There’s nothing wrong with LSU retaining Ed Orgeron as its head coach right now. The Tigers introduced Orgeron as their head coach two days after beating Texas A&M in the Sugar Bowl on Thanksgiving; a move that will be met with skepticism outside Baton Rouge.
But Orgeron earned the promotion. He led the Tigers to a 5-2 record after Les Miles was fired on Sept. 25. Orgeron turned a potential disaster into one-yard away from the Sugar Bowl in a loss to Florida. The players responded, but those players aren’t going to be around forever.
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The book on Orgeron is straightforward. He’s a Louisiana guy. He’s an SEC (near-)lifer. He’s a coach the players responded to this season, and that was good enough for LSU. He's not Jimbo Fisher or Tom Herman, but athletic director Joe Alleva stayed close to home. If there’s a sport where that’s acceptable more than others, then it’s college football.
That doesn’t make this a good hire. Not yet, anyway. Orgeron’s first real shot at full-time head coach since a three-year gig at Ole Miss from 2005-07 comes with a to-do list. LSU can maintain its spot as a SEC West contender, but it can’t fall into the same pitfalls that brought the Miles era to a close.
The Tigers need an offensive coordinator who can develop a quarterback. That’s why the Lane Kiffin rumors are interesting. Kiffin, who was Orgeron's boss at Tennessee and Southern Cal, has been masterful with innovating the Crimson Tide’s offense and has a third consecutive Heisman contender in freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts. That would add yet another layer to the LSU-Alabama rivalry. Whether it’s Kiffin or somebody else, LSU needs an offensive coordinator who can challenge Nick Saban and Alabama.
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And that’s the biggest question with the Orgeron hire. He’s good enough to be an 8-4 or 9-3 coach in the most cut-throat top-to-bottom division in college football. He proved that over the last seven games. But LSU had three-loss seasons three of the last four years under Miles. A lot of coaches could win eight games for the Tigers.
That’s not the standard. To reach the standard, the Tigers have to challenge Alabama. The Tide won the last six meetings by a combined score of 140-63. LSU has scored just 10.5 points per game in those losses. That, more than anything else, is why Miles is gone. He had teams talented enough to beat Alabama, and they didn’t get the job done. That’s Orgeron’s biggest test, and one that will determine whether this is a good hire.
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We know everything else.
• We know Orgeron is a players’ coach and an excellent recruiter who should be comfortable in those head-to-head battles on the high school trail.
• We know LSU needs to retain Dave Aranda as its defensive coordinator. That side of the ball always enough NFL talent to be dominant, and there’s no reason why that won’t continue.
• We know LSU can run the ball. The Tigers averaged 264.6 rushing yards per game in seven games under Orgeron. That number shoots up to 303.2 in the six games that weren’t played against Alabama. They still rushed for just 33 yards in a 10-0 loss to Alabama.
Chances are LSU fans know all that, too. Miles is likely going to land another job, and he’ll do well there. Orgeron will be up against that, too. Fisher and Herman will be known as the guys that got away. If it doesn’t work out, Orgeron will be labeled as that guy who wasn’t the first choice.
Orgeron earned this chance, but LSU is taking an even bigger chance by retaining him. Clemson’s Dabo Swinney is one example of an interim coach who took the job and ran with it. There aren’t a lot more at national powerhouses.
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There’s nothing wrong with LSU retaining Orgeron for now. We’ll see if the Tigers can go home again and make it work.
It’s just going to take a while before we know if this really is a good hire.
