*Via @cfbblitz on Twitter*
LSU head coach Ed Orgeron has had his name attached to the “hot seat” moniker for the past two seasons.
“Coach O“ came to LSU in 2015 as the defensive line coach. He then became interim head coach in 2016 after Les Miles was fired following a 2-2 start to the season. Orgeron helped propel LSU to an 8-4 record that season, going 7-2 under the interim title, and winning the Citrus Bowl. He coached the Tigers to a 9-4 record in 2017 and then a 10-3 record in 2018, along with a New Years Six Bowl win.
Orgeron’s best season was in 2019, when he (and Joe Burrow) led LSU to an undefeated 15-0 record and a National Championship. Ever since that title win, the Tigers have gone downhill in a sad, bloody spiral. They started 2020 with a loss to the Mike Leach led Mississippi State Bulldogs and it has snowballed into an avalanche. LSU’s most recent loss at home, versus Auburn, is just another game on a growing list of embarrassing results in these past two seasons. This brings me to the million dollar question Tiger fans have been asking: What’s different?
The 2019 coaching staff was loaded with great minds like Dave Aranda and Joe Brady. Aranda is now the head coach at Baylor and Joe Brady is the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers. Orgeron also had generational talents on the field—Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, and Ja‘Marr Chase—to name a few. Orgeron had so many tools at his disposal that it was impossible for him to fail. The 2019 LSU Tigers were truly too big to fail.
In LSU’s two losses this season, they ran for 49 yards and 11 yards. While you can attribute it to the lack of a rushing attack, there is something deeper. LSU has all the talent in the world. Orgeron recruits well and is a charismatic leader. LSU has also boasted a top five recruiting class in each of the past three cycles.
While Coach O has an infectious personality, does he really know X’s-and-O’s, or is he just a motivator? From his tenure at LSU, the latter seems to be the case.