LSU settles on its head coach hire, as Ed Orgeron, not Tom Herman, is next in line for the job

Since firing Les Miles, the LSU Tigers have been a hot commodity on the coaching market.

Up until recently, it seemed that the Bayou Bengals were down to two choices for the position. The incumbent interim head coach Ed Orgeron and a similar hot commodity, Houston Cougars head coach Tom Herman, were thought to be the front runners for the job with a few outsiders, namely Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher, looking on from a distance

Well, as one of the final Saturdays in the college football season gets ready to roll, LSU has made its decision. And it will be Coach O, not Herman or anybody else, that will be patrolling the sidelines in Baton Rouge for the foreseeable future.

Ross Dellenger of The Advocate reported the news on early Saturday that the interim coach for the Tigers would be having that tag removed from his proverbial nameplate. The first detail was that LSU would be holding a press conference to name their head coach, and then the trickle down effect began.

Details of the hiring process would later be revealed. Tigers brass were reportedly working tirelessly through the night to hammer this down, and Herman, who had eyes on both Baton Rouge and Austin, decided to lean towards the state he currently resides in rather than Louisiana. Orgeron had apparently “blown LSU officials away” during the interview process, and ultimately, Coach O would stand tall because of it.

Orgeron has proven to be a pretty excellent recruiter at many of his stops. Although his head coaching record while at Ole Miss might cast some side eyes, it’s been a long time since he’s been officially at the helm and he seems to have learned from past mistakes and gotten better. We’ll see how he proves himself with him being back in the spotlight, but casting doubt based on a coaching record that is mostly made up from events that transpired a decade ago seems unideal.