LSU Football: The possible reason Ed Orgeron moved on from James Cregg

LSU football made a surprising move on Wednesday by parting ways with offensive line coach James Cregg.

Cregg served as the Tigers’ offensive line coach for the last three seasons. He also worked with Ed Orgeron at USC from 2010-2013 and at Tennessee in 2009.

Under Cregg’s guidance, LSU’s offensive line won the Joe Moore Award in 2019 (given annually to the nation’s best offensive line).

Early June isn’t typically when coaching moves like this are made. We usually see these moves made just after National Signing Day — not three months before the start of the season.

Why did LSU football move on from James Cregg?

For now, it’s not clear why Cregg was fired. It’s all speculation at this point (were there some recruiting violations that occurred, or something else?).

What we do know, however, is that Cregg wasn’t a strong recruiter.

And to be an assistant coach in the SEC, you absolutely have to be a great recruiter.

Cregg’s failure to land five-star offensive lineman Tristan Leigh — a player that several analysts predicted would sign with LSU — was an unacceptable recruiting miss by the longtime offensive line coach.

I’m sure moving on from Cregg wasn’t easy for Coach O — especially since the two coaches have an extensive history together.

But Orgeron isn’t in this business to make friends. He’s in this business to win games and championships.

And sometimes that means tough decisions have to be made.

Orgeron clearly doesn’t believe that moving forward with Cregg as the Tigers’ offensive line coach is in the best interest of the program. That’s why he made the tough decision to go ahead and make a change.

It’s the type of move that elite coaches make.