ED ORGERON
LSU FOOTBALL COACH
LSU football coach Ed Orgeron may have more eyes focused on him than any other person in Louisiana this year.
After taking over in an interim role in September, he went 5-2 in seven games for the 2016 season. But now that the job is his, the real test begins.
Orgeron will have more than his fair share of supporters, but with that comes plenty of critics as well. He’ll have to handle the marquee victories just as well as the heartbreaking defeats. But no one is more prepared to face it all than Coach O.
“Growing up in the state of Louisiana, watching the Tigers play, we get it,” says the Larose native. “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. We’re going to get to work.”
Since taking over, Orgeron has already hit the ground running, changing some program philosophies, making adjustments to the coaching staff and visiting with recruits.
There will be plenty more changes to come before the official start to the Orgeron era on Sept. 2, 2017, and every move will be under the watchful supervision of Tiger Nation. lsusports.net
Click the thumbnails below to enlarge each photo in the gallery:
On landing his dream job:
“This is a place I always wanted to be at. … Driving past the stadium, I just wanted to be an assistant coach here. I just wanted to have my feet on the grass. But I knew once I got here, I could earn my way up to being the head coach.”
On his recruiting philosophy:
“We’re starting off with Louisiana first. Then we’re going to go outside our borders to get potential first-round draft picks. Mainly going to stay in the South. If there’s a person of interest from the Northeast or California, we will go there. We know we’re going to stay along the I-10 corridor and get after it as much as we can. But LSU will always be Louisiana first.”
On how quickly LSU can win an SEC Championship:
“I believe that we can compete for it very fast. Now that I’ve been given full reign in the future, and I have a vision, there’s certain pieces of the puzzle that have to come together. … Once they come together, off we go.”
HOW TO:
Prepare your team for a big game
1. Tell the Truth Monday: Go over film from the previous game and give honest evaluations.
2. Competition Tuesday: The first-team offense against the first-team defense. Earn that starting spot.
3. No Turnover Wednesday: Don’t turn the ball over.
4. No-Repeat Thursday: Run your plays to perfection the first time.
5. Focus Friday: Just 24 hours from gameday. Study the gameplan. No distractions.
6. Saturday—One Team, One Heartbeat: If each individual plays their role, the team wins.
This article was originally published in the January 2017 issue of 225 Magazine.
