College Football: Ranking 10 best head coaches from past 5 seasons
By Ryan Kay
4. Ed Orgeron (LSU)
Ed Orgeron was named the LSU’s interim head coach in late September of 2016 when the Tigers fired Les Miles. He had a very impressive first game as the head of the Tiger program when his team defeated Missouri 42-7. He ended up winning his first three games as head coach of LSU, setting the tone for the rest of the season.
Orgeron and his Tigers won three of their last five games including a victory at Texas A&M and a Citrus Bowl win over No. 15 Louisville. LSU ended the season ranked No. 13 in the country with a total of eight wins. In late November of that year, Orgeron was officially named the head coach. He and his program looked to build on the positive momentum from their 2016 season.
The 2017 season was a bit of roller-coaster of highs and lows for Orgeron and his team. LSU opened up the season with an impressive 27-0 victory over BYU but in their third game, they lost at Mississippi State by double digits but would bounce back the following week in a victory over Syracuse.
The biggest letdown of the season came in the Tigers’ fifth game when they lost by three points at home to Troy. LSU was 3-2 and unranked prior to traveling to play against the No. 21 Florida Gators. Not only did Orgeron and his team defeat Florida but they would then beat No. 10 Auburn the following the week and win at Ole Miss by 16 points.
In a matter of three weeks in October, LSU defeated two top 25 ranked teams with two of those three victories being on the road in conference play.
LSU would lose at No. 1 Alabama in its ninth game of the season but it would bounce back once again and win its next three games by double digits to give the Tigers nine wins on the season. LSU would lose in the Citrus Bowl to Notre Dame but it would end the season ranked No. 18 in the nation.
Orgeron and his program looked to take the next step in year three of him being the Tigers’ head coach.
In 2018, LSU had a great start to its season, defeating No. 8 Miami and then in the Tigers’ third game, they traveled to play Auburn and they would end up beating their No. 7-ranked SEC rival. Orgeron and his squad would enter the month of October undefeated at 5-0 and ranked No. 5 in the nation.
Unfortunately for LSU, that momentum would be temporarily halted in a road loss at Florida. However, Orgeron’s team defeated No. 2 Georgia by 20 points the following week to mark arguably his most impressive win up to this point as the head coach of LSU. He followed that notable win with beating No. 22 Mississippi State and holding the Bulldogs to only three points.
LSU had very high expectations for the season until those expectations would not be met when they hosted No. 1 Alabama.
The entire nation looked forward to the matchup between the No. 3 rated Tigers and the No. 1 ranked Crimson Tide but the game itself would not live up to the hype. Alabama on the road dominated LSU by a score of 29-0. The Tigers would bounce back and win their next two games.
LSU would play in college football’s most entertaining game of the season. The Tigers traveled to play at Texas A&M in what would be an epic game. The game went into seven overtimes and both teams combined for 146 points but in the end, LSU would fall by a score of 74-72.
Even in defeat, the season would not end in failure.
LSU would end up defeating No. 7 UCF in the Fiesta Bowl in a high-scoring affair. Orgeron would end his season leading his Tigers to 10 wins with five over top 25 ranked teams in 2018 when LSU played against eight top 25 teams in total. He and his program were on the rise and they expected to compete for a national championship in 2019.
LSU didn’t have a very difficult 2019 schedule early on to start the season with one exception — that exception was playing at No. 7 Texas in their second game. The game itself was very competitive but Orgeron and his team used their experience in high scoring games from last season to help them defeat the Longhorns 48-38.
In a span of four games, LSU would play three top 10 nationally-ranked teams. Orgeron knew if his Tigers could win all three of these highly-anticipated games, they had a legit opportunity to not only make the playoff but to also win a national championship.
In a battle between No. 7 Florida versus No. 5 Tigers, Orgeron had his team ready to play as LSU won, 42-28. Then after a convincing win on the road at Mississippi State, LSU hosted No. 9 Auburn. In a hard-fought game, LSU won by a field goal, 23-20.
The final test came when Orgeron and his Tigers traveled to play No. 3 Alabama. In yet another high-scoring and competitive game, LSU did the unthinkable as they beat the Crimson Tide 46-41 for their third straight top-10 win.
LSU would end up scoring 50 or more points and winning by three or more touchdowns in its next three games as it ended SEC play undefeated as the SEC West champion.
The No. 2 Tigers faced No. 4 Georgia in the SEC title game. In that game, LSU dominated the Bulldogs and beat them by a final score of 37-10, earning them the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.
In the semifinal against No. 4 seed Oklahoma, LSU showed the nation that they were deserving of the top seed of the playoff as they put up 63 points on the Sooners and defeated them by 35 points. The Tigers and Orgeron would face Clemson in the national championship game. The game was close early by LSU would win the national championship by beating Clemson, 42-25.
Orgeron has really built a program that can overtake Alabama for SEC West supremacy and compete for future national championships like Clemson and Alabama have done of late.
LSU will have the opportunity to prove that they are one of the top three programs in all of college football in 2020.
Point breakdown for Orgeron
- 1 National Championships: 50 points
- 1 College Football Playoff appearance: 40 points
- 1 regular-season conference title: 30 points
- 1 division titles: 20 points
- 4 bowl wins: 40 points
- 5 bowl appearances: 25 points
- 2 seasons with 10 or more wins: 10 points
Total coaching points: 210
Coaching highlights over the past five seasons
- Led LSU to a national championship in 2019
- Led his Tigers to three consecutive bowl victories
- 1 SEC title (2019)
- 1 SEC West title (2019)