LSU football: 4 underrated options to replace Ed Orgeron in Baton Rouge

Billy Napier is ready for the Power Five, but Louisiana is not LSU

Frankly, Billy Napier should be a Power Five head coach by now. The former Nick Saban disciple has not-so-quietly built a great program at Louisiana in the Sun Belt. Though the Ragin’ Cajuns aren’t as Ragin’ as the were a year ago, Napier is already on the radar to get a pretty good Power Five gig if he wants one. However, Louisianans may not like him going from ULL to LSU one bit.

It is a stupid stigma that might come back to haunt LSU. If Jimbo Fisher were to leave Texas A&M for LSU because athletic director Scott Woodward made him the highest paid head coach in football, guess who’s going to College Station? Napier is in your own backyard. Though LSU could get a bigger name, he is at the very least deserving of an opportunity to interview for this job.

Jamey Chadwell can really coach, but can he assemble a Power Five staff?

It has been a while since Jamey Chadwell’s Coastal Carolina Chanticleers have lost a game. While the Cincinnati Bearcats are the creme de la creme of the Group of Five, Coastal will win 10 or 11 games this season. After his breakout season in Conway a year ago, Chadwell opted to stay instead of taking a lesser SEC job at places like South Carolina, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

Though we know he can coach, it remains to be seen if Chadwell can recruit at a high level, or more importantly, if he can assemble a strong Power Five staff. You got to remember this is a big step up from Coastal Carolina to LSU. If anybody can do it, it may be him. However, LSU is taking a home-run cut to get a head coach who can absolutely win national titles at LSU, not a good coach.

Hugh Freeze has already won big in the SEC with the Ole Miss Rebels before

While he might carry more baggage than any potential head-coaching candidate, LSU should know first-hand how good of a head coach Huge Freeze is. He has transformed the Liberty Flames from a non-story into one of the most discussed Group of Five schools out there. Prior to arriving in Lynchburg, he had Ole Miss playing in New Year’s Six bowls before scandal brought them down.

Given that Orgeron could not win in Oxford, LSU has the evidence to know Freeze would be a step up over Coach O. We know Freeze can handle the smoke. Though he might be blacklisted in the SEC, winning is a panacea. Simply put, LSU needs a head coach who can recruit and win 10 games annually in the best division in football. If LSU is down with second chances, it could be Freeze.

While guys like Mario Cristobal, Luke Fickell, Jimbo Fisher and James Franklin are at the top of the list to replace Orgeron, this list of second tier of potential head-coaching candidates is nothing to sneeze at either.

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