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The LSU Tigers are already searching for their next head football coach after firing Brian Kelly, and a former bench leader in Death Valley put his name in the hat for a possible reunion.
Ed Orgeron has a national championship ring with the Tigers and said in a recent interview that he would love to put on the purple and gold again.
“Are you kidding me? I’m just a phone call away,” he told Unsportsmanlike Radio on Wednesday. “I just have to get in my truck, I could be there today.”
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Then-LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron talks with quarterback Joe Burrow after a victory against the Clemson Tigers in the College Football Playoff national championship at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. (Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports)
Orgeron led the Tigers from 2016 to 2021, when his star-studded 2019 team, which included players like quarterback Joe Burrow and receivers Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase, won the national championship with a perfect 15-0 record.
Orgeron went 51-20 during his six seasons at LSU, but was ousted after a 5-5 campaign in 2020 followed by a 6-6 record in 2021.
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The Louisiana native remains in the state, so he said he would have to pack up his truck to get to Baton Rouge. But if he’s not the option, Orgeron said the next head coach must become one with the Tigers’ unique community.
“When you meet with the candidate, is this the person who can handle the pressures of LSU and embrace the state of Louisiana?” Orgeron said in the interview. “I think that’s one of the things, whether true or not, that from the outside it seemed like Brian Kelly never accepted the state of Louisiana. And when you have those guys on your side, it’s very powerful.”
While he may want to return, Orgeron has not been a head coach since that 2021 campaign. Instead, others still leading programs elsewhere are among the early candidates reportedly linked to the Tigers.
LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron during a game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Nov. 27, 2021. (John Korduner/Sportswire Icon)
Among them is Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, whom Orgeron knows quite well from their time together as assistants to the legendary Pete Carroll at USC in the early 2000s. Kiffin also hired Orgeron as an assistant when he was head coach at Tennessee, and when USC called up the former the next season, the latter followed him to sunny California.
Now, if Kiffin heads to Baton Rouge, Orgeron said he wouldn’t be opposed to working with him once again.
“I still make my home in Baton Rouge. I loved it when I coached with Coach (Les) Miles being the defensive line coach. I love the Tigers,” Orgeron said. “And I’m going to get back into training. I’d definitely consider it. Without a doubt.”
Kelly was fired after losing to No. 3 Texas A&M, 49-25, marking back-to-back losses to ranked opponents. No. 9 Vanderbilt defeated LSU the week before, and Kiffin’s Rebels defeated the Tigers earlier this season, 24-19.
Former college football coach Ed Orgeron cheers in support of Team USA before the 2025 Ryder Cup on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park Golf Course on September 23, 2025, in Farmingdale, New York. (Michael Reaves/PGA of America/PGA of America via Getty Images)
Kelly was 34-14 with the Tigers over four seasons. He signed a 10-year, $100 million contract to become LSU’s head coach after a successful career with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
