LSU Football: Tigers senior comments on Ed Orgeron’s job status

LSU football senior offensive lineman Liam Shanahan isn’t concerned about Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron’s job status.

Shanahan, who transferred to LSU from Harvard before the 2020 season, knows the season has started poorly for the Tigers, but he also understands that Orgeron’s future at LSU is out of his hands.

Instead, Shanahan is focused on one thing — winning games.

Here’s what Shanahan had to say this week about Orgeron’s job status (via 247Sports):

"“I’m not even thinking about that (Orgeron’s job status) at all. That’s not anything that I can control or any of my teammates can control. What we’re focused on every week is just preparing for our opponent, which this week is Florida. It’s going to be a big game for us. Obviously, it’s been a tough start to the year for us.”"

Is Ed Orgeron’s job status a distraction for LSU football players?

Shanahan said all the right things this week when he was asked about Orgeron’s job status.

But I find it hard to believe that Coach O’s future — the elephant in the room — isn’t a distraction for the Tigers.

Even Orgeron knows at this point that he’s unlikely to return to LSU next season.

Players know that the program is about to go through a major transition. And I think they know that Orgeron’s firing could come at any time.

It has to be hard to prepare for Florida — or any other SEC team — with a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the program.

Deciding when to move on from a head coach is a tough decision for an athletic director. But when everyone knows a coaching change is inevitable, maybe it’s best for the program to just go ahead and make the move. That way the players can focus on playing for the interim head coach the rest of the season.

Avoiding a losing season and reaching a bowl game is still possible for LSU.

What gives the program the best chance to achieve that goal? Orgeron or an interim?

Athletic director Scott Woodward needs to quickly decide, before a bowl game — which is important for the future of the program — is out of reach.