Ed Orgeron’s seat is scorching following Saturday’s loss to the Troy Trojans, so where do the LSU Tigers go from here?
The Ed Orgeron era at LSU is likely to be short-lived following one of the most shocking losses in recent memory on Saturday night at Tiger Stadium.
Just over a year ago, LSU decided to fire longtime head coach Les Miles, who led the Tigers to a 114-34 record and the 2007 national championship during his storied 12-year career in Baton Rouge. Orgeron then guided the Tigers to a 6-2 mark over the final two plus months of the season, which was enough to convince the LSU brass to hire him full-time despite a lackluster career record.
The move has backfired, as LSU appears headed for its worst season in nearly two decades with a 3-2 mark through the end of September. After entering the season as a potential College Football Playoff contender, the Tigers were destroyed 37-7 by a Mississippi State team that has since been blown out in two consecutive games before suffering the upset at the hands of Troy.
While Troy is a rising team coming off a 10-win season and programs have been too quick to fire coaches in recent times, such a loss is unacceptable for a roster of LSU’s caliber. The Tigers had a 49-game winning streak dating back to 2000 against nonconference opponents at home, and may only end up with four or five wins this season given their current form.
That would almost certainly lead to Orgeron’s dismissal, and LSU would have a few intriguing candidates to choose from should it enter the coaching carousel once again in the next few months. LSU still has a ton of talented players and will always be among the best recruiting teams in the country, so these three head coaches could turn things around in Baton Rouge right away.
Chip Kelly
Any big name program is going to be connected to Kelly at this point, and there’s no doubt he would do some major damage with the resources LSU has available. The only question is if Kelly would be willing to go to a program like LSU, as he will have a number of teams to choose from should he decide to return to coaching.
Kelly transformed Oregon into a national powerhouse with a 46-7 record from 2009-12, including guiding the Ducks to their first Rose Bowl win in nearly a century and narrowly losing to Cam Newton’s Auburn in the 2011 National Championship Game. The main knock against Miles at LSU was his lack of innovative offense, something that Kelly would certainly bring to Baton Rouge with his creative up-tempo attack.
After an unsuccessful stint with two NFL teams, Kelly is likely headed back to the college ranks if he moves on from his current career as an NFL studio analyst. However, Kelly’s disdain for powerful boosters is well-known, and that might not fly at LSU following the Miles saga just last year.
It’s still worth a shot, as the Kelly’s upside at LSU would be enormous. LSU would likely need to move in on Kelly quickly, as the Tennessee Volunteers will also be quite interested in his services.