Larose native named LSU interim head coach

Rivalry game ends with drama, then prayer
September 28, 2016
MLK closing time crowds behave well at Waffle House
September 28, 2016
Rivalry game ends with drama, then prayer
September 28, 2016
MLK closing time crowds behave well at Waffle House
September 28, 2016

Les Miles is out as the head football coach at LSU after more than a decade with the team.

The guy who will be given the first chance to carry the program forward into the future is a local – a Larose native and South Lafourche High School graduate with rich football ties to the Houma-Thibodaux area.

The Tigers announced on Sunday afternoon that Ed Orgeron will be LSU’s interim head coach – a promotion that marks a milestone in the Louisiana man’s long, storied college football career.


A state championship-winning prep football player for the Tarpons in the 1970s, Orgeron transitioned into coaching in 1984 after playing four seasons as a defensive lineman with Northwestern State.

In the profession, Orgeron is widely regarded as one of the best assistant coaches in the country, having served at prominent programs like LSU, Tennessee, Miami and USC in his career.

The promotion will be arguably Orgeron’s highest profile job to date.


He was the head coach at Ole Miss for three years from 2005-07, helping to recruit several players that later won two-straight Cotton Bowls for the Rebels.

Orgeron also was the interim head coach at USC in 2013, leading the team to a 6-2 record.

“I love LSU,” Orgeron said to The Times in July. “This is a place that I’ve always dreamed of being from the time that I was a small boy. I love the Tigers and I love Tiger Stadium and I love everything about representing my state at the premier university in our state.”


“Coach O is, I think, a great coach,” Tigers halfback Leonard Fournette said on Sunday at a small press conference held to announce Miles’ dismissal. “We’ve always had a great relationship. I think he’s going to allow us to get back in gear and finish the year right and where we need to be.”

It is not yet known yet whether the Tigers will consider Orgeron for the position after the season ends.

Multiple sources close to the LSU football program confirmed to The Times on Monday morning that Alleva has already started “very preliminary” discussions with school administrators and Tiger Athletic Foundation members regarding a list of names to consider.


“They wanted to get this done early so that everyone would know that LSU was open and available,” the source, who works in the athletic department, said. “They want to get it done quickly after the season to try and give the new guy some time to recruit and salvage the 2017 recruiting class.”

But with eight games left to go in 2016, Orgeron has a lot of big games against top-flight opponents to show LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva that he’s the right man for the job.

The schedule Orgeron will be facing in October and November is brutal and will pit the Tigers against Florida, Ole Miss, Alabama, Arkansas and Texas A&M, among others – all games that LSU coach conceivably lose if they aren’t on the top of their game.


But Orgeron said at Monday at his introductory press conference that the Tigers aren’t conceding a thing, and will play to win every, single week.

He said he thinks LSU has one of the most talented teams in America, and he hopes to prove it down the stretch of the season.

Miles thinks he will, too.


Speaking on the Dan Patrick Show on Monday, the outgoing LSU coach said he thinks Orgeron will push the team forward.

Miles said his time at LSU was nothing short of amazing.

“They deserve the best,” Miles said of LSU. “I’m for the Tigers. Anything they see that makes the Tigers better, I’m for it. I accepted the outcome and will support the decision and these Tigers going forward.”


Lots of locals think Orgeron can do the job at a high level, too.

Those who don’t think he will still carry the university’s water successfully while waiting to hire a full-time coach.

Cut Off native Phillip Duet said he’s known Orgeron for quite a while, and has followed the local coach throughout his career.


Duet said Orgeron’s passion will power the Tigers in the second half of the season.

“They will play harder for him,” Duet said. “He’s a fiery guy. His teams always give a lot of effort for him.”

Galliano man Bill Adams agreed. He said he doesn’t think Orgeron will be hired as LSU’s full-time coach, but he thinks Orgeron will stay with the Tigers as an assistant in the future.


He said Orgeron’s experience as an interim coach will work wonders for LSU.

“He knows how to put out fires,” Adams said. “And this LSU team is way better than that team he had at USC. I’m happy to have him. I don’t think he will be the pick when it’s done, but I think he is what we need right now to get us to the next phase.”

The Tigers take the field on Saturday against Missouri in Tiger Stadium.


It will be Orgeron’s first time running through the tunnel as the LSU head coach.

He concedes it will be a moment he won’t ever forget – a dream come true for the self-described Cajun boy who always had a love and respect for the LSU program – a program that he’s now in charge of overseeing. •

Ed Orgeron


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