LSU football’s Ed Orgeron was named the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). Is he the most deserving?
After taking over the LSU football program in 2016, Ed Orgeron has elevated the Tigers already-strong status among college football’s elite to a place it hasn’t even dreamed of. And while his team continues to prepare for the College Football Playoff semifinal game against Oklahoma. he’s added some much-deserved hardware to his resume.
The FWAA named Orgeron the 2019 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year. However, t wasn’t a surprise, especially since the Associated Press named Orgeron Coach of the Year days earlier. But what other coaches were up for the FWAA award? We already know Orgeron led LSU to a 13-0 record, the SEC championship, and a berth in the College Football Playoff. What sort of competition was he up against?
The other Coach of the Year finalists were Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Appalachian State’s Eli Drinkwitz, SMU’s Sonny Dykes, Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck, Boise State’s Bryan Harsin, Memphis’s Mike Norvell, Baylor’s Matt Rhule, and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney. Now that’s a solid group of peers; two undefeated CFP teams, six conference champions — it’s really the cream of the crop. But Orgeron’s 2019 campaign stood high above the rest.
Joining former winners like Nick Saban, Gary Patterson, and Urban Meyer as FWAA Coach of the Year is an example of the sustained excellence Orgeron hopes to build at LSU. And with the way the Tigers handled themselves in 2019, the potential is finally being realized. But what made 2019 so special? How did Orgeron make it all happen?
We’ve got three reasons on why he was the most-deserving for Coach of the Year.