Paul Finebaum predicts what's next for LSU head coach Ed Orgeron
ESPN’s Matt Barrie and Paul Finebaum were bantering back and forth about what they thought would be in LSU head coach Ed Orgeron’s future on the ESPN College Football Podcast recently.
Barrie mentioned that he thought Louisiana-Lafayette head coach Billy Napier was going to take another job this off-season, since his team is full of seniors. Then, Barrie said that he thought Ed Orgeron would take over at Louisiana-Lafayette so he wouldn’t have to leave the state.
Paul Finebaum chimed in, “I can buy that,” he said. “He would be great.” Then he added a little bit later in the podcast, “What a great coach he’ll be at Louisiana Lafayette.”
Even amidst a very tumultuous season for LSU football, Orgeron somehow got his players fired up for the LSU-Alabama game. That game will perhaps be his best accomplishment of the 2021 season. LSU not only battled Alabama, they battled them until the very end and played incredibly inspired football in a 20-14 loss.
His players already knew Orgeron wasn’t going to be the coach at the end of the season. The Tigers have been ravaged by injuries all season long during the 2021 season, including star receiver Kayshon Boutte.
The Tigers had one of the best playcalls of the entire college football season, when they went for a fake punt pass against the Crimson Tide. Credit to Orgeron. He was coaching like a coach who had nothing to lose and truly he did have nothing to lose. He was already getting his $16.95 million buyout to walk away from LSU at the end of the season.
It was just a beautifully executed playcall for a number of reasons. One, it was a unique fake punt pass because the punter ran straight at the line of scrimmage and two, to incorporate the jump pass in there is just genius.
Orgeron at Louisiana Lafayette?
It doesn’t seem like that much of a stretch, especially since Orgeron is a Louisiana native and would fit in well with the Ragin Cajuns. