Report: LSU prepared to make Ed Orgeron coach if Tom Herman says no

Ed Orgeron may finally get the big time permanent head coaching job he wants, but it’s reportedly going to take another domino falling first.

LSU may already have its next head football coach. But that’s only if the one it apparently really wants turns the school down.

Despite his denials of reports linking him to the LSU position, Houston coach Tom Herman is at least in the early stages of being courted by the SEC school. He’s also potentially in play at Texas if Charlie Strong is let go as expected, and there could potentially be other colleges calling him as well.

That means LSU may want a contingency plan if it can’t land its man, and that’s exactly what it reportedly has. Citing unnamed sources, ESPN says that LSU is prepared to make interim head coach Ed Orgeron the full time man running the Tigers’ program, calling him a “clear-cut backup plan.”

Being a second choice may not be the way most people would prefer to attain a high profile position, but it may not bother the relatively unassuming (at least away from the gridiron) Orgeron as long as it gets him the head coaching gig he’s come close to but never landed since being let go by Ole Miss in 2007.

He’s been passed over as the interim coach once before, at USC a few years ago. Bringing in Herman to take over after he’s already been in charge of LSU since the firing of Les Miles would no doubt sting, but considering what happened to the Trojans when they chose to go in a different direction – the Steve Sarkisian era could correctly be called a disaster — maybe he’s fine with at least being considered for the top spot this time around.

ESPN expects that Herman could have his next positions locked up by the end of this holiday weekend, so for Orgeron, it’s a waiting game — again.

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