After winning the national championship, LSU rewarded Ed Orgeron with a big raise that will make him the fifth-highest paid coach in college football
It’s pretty good to be Ed Orgeron right now.
The LSU Tigers just completed arguably the greatest season in college football history. Led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow, LSU won its fourth national championship in school history, going 15-0 in the process. After being underpaid for the better part of his LSU coaching career, Orgeron cashed in big time on Friday by inking a new deal to stay in Baton Rouge.
According to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, “Ed Orgeron and LSU have agreed to a six-year contract extension, valued at more than $42 million in total.”
Orgeron’s six-year extension will pay him roughly $7 million annually. This catapults Orgeron up the charts of the highest-paid head coaches in college football. Orgeron trails Clemson’s Dabo Swinney ($9,315,600), Alabama’s Nick Saban ($8,857,000), Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh ($7,504,000) and Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher ($7,500,000).
SOURCE: Ed Orgeron and #LSU have agreed to a 6-year contract extension valued at more than $42 million in total… Orgeron is 40-9 since taking over at LSU and is 11-1 in his last 12 games against Top 10 opponents.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) January 24, 2020
Entering the 2019 season, Orgeron was only making $4 million, which was 30th among college coaches. After winning the national championship, he’s the fifth-highest paid coach.
After coaching his home state’s Power 5 football team at a discount, Orgeron will now be paid among the most and the best. He is an outstanding recruiter, an excellent defensive-mind, a brilliant builder of coaching staffs and above all else, a national champion.
Long ridiculed for his past failures, Orgeron now has the greener grass on the other side of the fence and people are envious.
In recent years, Orgeron has been the type of head coach who would coach for less salary if that meant he could pay members of his coaching staff more. The was a big reason he was able to keep defensive coordinator Dave Aranda in Baton Rouge longer than at any point in his coaching career. Having a bit of extra cash lying around was key in LSU landing Broyles Award winner Joe Brady for a season.
People who aren’t as well-compensated will find ways to pile on college coaches getting paid this much. But for a guy with a proven track record and a coach who thrives in getting his team ready to play in big games, you can’t hate Orgeron nearly doubling his salary.
Though his team likely won’t repeat as national champions in 2020 after losing Burrow and so many to the NFL Draft, Orgeron has built a tremendous program.
The Bayou Bengals can celebrate well into Mardi Gras; Coach O isn’t going anywhere.
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