Ed Orgeron is certainly going out with remarkable candor in his final weeks as LSU head coach.
On Monday, Orgeron sounded off on how he and his coaching staff had evaluated the Tigers during the team’s bye week. Orgeron responded to the fairly basic question by throwing his staff under the bus, essentially saying both the offense and defense were too predictable and struggled to make adjustments.
“We’re too predictable by formations. We’re too predictable by first down,” Orgeron said. “We are very, very predictable on defense. We need to have more of a variety on first down, because we give them the same looks over and over again, and there’s just not much disguise. What we line up in, we are in.
“At this point of the season, you just can’t put a bunch of new stuff in, but we put in a couple of wrinkles to make it tough. The biggest part for us on defense is adjusting. We have not been in the right adjustments. We have not been in the right position, according to some formations.”
Ouch. Orgeron didn’t name names, but this isn’t a ringing endorsement of either offensive coordinator Jake Peetz or defensive coordinator Daronte Jones.
Orgeron’s choice of coordinators has been a major factor in LSU’s decline. He’s made some rather startling admissions about his previous hires as well. The candor is appreciated, but at a certain point, it kind of looks like Orgeron is making excuses and throwing others under the bus to deflect criticism.
Photo: Sep 18, 2021; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron looks on against Central Michigan Chippewas during the first half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
A flurry of negative information has come out about Ed Orgeron since news surfaced on Sunday that he will not return as the head coach at LSU next season. One of the allegations against Orgeron claims he made a pass at a woman who turned out to be the wife of the LSU official.
Brody Miller of The Athletic published a lengthy story about Orgeron that details how the coach supposedly lost his way after LSU won the national championship in 2019. One incident that created problems for Orgeron was when he allegedly pulled up next to a woman who was wearing exercise attire at a gas station and said, “Hey, you look like you work out. We could work out together.”
The woman, according to Miller’s sources, informed Orgeron that she was married and pregnant. Orgeron supposedly was not deterred and replied, “Why does that matter?”
While it doesn’t sound like Orgeron knew who the woman was, Miller said she was the wife of a high-ranking LSU official. The higher-ups at the school were not pleased with Orgeron over the exchange.
Another story claimed Orgeron had “girlfriends” at LSU practice on multiple occasions and that the presence of the women interfered with the team.
Whether the leaks are true or not, the timing is hardly a coincidence. LSU leadership likely feels the need to justify parting ways with Orgeron two seasons after he led the Tigers to a national title. When the team was winning, no one seemed to care about Orgeron’s alleged inappropriate behavior.
Orgeron, 60, filed for divorce from his wife in April 2020. The two were married for 23 years but had been living apart for a few months before the divorce filing.
Coach O is set to receive a massive buyout from LSU amid the news.
LSU is 4-3 this season after going 5-5 last year, the season following their incredible national championship run in 2019. Orgeron has also faced questions relating to a Title IX matter.
Photo: Sep 11, 2021; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron looks on during the first half against McNeese State Cowboys at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
LSU announced on Sunday that they surprisingly are parting ways with Ed Orgeron after the season.
Orgeron is a pretty well-liked figure who had success at LSU. So now we have hit the part in our programming where LSU has to leak negative information about the subject in an effort to try justifying the move.
One story about LSU parting ways with Orgeron said the head coach was losing his way character-wise. The Athletic’s Brody Miller reported that Orgeron was accused of hitting on the pregnant wife of an LSU official at a gas station. News of that story made its way around LSU leadership, including the athletic director.
WBRZ’s Matt Trent also reported Sunday that Orgeron had “girlfriends” at LSU practice. The presence of these women reportedly interfered with matters.
The gist of the leaks is that Orgeron lost his focus and priorities after winning the national championship in the 2019 season. The reality is that this sort of stuff tends to be overlooked when the team is winning, but becomes a problem when they’re not.
Orgeron, 60, filed for divorce from his wife in April 2020. The two were married for 23 years but had been living apart for a few months before the divorce filing.
Coach O is set to receive a massive buyout from LSU amid the news.
LSU is 4-3 this season after going 5-5 last year, the season following their incredible national championship run in 2019. Orgeron has also faced questions relating to a Title IX matter.
Photo: Sep 18, 2021; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron looks on against Central Michigan Chippewas during the first half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Most LSU fans will likely accept that it was time for the school to move on from coach Ed Orgeron. Joe Burrow, however, is not one of them.
Burrow was clearly disappointed with the announcement that Orgeron and LSU will part ways at the end of the season. Burrow and Orgeron won a championship together two years ago. Orgeron had entrusted the team to Burrow, then a transfer from Ohio State, and Burrow went on to win the Heisman Trophy in 2019.
Burrow admitted that he and Orgeron have a special relationship, and that the quarterback feels indebted to his college coach. He also seemed to throw a bit of shade at LSU, pointing out how unprecedented it was to move on from a coach just two years after a national title.
“That’s disappointing to me because he’s really a man that gave me an opportunity when nobody else really was. I wouldn’t be here without Coach O. I’m forever indebted to him as a person and as a player,” Burrow said. “They haven’t been winning as many games as I know they would like, but we did just win a national championship two years ago, so that’s disappointing.
“I love Coach O and everyone over there, so I hope he’s able to find a place where he feels like he’s welcomed.”
There have been rumors that Orgeron didn’t have the players and coaches behind him, which contributed to his impending exit. Burrow hasn’t been at LSU since 2019, so the environment has likely changed from the one he remembers. That said, Burrow and Orgeron clearly have a very unique relationship. It’s tough to blame Burrow for being so disappointed that his college coach is out.
Ed Orgeron will not return as the head coach at LSU next season, but he is still going to get plenty of money from the school.
