Ed Orgeron's idea of relaxation is to keep moving
DESTIN, Fla. – There was a two-hour lunch break Wednesday here at the annual Southeastern Conference spring business meeting before the league’s football coaches reconvened for an afternoon meeting with athletic directors.
Most of the coaches did just that – eat lunch.
But not LSU’s Ed Orgeron. He was headed out the door for a jog in 90-degree plus heat.
The man simply can’t sit still. Gotta keep moving. Gotta burn off the energy.
But there’s also an ease about Orgeron these days.
There’s hint of that in his answers when surrounded by media asking questions.
“Does last year’s Texas A&M game (a seven-overtime LSU loss in College Station riddled with questionable officiating decisions) change the dynamic of the rivalry?”
“No question, it’s going to be one helluva week when they come to Baton Rouge, I promise you that,” Orgeron cracked.
“The (SEC) presidents may vote on approving alcohol sales this week. If it passes, can Tiger Stadium get any louder?”
“Whatever they (the presidents) want, that’s out of my wheelhouse, but Louisiana is going to be Louisiana and I love it for that,” Orgeron said with a hearty laugh.
Maybe Coach O is at peace (well, as much as for a man who gulps energy drinks like water) because his decision to recruit nationally has the Tigers on a torrid pace collecting commitments for the Class of 2020 and beyond.
Maybe it was last year’s 10-win season in the face of the preseason rumors he would be fired.
Maybe it’s he’s finally comfortable where LSU’s offense has evolved in his 34 games as the Tigers’ head coach.
Whatever it is, Orgeron likes where his program is and where it’s headed, and it all started with last year’s 10-3 season capped by a 40-32 Fiesta Bowl win over UCF that propelled LSU to final rankings of No. 6 in the Associated Press and No. 7 in the coaches’ polls.
“I loved seeing that team jell, seeing the graduate transfers Joe Burrow and Cole Tracy come in and make a difference,” Orgeron said. “It (the season) gave us some confidence, it got LSU back on track where we need to be, it helped us in recruiting.”
The Tigers are currently ranked No. 2 in Class of 2020 recruiting, sandwiched between 2018 national champion title game winner and loser Clemson and Alabama respectively.
Then there’s the fact the Tigers’ offense began to break out of its predictable run-heavy mode as last season progressed, putting more and more of the responsibility in the hands of quarterback Burrow, a feisty, tough, underrated playmaker.
And when Orgeron hired offensive whiz kid assistant Joe Brady this past winter, trusting him to infuse the LSU schemes with the Saints’ passing attack and Penn State’s run-pass-option game that Brady learned as staff member with both teams, it finally gave highly-sought high school quarterbacks a reason to consider the Tigers.
“Joe Burrow and Joe Brady have brought a lot of confidence to our offensive players,” Orgeron said. “When the recruits visit, they hear that and see the things happening in our spread offense. They see the things they can do already in our offense. We will have Myles Brennan back, but they (the commitments) know there’s an open door to start when Joe leaves (after this season).
LSU has two four-star QB commitments in the Class of 2020, T.J. Finley of Ponchatoula High and Max Johnson of Watkinsville, Ga.
“We finally got the answer we wanted, it’s taken me several years to get it,” Orgeron said of finding an offensive scheme that combines the best of today’s spread attacks of getting the ball to athletes in space and the yesteryear power running game. “(Offensive coordinator) Steve Ensminger has done a tremendous job and Joe Brady has been a big-time help. We also had the Penn State offensive coordinator come talk to us last week.”
Also, Orgeron, while certainly not ignoring in-state talent, has made a concerted effort to recruit nationally. Eleven of LSU’s Class of 2020 commitments are out-of-staters from coast-to-coast, from California five-star defensive back Elias Ricks (ranked No. 4 overall nationally by Rivals) to Washington, D.C. wide receiver Rakim Jarrett (No. 15 overall nationally by Rivals).
“Louisiana is always going to be our priority, but it was a down year (in-state talent in the Class of 2020),” Orgeron said. “Then, there were a couple of players out-of-state who approached us and wanted to come. They committed us and helped us recruit. This recruiting class we have right now is recruiting itself. These guys are talking with each other and they want to come to the SEC.”
Orgeron said January was the first time he had visited a California high school since he coached at USC in 2013.
“I used laugh at recruiters from Louisiana when I was coaching in California and they were out there recruiting,” Orgeron said. “I’d say, `What, are you coming to the beach?’ ”
It also helped in March when Orgeron received a two-year contract extension through 2023, something much needed to prove to recruits there is stability in Baton Rouge.
“We got a contract extension and I have a little time to take the next step,” Orgeron said.
Once upon a time after he was fired by Ole Miss as head coach in 2007 and after USC failed to hire him as head coach after the ’13 season when he went 6-2 as interim coach, Orgeron sweated job security.
But in 2014, the year he was out of coaching before former LSU head coach Les Miles hired Orgeron as defensive line coach in 2015, his attitude changed.
Call it maturity, or a revelation, or simply having plenty of time to ponder.
“That year I was off, I forgot all the little things I worried about,” Orgeron said. “You know what I missed? I missed the practice, I missed the competition, I missed the adversity, I missed being with our team. I realized those are the things that count.
I said to myself, `When I go back in coaching, I’m not going to worry about job security and all that other stuff. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen. Just do the things I can control.’
“I’ve been a much happier coach since I took that year off. Because I know what it’s like to be without football.”