LSU Football: Why breaking up with Ed Orgeron won’t be easy for Tigers

Ed Orgeron’s days as LSU football‘s head coach are likely numbered.

The Tigers are 3-2 this season with losses to UCLA and Auburn — two games that LSU should’ve won.

Orgeron is now 8-7 since leading LSU to a national title.

Mediocre is the only way to describe the Tigers’ performance since going 15-0 with a loaded roster in 2019.

And it’s possibly going to get worse this season.

LSU’s upcoming schedule is extremely tough. The Tigers’ next five games are against Kentucky, Florida, Ole Miss, Alabama, and Arkansas (there’s a bye week between Ole Miss and Alabama).

It’s certainly possible that LSU could go 0-5 during that stretch, which would mean the first losing season in Baton Rouge since 1999. If that happens, Orgeron will undoubtedly be out the door.

Even a 7-5 record may not be enough for Orgeron to save his job.

Breaking up with Ed Orgeron won’t be easy for LSU football

Firing Orgeron will be the right move for LSU — unless there’s a dramatic turnaround this season and LSU finishes the regular season with a 9-3 record.

But that doesn’t mean it will be easy.

Orgeron has been a great story at LSU. He’s a Louisiana native who played (briefly) for the Tigers. He’s a coach who’s been through a lot — pushed out the door at Miami after dealing with alcohol problems, fired at Ole Miss, passed over at USC.

Despite the obstacles, though, Orgeron managed to land his dream job at LSU. And after a rough start (the loss to Troy in 2017 was a low moment for the program), Coach O managed to lead the Tigers to one of the greatest college football seasons ever in 2019.

At that point, it felt like Orgeron had cemented himself as an elite head coach. He received a rich contract extension and LSU was the hottest program in the country.

But that all came crashing down in 2020. A mediocre 5-5 season, which included surprising losses to Mississippi State and Missouri, brought LSU back to earth. Throw in a Title IX investigation (in which Orgeron is a defendant) and a 3-2 start to the 2021 season and it’s easy to see why Orgeron won’t be the coach at LSU much longer.

Having to fire Orgeron — a Cajun who embodies the spirit of LSU football — is not where we thought the program would be in 2021. It felt like Orgeron had figured out how to make LSU an annual playoff contender. I admit that I didn’t see this coming when the Tigers extended Coach O in early 2020.

It’s tough to possibly see someone go who loves LSU so much.

Orgeron has plenty of flaws. There are a lot of things he could do differently. But his love for the Tigers is undeniable. This isn’t firing Les Miles — a Michigan grad from Ohio. It’s not losing Nick Saban — someone who landed the LSU job when the program was at a low point.

This is losing a member of the LSU family. And it’s not going to be easy.