The 5 coaches LSU Football could pursue if Ed Orgeron is fired after 2021
By Zach Ragan
If LSU football doesn’t win at least nine games in 2021, there’s a good chance that Ed Orgeron’s job will be in serious jeopardy.
Winning a national championship gave Ed Orgeron some equity with the program.
Orgeron, however, has almost burned through all of that equity by going 5-6 since the Tigers beat Clemson in the national championship in early 2020.
When you combine the poor on-field product the last two years with the off-the-field issues under Orgeron, it’s easy to see how LSU could choose to make a change this off-season.
Especially since LSU athletic director Scott Woodward wasn’t the man who hired Orgeron. We often see athletic directors want to bring “their own guy” in to lead a program.
So who are some names that Woodward and LSU could consider if a change is made?
The LSU job is one of the best jobs in the country. It’s easily a top-five job with an elite in-state talent pool that allows the Tigers to routinely land the top recruiting classes in the nation. There will be a lot of coaches extremely interested in taking this job if a change is made.
Here are five coaches that I think LSU would strongly consider. Some are long shots. Some make perfect sense. All would do well in Baton Rouge.
Billy Napier — Louisiana head coach
This is the name that will be instantly mentioned if Orgeron is fired.
Napier makes a ton of sense for LSU. He has experience under Dabo Swinney and Nick Saban. And he’s served as an offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, wide receivers coach, and tight ends coach, which means he has plenty of experience on the offensive side of the ball.
The Tennessee native, who grew up in Georgia, has done a tremendous job as the head coach at Louisiana. In Napier’s first three seasons, the Ragin Cajuns have gone 28-11, including an 11 win season in 2019 and a 10 win season in 2020.
Napier obviously has existing recruiting connections in Louisiana, so there wouldn’t be a big adjustment process in that area.
This wouldn’t necessarily be a “big name” hire for LSU, but it might be the most likely hire to happen if a change is made.