It's not often that a college football coach is fired after one season for performance-based reasons. If Ed Orgeron joins the small group, he'd be a very rich man, thanks to an eight-figure buyout.
Orgeron was born and raised in Louisiana and played one season at LSU. He spent three of his first 11 coaching seasons in his home state before leaving in 1995 for Syracuse (defensive line coach) and not returning for two decades. In January 2015, following five more stops, Les Miles offered him a return to Louisiana as the Tigers' defensive line coach.
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Miles was fired last September and Orgeron was named interim coach. LSU stripped the interim tag in November and named him permanent head coach, his dream job.
"Growing up in the state of Louisiana, watching the Tigers play, we get it," he said at his introductory press conference last November. "We understand what you gave to us, the accountability we have to the state of Louisiana, to LSU and everybody that’s played here before."
While the passion, appreciation and love for LSU football is undeniable and admirable, his 2017 record is also undeniable. They were slaughtered at home by Mississippi State and as of this writing were trailing Troy 17-0 in the third quarter.
Five games as permanent head coach is not a sample size. It's hardly a couple droplets of warmup sweat. Still, LSU is not supposed to lose at home to Mississippi State — by 30! — and home and by God they do not lose to a Sun Belt school at home, even if Troy is a legitimate New Year's Six contender.
If LSU doesn't think Orgeron is the right man and fires him after the season, they owe him a buyout of $12 million. The eight-figure buyout is part of his five-year contract worth $3.5 million per year.
They already owe Miles $9 million over six years, meaning they'd be paying two ex-coaches $21 million and a new head coach $3-4 million per season. That brings their annual total to roughly $6.5-7 million.
Don't bet on Ed Orgeron getting fired, regardless of what happens this season.
