LSU’s football program is going to have a very familiar face next season.
The Tigers have hired former head coach Ed Orgeron as a special assistant to recruiting and defense on Lane Kiffin’s staff, the school announced.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports that the job will allow Orgeron to go on the road and recruit for the Tigers.
The move brings Orgeron back to Baton Rouge, where he was the head coach from 2016-21. Orgeron reached the pinnacle of the college football world when he led Joe Burrow and the Tigers to an undefeated national title in 2019.
But two years later, in the middle of a disappointing 2021 season, he and LSU agreed to a separation agreement that would see him exit the program. He did not coach in the team’s bowl game later that year.
Orgeron has not coached since that season.
In November, CBS Sports reported that LSU was interested in bringing Orgeron back into the fold in some capacity when it appeared they were ready to bring in Kiffin, which eventually did happen.
Orgeron said in a radio hit last fall that he would more than welcome a return to the program.
“Are you kidding me? I’m one phone call away,” Orgeron had said in October about a possible LSU return. “I just gotta get in my truck, I could be there today.”
Orgeron said that month that he also still had his house in Baton Rouge.
Kiffin gets a beloved figure to his Tigers staff as he looks to build a winner during the first year of his seven-year, $91 million contract.
His midseason exit from SEC rival Ole Miss made headlines throughout the fall. During an episode of “Pardon My Take” on Wednesday, Kiffin said he could’ve done things differently to avoid the messy departure.
“I think I would’ve just came in and said I’m leaving,” Kiffin said. “I’m very appreciative of everything. I spent a lot of time there fighting to coach the team. Trying to keep everything together. Totally respect their decision, for the athletic director, not to happen. I get it. I was trying so hard to keep that together.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
