One would think Ed Orgeron would be pretty happy with how his LSU tenure has gone considering his team is favored to beat Clemson and win a national title. But Orgeron still has some regrets, and he’ll be facing off against one of them in that game.
Orgeron spent time recruiting Louisiana native Travis Etienne in 2016. Etienne ultimately opted to leave the state and sign with Clemson, where he has since become one of the nation’s best running backs and a key part of the offense. And Orgeron is still fuming at missing out on the running back and failing to keep him in the state.
“All the time. I wonder how it is,” Orgeron said Tuesday, via Matt Connolly of The State. “I know how it happened. And every time I watch Clemson play or every time I see him having success I’m sick to my stomach. Obviously we like our running backs and we have great running backs here, but we wanted Travis Etienne at the end, but it was too little too late.”
Orgeron can take solace in the fact that he has Clyde Edwards-Helaire in his backfield, who ran for 1,304 yards and 16 touchdowns this season. Still, it’s easy to watch some of the plays Etienne makes and wonder how ridiculous LSU would be if they had him, too. Orgeron clearly wonders the same thing.
Ed Orgeron had a nice honor in mind after leading his LSU Tigers to a 63-28 stomping of Oklahoma on Saturday.
Coach O said in his postgame interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe that he was giving the game ball to offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger.
“He’s getting the game ball tonight. What a tremendous, tremendous LSU Tiger. He called a great game tonight,” Coach O said.
Ensminger’s offense was unstoppable and put up an absurd 49 points in the first half. Their offense set numerous records in the game.
What a historic College Playoff performance for LSU.
– Most total TD (8, Burrow) – Most first half pass yards (403) – Most REC TD (4, Jefferson) – Most REC yards (227, Jefferson) – Most points scored in a half (49) – Most points scored (63) – Total offensive yards (692) pic.twitter.com/DeyWGrkV1P
Of course, there is much more to the story. Ensminger’s daughter-in-law Carley McCord died on Saturday in a plane crash while flying to the Peach Bowl. McCord, a TV reporter, got married to Steve Ensminger Jr. last year.
One of the greatest regrets for USC Trojans fans was the school letting Ed Orgeron get away.
Orgeron worked at USC from 1998-2004 before becoming Ole Miss’ head coach. He returned to USC from 2010-2013 and was the program’s interim head coach after Lane Kiffin was infamously fired on the tarmac after a loss to Arizona State in 2013.
Under Coach O, the team went 6-2, including a win over No. 5 Stanford, though they got throttled by rival UCLA. USC decided to hire Steve Sarkisian, the other top offensive assistant from the Pete Carroll era (Kiffin being the other), after the 2013 regular season ended, and Orgeron resigned.
So why did USC pass over Orgeron? The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, who wrote a really good book about Orgeron’s time at Ole Miss, appeared on “The Rich Eisen Show” this week and talked about the situation. He said that Orgeron did not fit the desired profile of USC’s officials. Feldman said that USC “couldn’t get past what Ed Orgeron sounded like.”
The athletic department was led by Pat Haden at the time, and like Feldman says, Orgeron did not have the “country club” feel that maybe the Trojans desired. Orgeron has a Cajun sound, which is perfect for LSU:
"Death Valley, where opponents' dreams come to die."
Orgeron ended up going to LSU and became their interim head coach in 2016 after Les Miles was fired. Rather than do what USC did, LSU decided to remove the interim tag and let Orgeron continue as head coach. The move has paid off.
LSU went 9-4 in Orgeron’s first full season and 10-3 last season. This year they’re 13-0 and rolling into the College Football Playoff as the No. 1 team in the rankings.
USC, meanwhile, ended up getting rid of Sarkisian amid alcohol abuse issues, and hired Clay Helton, whom most of the fan base dislikes. There is a great feeling that USC missed out with Orgeron. Their loss is certainly LSU’s gain.
Ed Orgeron took a very deserved shot at Arkansas after LSU’s easy win over the Razorbacks on Saturday night.
LSU blasted Arkansas 56-20 to improve to 11-0 on the season and 7-0 in SEC play. Getting an easy win may be nice, but it was not a reason for celebration for LSU. Coach O said after the game that LSU isn’t celebrating yet because they have bigger goals in mind, such as the national championship.
Orgeron says there's a mindset with #LSU that there are bigger goals they're worried about.
Arkansas is now 2-9 and 0-7 in conference play. They were 0-8 in SEC play last year too, which is why Orgeron said they haven’t beaten anyone in a long time. The Hogs are looking to change that, which is why they fired Chad Morris and have their eyes on a big target.
Plenty of fans loved the release of video of LSU coach Ed Orgeron’s postgame speech after beating Alabama, but the coach was not one of them.
An LSU player livestreamed Orgeron’s speech after Saturday’s 46-51 win, and the coach’s words quickly went viral. On Monday, Orgeron expressed disappointment that the video had gotten out, and said he had spoken to the player responsible.
