With recent scandals by elite college coaches dominating the airwaves and making former LSU head coach Ed Orgeron’s drama that forced his departure from the university back in 2021 look like child’s play, the last man to win a national championship at the university is returning.
LSU announced Wednesday night that Orgeron, who won the 2019 national championship at the school, is returning as a special assistant to recruiting and defense.
Orgeron Returns To The Scene Of His Highest & Lowest Coaching Moments
Once upon a time, Orgeron sat atop the college football world as the charismatic and spirited coach led the “Bayou Bengals” to their first national championship since 2007. Starting quarterback Joe Burrow also won the Heisman Trophy, passing for 5,671 yards, 60 touchdowns and just six interceptions. His 10-1 touchdown to interception ratio is an NCAA record.
Orgeron was the mastermind who hired the young, innovative offensive savant in Joe Brady to lead the record-breaking offense. But that all came crashing down pretty swiftly, as key pieces of that team went to the NFL and key assistants took other jobs. The straw that broke the camel’s back was the mediocre 9-8 coaching record (7-7 in SEC), which made his behavior much less tolerable.
Chasing Women, Not Wins
During his time at LSU, Orgeron loved to live his personal life through the social media lens and he threw his celebrity around like a Hollywood actor on a promo tour, which featured a powerhouse college football program like LSU.
Orgeron’s personal life playing out in the media became the story as losses mounted. There was the infamous picture of him in bed with a much younger woman that went viral. His also reportedly ignored a sexual assault claim against one of his players from 2017, which irked the administration.
At His Peak, Orgeron Was Bringing Girlfriends To Practice
There are even rumors of multiple girlfriends being at practice, with their children involved in running the plays. There was growing backlash against Orgeron. The flamboyant head coach had developed the reputation of being somewhat of a womanizer, which in turn also put his job in jeopardy.
Per reports, Coach O even asked an LSU official’s pregnant wife to cheat on her husband with him.
Orgeron Got Paid $17M Buyout To Walk
The local community was also fed up with Coach O. So, LSU officials felt it was time for new leadership.
The two sides agreed to a settlement in what Sports Illustrated said was “a historic and unprecedented move: a school ushering out a coach with a 74% winning percentage who is a mere 21 months removed from winning a national championship. It is a stunning fall from grace—a bayou-born man who rose from previous failures, claimed the sport’s greatest prize and signed one of the richest contracts in the sport fewer than two years ago.”
The article also detailed several incidents that led to Oregon’s departure in the midst of a contract that made him the second-highest paid coach in the country at more than $8M per year at the time. The $17 million buyout wasn’t a bad look either.
Fans React To Ed Orgeron’s Return To LSU On Lane Kiffin’s Staff
LSU fans just want a winner and when you’ve brought success in the emphatic fashion that Orgeron did with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase and a cast of other pros, then you won’t be forgotten that easily.
“Yessir, this has been word on the street for a while now. Glad to see pin to paper,” said one user under an LSU Tiger fan account.
“We just hired the guy that assembled the greatest football team of all time. What a partnership,” a fan said.
On the other hand, some pointed out the recent scandals and claimed that the hiring is another example of white privilege.
“White privilege like a mf he got fired for messing with students & staff members wives on campus & yall bringing him back to do the same this would never happen in a million years for Sharrone Moore or Mel Tucker,” one X user said.
“LSU is the laughing stock of college football, Nebraska owns them for a reason,” one user wrote followed by laughing emojis.
“Sherrone Moore coming soon to create the horniest coaching staff of all time,” another tastelessly quipped.
Ed Orgeron & Lane Kiffin Go Way Back
Orgeron’s relationship with influential figures in college football, most notably first-year LSU head coach Lane Kiffin — and the $17M bag he got — has made life after LSU manageable.
Orgeron and Kiffin first worked together on Pete Carroll’s USC staff in 2001, winning two national championships. When Ed Orgeron became Ole Miss coach after the 2004 season, he attempted to hire Kiffin as his OC. Kiffin eventually made it to Oxford as head coach and spent six seasons as the Rebels’ coach before leaving for LSU last December.
Kiffin hired Orgeron as his recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach for one season in Tennessee, acting as a boisterous, sociable ball of energy to complement the quiet and methodical Kiffin. Orgeron rolled with Kiffin back to USC for a 3.5 season stint and went 6-2 in 2013 as Kiffin’s replacement. Now Kiffin has a chance to bring Orgeron back into the fold, and it’s the perfect time.
Kiffin is still searching for that elusive National Title and that requires talent With recent NCAA rule changes allowing for Orgeron to get out on the road and recruit for the Tigers if Kiffin wants, that would be a perfect situation as Orgeron’s ties to the state are still rock solid. While Lane is known as the master of the portal. Sounds like LSU is going all out to get back to the big game.