Orgeron and LSU have reached an agreement to part ways after the year, according to multiple reports. Bruce Feldman of The Athletic was told Orgeron will receive his full buyout as part of the deal, which is roughly $17 million.
The buyout is huge but not unprecedented. That number is similar to what we saw when Willie Taggart was fired by Florida State in only his second year with the program in 2019.
Orgeron led LSU to a huge win upset over Florida on Saturday, but that apparently made no difference for his job status. One report claimed Orgeron was pushed out for a pretty surprising reason.
Ed Orgeron will not return as the head coach at LSU next season, which is shocking considering he led the team to a national title less than two years ago. It’s also surprising to read the claim that Orgeron has lost the locker room.
Shortly after it was reported that Orgeron and LSU have agreed to part ways following the 2021 season, Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports was told by a source that no one wants to work with Orgeron anymore. That apparently includes both players and coaches.
That just doesn’t add up. LSU had lost back-to-back games against tough opponents in Auburn and Kentucky heading into Saturday’s game against Florida. The talk of Orgeron being on the hot seat made more sense prior to this weekend. Most people assumed it would cool down a bit after the Tigers beat Florida, though Orgeron didn’t really address the speculation after the game.
If LSU’s players and coaches have given up on Orgeron, how did they fight their way to a 49-42 win over the 20th-ranked team in the country? That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
It’s possible that LSU’s administration and boosters wanted Orgeron out. Perhaps they expected better results after winning it all two seasons ago and thought Orgeron would turn their program into something like what Nick Saban has created at Alabama.
Photo: Sep 11, 2021; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron looks on during the first half against McNeese State Cowboys at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Ed Orgeron appeared to remove himself from the hot seat with LSU’s upset win over Florida on Saturday, but he will not coach the Tigers beyond the 2021 season.
Orgeron and LSU have agreed to part ways following the season, SI Now’s Ross Dellenger reports. Negotiations for a split between the two sides began before Saturday’s victory.
Orgeron led LSU to a national championship less than two years ago, but there has been speculation for weeks that he could lose his job. LSU lost to UCLA in its season opener before rattling off three consecutive wins. The hot seat talk then increased following losses to Auburn and Kentucky, despite both teams being ranked nationally this season.
While LSU made an inexcusable mistake in its 49-42 win over Florida, the wide-ranging belief was that the win and the way Orgeron’s players responded to the hot seat talk would help the 60-year-old keep his job. That was apparently never in the cards.
There have already been rumblings about one coach who could replace Orgeron.
LSU coach Ed Orgeron had a typically curt response when asked about his job security on Saturday.
The Tigers upset Florida in a 49-42 shootout on Saturday, temporarily taking some of the heat off Orgeron. It didn’t completely save him from job speculation, however.
Orgeron was asked about his job, but the coach deflected attention to his players and said he was taking the situation one day at a time.
There’s not much Orgeron can say at this point. On Saturday alone, there were rumors about his potential replacement. Some inexplicable play during the Florida game probably won’t help either.
That said, Orgeron can’t have hurt himself with LSU’s win. In fact, he may have put his counterpart on the hot seat, too.
Dan Mullen’s Florida Gators lost 49-42 to Ed Orgeron’s LSU Tigers on Saturday, leading to many of the same jokes.
Orgeron has been taking some heat from fans and the media regarding his job security amid a 3-3 season. Apparently going 15-0 and putting together the best season in college football history in 2019 wasn’t enough for some. Between the 5-5 year last season and being 3-3 this season, there was already talk about Orgeron replacements.
Mullen is in his fourth season at Florida and seems to have good security following consecutive double-digit win seasons to begin his tenure with the Gators. But after Saturday’s loss, his team is 4-3 this season.
Orgeron entered Saturday on the hot seat and Mullen secure, but after the game, fans ironically joked that things should be flipped.
Being 4-3 isn’t where Mullen wants to be, but anyone talking about either coach getting fired is crazy. Orgeron easily should get another three seasons. The guy went 15-0 and beat everyone that season. He earned way more time. And Mullen was accomplished at Mississippi State and has done well at Florida. Firing either of these guys won’t help their programs.
The funny thing is ESPN’s announcers shared Mullen’s comments about the hot seat talk. Mullen apparently acknowledged it’s a week-to-week league in the SEC, but he thought talk of Orgeron being on the hot seat was crazy. He also joked that if he lost the game, he could end up on the hot seat too. Guess what happened?
Less than two years after leading LSU to a championship, Ed Orgeron’s seat appears to be growing hotter by the day.
Bruce Feldman of The Athletic took a look at various college football coaches under pressure to keep their jobs, and Orgeron is one of them. The LSU head coach is apparently under growing scrutiny, and there is no guarantee he keeps his job for 2022.
One major factor, according to Feldman, is athletic director Scott Woodward. Woodward joined LSU in 2019, and was not responsible for hiring Orgeron. Industry sources believe Woodward and other LSU brass are eager to make a coaching change and have been for a while. Woodward also has a history of flashy, big-name hires, as he was responsible for bringing Chris Petersen to Washington and Jimbo Fisher to Texas A&M.
Orgeron is also a victim of LSU’s high expectations. The Tigers are 8-7 since winning the national title, and are coming off a worrying loss to Auburn. With the likes of Florida, Ole Miss, Arkansas, and Alabama still to come on the schedule, it’s an open question whether Orgeron can post a good enough record to assure himself of a job next season.
The LSU coach has made some bad staff moves and hasn’t exactly defended them well. Some of his other remarks backfired on him spectacularly, too. Orgeron will always be beloved for his role in LSU’s championship, but if things don’t turn around, he might not have a chance to win another.
