially ends the Tigers’ lengthy search for Les Miles’ replacement at the same place it started.


In seven games as LSU’s interim head coach, Orgeron went 5-2, beating several conference foes, but losing to Florida and Alabama – both by 10 points or fewer.

Orgeron, a Larose native and graduate of South Lafourche High School, said being entrusted with the Tigers future is a job he doesn’t take lightly.

It’s a responsibility he said he’s dreamed of having – dating back to his first days as a coach.


It’s a passion that, ultimately, helped earn him the position.

“I don’t have to explain to you what Coach O is about and what he means to LSU football,” Alleva said. “It’s part of his DNA. He grew up wanting this job. This is his dream job.”

“This is bigger than life,” Orgeron added during an emotional introductory press conference on Saturday morning. “Driving past the stadium, I just wanted to be an assistant coach here – anything. I just wanted to have my feet on the grass. … Every step I went, I was just preparing to come back home to LSU. That was my goal the whole time.”


HOW IT ALL WENT DOWN

Like with all coaching searches, there were multiple moving parts behind the scenes that led to LSU’s decision to pick Orgeron.

In many ways, it all played out like a high-stakes poker game – with chips being moved around the country, bluffs being called and the incumbent ultimately winning the pot.

Multiple sources close to the LSU football program said this week that Orgeron was given the LSU interim position after Miles’ dismissal with an open-mind from Alleva and a genuine shot to earn the job full-time.


Those sources said support never waned throughout the process and actually picked up steam as the Tigers turned their season around. According to a report in The Advocate, Orgeron would have won the job outright had LSU beaten Florida on Nov. 19.

But when the Tigers lost that game, the school immediately started a nationwide search and identified possible alternatives to consider after the season, which ended on Thanksgiving.

Last week, decision makers leaked out possible interest in Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher – a personal darling of Alleva, whom the school nearly hired after the 2015 season.


Fisher said repeatedly that he wasn’t leaving Florida State – a fact sources back up, while citing an astronomical price tag that the coach’s services now carry.

“He wasn’t involved this go-round,” the source said, asking not to be named because of the financial support he offers both LSU and other institutions.

While reports pinned Fisher in a position of déjà vu, LSU quietly flirted with its new darling – Houston coach Tom Herman.


The plan was to score a commitment from Herman before the end of the 2016 season – before other high-profile jobs came open around college football.

It nearly went exactly as it was planned.

Sources said LSU got close to a deal with Herman – which was, in part, why ESPN erroneously reported during the Tigers’ game with Texas A&M that a deal was imminent and that he’d be the team’s new coach.


The report, which was posted first by a Rivals.com-affiliate University of Texas site, was leaked by Herman’s representation, according to Alleva, in an attempt to get the Longhorns to make a swift decision on coach Charlie Strong’s future.

It worked the way it was intended.

Texas lost badly to TCU on Friday, and the Longhorns fired Strong after the game, opening up that job and giving Herman what he perceived to be negotiating power in his quest to find a bigger, more prestigious job.


But LSU wasn’t having any of it.

“This thing was never going to come down to a bidding war,” Alleva said.

While Herman quickly gained ground, and even took the lead, Orgeron held his own and earned his way back into the mix on Thanksgiving night.


LSU routed the Aggies on Thursday without several key players – a victory that Alleva said was one of the most impressive the Tigers have earned in his time as the school’s athletic director.

After the game, players gave Orgeron a Gatorade bath and then voiced their own support, chanting, ‘Keep Coach O,’ in the locker room, while also actively politicking for the coach on social media.

“That’s what leadership and motivation is all about,” Alleva said when commenting on LSU passion against Texas A&M – just five days after losing to Florida.


The next morning, Alleva met with Orgeron to get his plans for the future – his formal interview for the position.

In the meeting, Orgeron sold his vision to Alleva – one he feels will be fruitful and filled with championships.

Orgeron presented a multi-pronged plan to Alleva in a neatly kept, thick binder.


The presentation allowed Orgeron to solidify himself as a rock-solid choice – a guy the Tigers could place their faith into for the future.

“Well, you know – just years of coaching,” Orgeron said when asked what was in the binder. “Thirty-three years of coaching.”

After the meeting, Orgeron retired to his Mandeville home, while Alleva worked furiously to see the process through completion.


