College football thoughts from around the nation, Week 8: LSU special
It’s hard to imagine that a head coach that’s two years removed from a national championship would be fired, but that’s exactly what happened to LSU coach Ed Orgeron. He’s not fired yet, as he’s expected to finish the remainder of the season before leaving following the year.
A lot of the problems have come off the field. Public and private behavior, distrust, and outbursts are a few of the key reasons for this move, per Ross Dellenger on Twitter. There were also a few Title IX issues, one involving Orgeron ignoring reports of a former running back sexually assaulting a 74-year-old woman and another with Orgeron himself making advances towards a woman that turned out to be the wife of an official at LSU.
On the field, Orgeron’s instant success has since been overshadowed by a lack thereof. After winning the 2019 College Football Playoff with possibly the greatest college football team ever, Orgeron has gone just 9-8 since including some of the most abysmal defensive performances in program history.
So where does LSU look to now? Considering LSU is one of the best jobs in the country, they should have plenty of options.
Let’s get this out of the way right now: It’s not going to be Lane Kiffin. I’m not even going to validate that one. No, no, no.
I doubt Jimbo Fisher is going to be interested. He’d be a solid choice, but I just don’t see it happening. Fisher is finally hitting his stride at Texas A&M and has a very good thing going. When he initially left for A&M, things were starting to go south. At his current stop, things are on the upswing.
Luke Fickell is another good option, but I think he’s destined for USC. Whether he stays at Cincinnati or leaves is probably the farthest thing from his mind considering he’s currently ranked second in the nation. And with the Bearcats headed for the Big 12 in the next few seasons, he might decide it’s best to stay at Cincinnati.
Penn State’s James Franklin is a very interesting candidate. He’s a proven winner, including in the SEC. Franklin had a 24-14 record in the conference, but it’s not the record, it’s where he did it: Vanderbilt. In three seasons, he somehow had the Commodores ranked in two of them, which include three bowl trips, a seven-game winning streak, and two wins against arch-rival Tennessee. Did I mention that he accomplished this all at Vanderbilt? Franklin is going to get paid by someone, whether it be to stay at Penn State or bolt for USC, LSU, or another top job.
Mel Tucker has enjoyed major success at Michigan State this year as the Spartans currently sit undefeated in the top 10. Tucker is also no stranger to the SEC: in fact, he spent the 2000 season as a defensive backs coach for LSU. He’s also had stops at Alabama and Georgia. He’s not at the level of a Franklin or Fisher in terms of accomplishments, but he has potential to get to that level. I’m a big believer in fit, and I think Tucker would be a great fit.
On that note talking about fits, a great coach that I don’t think would be a good fit is Mario Cristobal. I don’t really think he’d be.
Dave Aranda and Joe Brady are both options that I don’t think would be quite ready for the job yet. Both have string recent ties to Baton Rouge: the defensive and offensive coordinators, respectively, of the great 2019 National Championship team. Aranda is having success building Baylor back up while Brady has no head coaching experience as the current offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers. I think it would be too soon for both, especially Brady.
Guys like Bill O’Brien and Matt Rhule would only be “fallback” candidates if LSU’s first few choices turn the Tigers down. Both have college coaching experience, but I don’t think either is at the level required to be an LSU head coach.
If you want names, the top three choices are obvious. But you know who I think would be a great outside-the-box choice to be named the new LSU head football coach? Billy Napier.
Napier isn’t a job hopper. He’s one of the hottest names in coaching and has turned down multiple Power Five opportunities, including SEC programs Auburn, Mississippi State, and South Carolina, in search of the perfect job. What better job could there be?
Napier is just a baby in the coaching world — only 42 years old — but the guy knows how to win. He has a 33-12 record as a head coach: three bowls, two bowl victories, finished ranked 15th last season, and a Sun Belt title.
Oh, and he’s done it all in the state of Louisiana, as the head coach of the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, where he has built a strong recruiting base and already has relationships with Louisiana high school football coaches which also goes a long way with recruiting.
Napier’s another guy with not only SEC experience, but he’s a Saban disciple, having spent four years as Alabama’s wide receivers coach. He has a national championship ring to show for it as well. He also has experience as an offensive coordinator at Clemson and Arizona State.
He currently has Louisiana at 5-1, on a direct collision course with likely undefeated Coastal Carolina in the Sun Belt title game. Win that one, hope for a Cincinnati loss along the way, and Napier’s coaching stock will explode in a New Year’s Six bowl.