by LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
@LonnPhillips
As LSU Odyssey reported since the Kentucky game, Coach Ed Orgeron was made known of his fate a week ago, Athletic Director Scott Woodward telling him he was done, as we reported on our Kentucky Postgame.
Today, Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellinger backed up our reporting by releasing a new report, stating Coach O would be able to finish the 2021 season...but he would not be returning for 2022.
Officially...it's over.
Coach Orgeron's era will effectively end after 6 seasons, from his interim status finishing the 2016/17 season, to the trials of 2017/18, the revitalized vibe & ambition of 2018, and finally the greatest of all time college football team....Coach O's 2019 LSU Tigers....
Even long after the Superdome confetti fell, many believed Coach O would be an untouchable perennial at LSU for years, if not decades to come......."coach for life" tags made sense with Orgeron's LSU.
But less than 2 years after he ushered in the greatest of all time squad, Coach Ed Orgeron leaves in a fiery display of bad decisions, even worse behavior, potential cover-ups, and at the heart of it all, a lost edge that affected his team more than he would have ever expected:
Throughout it all, we saw bad hires (Pelini, Canada, Cregg, Peetz, etc), innovative choices (Brady, Ensminger), the ruining of strong relationships (Aranda, Jenkins, Sullivan).....
We witnessed LSU begin to favor analytics and science more through the vision of Athletic Trainer / Data Machine Jack Marucci, we saw a Head Coach who, rather than get to really know his players, instead leaned on Strength & Conditioning coach Tommy Moffitt "as his spy".
He also coached many of LSU's greatest ever players, Joe Burrow, Devin White, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase, Derek Stingley Jr, Christian LaCouture, Grant Delpit, as well as 2021 superstar Kayshon Boutte, Coach O being the primary recruiter for many of these Tigers. During this time, there were 31 players he recruited (or were recruited under his direct tenure) who've been drafted in the NFL, including 7 first round picks (White, Queen, Clyde, Joe, Justin, Chase, K'Lavon) and a huge chance for three further 1st rounders (Stingley Jr, Boutte, and Eli Ricks).
There's a feeling of sadness with this news.....we all expected to hear it, we all knew it was coming, but hearing that your Head Coach (holding every single advantage in the resources, finances, prestige, and commitment departments) blew it all in less than 2 years, sucks bad....
We wanted Coach Orgeron to be LSU's coach for life....a nonstop success story, all established by an unforgettable championship....a moment we never believed he'd top, but we never thought he'd have to.....Coach O put that impossible task to "recreate 2019" around his own neck and pulled harder with each season that passed until........the pressure was too much.
Now LSU's Tigers have 5 games remaining for Coach Orgeron's legacy, a chance to beat Alabama, Texas A&M, Arkansas and Ole Miss for one last time......
I expect the dark clouds to lift from LSU's program....
I expect the sun to come out...
I don't expect everything to be perfect, nonstop wins and everything returns to normal, but now that these tough decisions have been made, now that our players, the University and its fan-base can see that Scott Woodward knows what he's doing, now that Orgeron's fate has been decided, I believe the Tigers can move forward into a very positive 2022.
Yesterday morning's game vs Florida reminded the entire country just how talented LSU are: without Kayshon Boutte, Derek Stingley Jr, Eli Ricks, Ali Gaye, Chasen Hines, Deion Smith, Myles Brennan, etc, this team kept fighting and not only beat Florida for the third straight year and 2nd in a row with their backs against the wall: they set records while doing it.
Whoever comes in next should have an absolute field day with this unit....
by LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
@LonnPhillips
Copyright 2021 Uninterrupted Writings Inc
SHOUTOUTS: Coach O....thank you Coach.
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