Orgeron said his wife, Kelly, offered an omen of good faith as the couple rested their bodies.

“Kelly said, ‘You’re going to be the head coach at LSU tomorrow,’” Orgeron said.

Her premonition ended up being accurate about eight hours later.


Multiple media outlets reported Herman would interview for the LSU job on Saturday. Some went so far as to state he’d likely be offered the position in the meeting.

But Herman’s heart wasn’t in it anymore, and his focus shifted to Texas – a place he’d coached earlier in his career.

Alleva got wind of that shift, and he moved quickly before sunrise on Saturday morning.


At 5 a.m., he called Orgeron and told him to quickly get to Baton Rouge.

By about 7:15 a.m., Alleva offered the job to Orgeron, which, he accepted immediately.

The news was first reported at 6:40 a.m. by The Advocate, which had been informed of the team’s plans, prior to Orgeron’s arrival from Mandeville.


Orgeron’s contract is for five seasons, and he will make more than $3 million a season.

Herman was announced as Texas’ coach 10 hours later – a multi-year deal that will pay him upwards of $6 million a season.

Fisher said after the game that he, “loves Florida State like hell,” and that he’s “glad all the speculation is over.”


PLAN FOR THE FUTURE

But for Orgeron, the speculation has only just begun.

This will be his second stint as a full-time head coach in the SEC. A decade ago, a younger Orgeron served as the head coach at the University of Mississippi – a post he held from 2005-07.

His tenure there was a wreck, posting just a 10-25 record, including a winless 0-8 mark in SEC play in his final season.


Because of that, many in the LSU fan base are skeptical about the hire and are concerned about the future.

But Orgeron says folks should fear not, because he’s learned from his previous mistakes and is a different coach today.

Since Ole Miss, he was the mid-season interim coach at both USC and LSU, posting an 11-4 combined record at both stops.


The new LSU coach spent the majority of his press conference detailing the future – one which will likely cause the Tigers to look dramatically different schematically than they did under Miles.

Orgeron said LSU will run a spread-heavy offense in 2017. He said he wants the team to both run and pass the ball effectively out of the wide-open alignment.

The person calling LSU’s plays is unknown.


Steve Ensminger was the Tigers’ offensive coordinator for the final seven games of the season, but Orgeron confirmed on Saturday that he will be hiring a coach from outside of the program to call plays.

One rumored name is Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin – a close Orgeron confidant, dating back to the early 2000s.

The two coached together under Pete Carroll at USC. Orgeron also worked under Kiffin when he was the head coach at Tennessee and then again at USC.


To get Kiffin, LSU would need to likely pay upwards of $2 million a year.

But that is feasible, thanks to Orgeron’s base salary, which is far less than the going rate for a program the size of LSU.

Ensminger will remain on staff in a lesser role, Orgeron said.


“I’m going to go out and try to get the best coordinator in football,” Orgeron said.

Defensively, Orgeron thinks LSU already has the best, and the challenge is now to keep him long-term.

Orgeron heaped countless praise to defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, calling him a huge piece of the Tigers’ future puzzle.


Aranda signed a three-year deal last fall, and has masterfully coached LSU’s defense this season.

Like with the future offensive coordinator, Aranda will also likely get a hefty pay raise in the coming weeks.

Orgeron said he spoke to Aranda, and he anticipates the coach staying with LSU.


“He is the best coordinator in football,” Orgeron said.

While recruiting coordinators, Orgeron said he will spend the next few weeks recruiting players, as well.

He said the current staff will work tirelessly until National Signing Day to make LSU’s incoming class among the best.


Recruiting analysts say it will be.

ORGERON GRATEFUL FOR CHANCE

But for all of the prognostications and future plans, there was a great deal of Orgeron’s news conference that came from the heart, as well.

Orgeron thanked his wife, three children and pastor for supporting him in the endeavor through thick and thin.


He openly wept while thanking his mom and late father – the people who he said “made him the man he is today.”

And he also expressed gratitude for the people of Louisiana – those folks he said he intends to serve in his position.

Orgeron said his love for the state will never fade, and he can’t wait to build LSU into a program that he believes can contend for titles – all titles.


Even those titles that rival Alabama play for, as well.

“Bring it on,” Orgeron said when asked about the Tide. “I can’t wait till the day we beat those guys. That’s our benchmark.”

Ed OrgeronLSU SPORTS INFORMATION


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