“Wish that wouldn’t happen. That shouldn’t happen,” Orgeron said, via Mike Rodak of al.com. “I addressed the player that did it. He felt bad about it. They’re so used to having those phones on them all the time. We have pregame meal and I say, ‘Can you turn your phones off just a little bit so we can say the prayer?’ And we say the prayer and boom, they’re back on their phones.
“I think that’s just the product of today. Everybody carries their phone on them all the time. I don’t think it was done with malintent or nothing like that. I addressed it with the young man and I don’t think it’s gonna happen again.”
As for the content of the speech, Orgeron said it was an emotional moment in a family environment that was not meant for public consumption.
“It was no means to hurt anybody or nothing like that,” Orgeron said. “It was just a fiery moment, a very emotional moment with our team. That’s all that was.”
It’s easy to see why Orgeron hated it getting out. Still, most of those who saw it loved it, and it certainly generated a new catchphrase. It doesn’t really reflect badly on Orgeron, either, so it’s unlikely this has any real negative impact.
Ed Orgeron is coaching LSU to an extremely impressive season, which was highlighted with a huge 46-41 road win over Alabama on Saturday in a matchup of undefeated teams. The win was incredible and a milestone for Orgeron, who beat the Tide for the first time as LSU’s head coach. This was also the Tigers’ first win over Bama since 2011.
So how hyped was Coach O in the locker room after the game? Someone posted a video on social media live from inside the locker room that showed everyone.
“We’re going to beat their a– in recruiting. We’re going to beat their a– every time they see us. You understand that? Roll Tide what? F— you!” Coach O said.
Here’s the video, but beware it contains the curse words:
Whichever team member (or staffer) shared that private video with the public will likely be in huge trouble, as it’s something that will likely tick off and motivate Alabama, and was only intended for the LSU locker room. But dang are we glad it got released, and it probably is better for LSU in the long run.
The video showcases Orgeron’s attitude and fire. How can you not be pumped up by him? And how can that not be positive for recruiting? Who would watch that and not want to play for Coach O? The guy has been great with delivering catchphrases all season.
The LSU Tigers welcomed the undefeated Florida Gators to Death Valley on Saturday night, and it’s fair to say that Ed Orgeron was ready for it.
The LSU coach spoke to ESPN for a pregame interview, and he delivered a one-liner that’s sure to go down in LSU history, perhaps as a new tagline for Tiger Stadium.
"Death Valley, where opponents' dreams come to die."
For a guy who looked like he might be the first coach fired last season, Orgeron has had an incredible turnaround and really endeared himself to the LSU faithful. And hey, if that doesn’t end up on a banner or something, then someone isn’t doing their job.
LSU proved it is worthy of a top-five ranking by going on the road to beat a quality opponent in Texas on Saturday night, and the Tigers had to overcome some tough conditions both on the field and in the locker room.
LSU head coach Ed Orgeron told reporters on Monday that there was no air conditioning in the visitor’s locker room before or during the game at Texas Memorial Stadium. The temperature at game time was just below 100 degrees. It’s unclear if that was intentional on the part of the Longhorns, but it was also the case when they hosted Louisiana Tech the week before.
#LSU Coach O seems to confirm there was no air conditioning in the Tigers' locker room at Texas, something Louisiana Tech warned them about. pic.twitter.com/Llm3lG4csJ
Orgeron said LSU was prepared for the lack of AC so they brought some fans and did some other things to keep the locker room as comfortable as possible. Several Tigers players went down with cramps during the game, but the coach said he did not think the locker room conditions were to blame.
“I don’t think that caused as much as going out there and having to play 93 plays on defense,” Orgeron said. “I think that had a lot to do with it. Although it was hot, I think the humidity was like 23 percent. It wasn’t like Louisiana, but our guys did cramp up in the second half.”
Texas fans could be heard booing during some drives where LSU players went down with cramping, thinking they were faking injuries to slow the Longhorns’ offense.
LSU’s 45-38 victory was the first leg of a home-and-home series between the two programs, which means the Tigers will play host next year. Texas might want to be prepared to have no AC in their locker room during that game.
LSU is rewarding football coach Ed Orgeron for a strong 2018 season.
According to Amie Just of NOLA.com, Orgeron will receive a contract extension from the school, with terms still being finalized.
Orgeron’s current deal runs through 2021, and pays him $3.5 million per year as a base salary. It may be that the coach is in line for a significant pay raise following LSU’s 10-3 season, as eight of Orgeron’s SEC counterparts make more money than he does.
Before the 2018 season started, oddsmakers weren’t confident that Orgeron would see the year out. Instead, he won 10 games, made a New Year’s Six bowl, and guided the Tigers to their best season since 2013. All of those factors probably mean that Orgeron has earned a rise in pay and some extra security.
The only problem is a replay showed quarterback Kellen Mond’s knee was down before he threw the pass, so A&M retained possession. The Aggies ended up converting a 4th-and-18 and later scored on the final play of regulation and tied the game to send it to overtime.
