Should LSU head coach Ed Orgeron be on the hot seat?
At least one college football writer thinks LSU head coach Ed Orgeron is firmly on the hot seat
As the 2021 college football season gets rolling, the coaches who are on the hot seat are clear (Jim Harbaugh, Clay Helton, Scott Frost). But USA TODAY’s Dan Wolken has included an interesting name atop his list-LSU head coach Ed Orgeron.
No. 1, Ed Oregon at LSU. Orgeron won a national title two years ago. How much good will does that buy you? Not a lot in this environment in college football, especially at a place like LSU,” Wolken said on Thursday. “He has been on the Gene Chizik path, I would say, ever since winning that national championship. Last year was not good. If they continue to backslide … they’re not going to wait to long at LSU to try and right that ship.”
The 2020 pandemic-impacted season gives everyone a mulligan. But LSU definitely had a disappointing campaign, going 5-5 after winning the national title in 2019. After replacing 16 starters last year, the Tigers have 16 starters returning this year.
Orgeron replaced Les Miles early in the 2016 season. Entering his fifth full season at LSU, he has a 45-14 record. Add in his time as head coach at Ole Miss and USC, and he’s 61-41 over nine seasons.
The Tigers went 15-0 during their national title campaign. The year before, with Joe Burrow at quarterback before he became Joe Burrow, they went 10-3. Remove that 25-3 two-season mark, and Oregon is 20-11 as LSU’s head coach. Put more outwardly, he has a .645 winning percentage without Burrow and a .892 winning percentage when he had him.
Overall, Oregon is 36-38 as a head coach without Burrow as his starting quarterback.
The expectations at LSU, realistic or not, eventually became something Miles could not meet with a national title on his resume. Wolken’s comparison of Orgeron to Gene Chizik fits. Chizik’s Auburn Tigers won the national title in 2010, with Cam Newton under center. They went 8-5 in 2011, then Chizik was fired after a 3-9 2012 campaign that included an 0-8 mark in SEC play. Things deteriorated quickly for Auburn after that national title, and Chizik didn’t get a third season after it.
LSU opens its season Saturday night on the road against UCLA, on the national stage of FOX television. To say it’s a must-win for the Tigers is a bit aggressive. But it’s very telling they’re only a 2.5-point favorite, and a loss will turn the heat up on Orgeron.