LSU Football: 3 reasons hiring Ed Orgeron was a mistake

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BATON ROUGE, LA – OCTOBER 22: Head coach Ed Orgeron of the LSU Tigers celebrates after a game against the Mississippi Rebels at Tiger Stadium on October 22, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU won 38-21. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

3. Orgeron wasn’t made for the spotlight

Orgeron has followed in the footsteps of many college football coaches before him, serving in the same line of work that he played in. The Louisiana native played on the defensive line of a Northwestern State team during his three year playing career, a program not often in the limelight of college football. Consequentially, Orgeron did his best to lay low in the coaching realm as well.

Look ahead 40 years and Orgeron is now the head coach of one of college football’s most heavily scrutinized programs. Prior to his latest gig Orgeron didn’t stray far from his comfort zone in terms of coaching. Since losing his position as defensive line coach at Miami in 1992, Orgeron has taken jobs outside the defensive line only three times.

Orgeron’s first time away from the defensive line wasn’t much of an adjustment as he served as the linebackers coach for Nicholls State in 1994. He also served as the head coach for Ole Miss from 2005-07, a difficult stretch during which the Rebels went a combined 10-25. Orgeron went a more respectable 6-2 for USC before spending a year away from coaching.

Outside of a one year tenure as defensive line coach for the New Orleans Saints, the previously mentioned spots were the most significant in Orgeron’s career thus far. Performing well for the Tigers as their interim head coach in 2016 likely played a big role in Orgeron’s ascension to head coach, but his struggles under pressure are beginning to surface once again.

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