Never has a college football coach been subjected to the wrath and hot seat suggestions based on on-field results quicker than Ed Orgeron.
The day after LSU was pummeled by Mississippi State — just their third loss to the Bulldogs since 1992 — Clay Travis of Outkick the Coverage wrote, "What this loss does, to me, is it puts Coach O. on the hot seat."
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Travis wasn't the only one. Yours truly wondered — internally thankfully — if Orgeron would last only one season in Baton Rouge. Then common sense took over and said there's no chance they bail on the 56-year-old Louisianian and subject themselves to another buyout, this one in excess of $12 million.
Nonetheless, the optimism wasn't flowing. Heck, they committed nine penalties and had 270 total yards in a loss to a mediocre team. It was followed by a near-collapse vs. Syracuse and manhandling at the hands of Troy.
Five games and the angry mob was marching down Powerhouse Lane.
Five. Games.
Though Orgeron was part of the Les Miles regime — defensive line coach 2015-16 and interim head coach the final eight games of 2016 — he is not an extension of Miles. He deserves hit own shot. He deserves his own staff, in-game calls and personnel decisions. None of those things can be implemented or evaluated in five games.
Following the embarrassing home loss to Troy, the Tigers beat Florida in Gainesville and shocked playoff contender Auburn at home. They control their own SEC destiny.
LSU may finish 10-2 or 5-7. Whatever the final win tally is, we still owe Orgeron an apology. He isn't Butch Jones, who deserves to be fired after repeated failures with elite talent.
He deserves more than five games at his "dream job" to prove he can win.
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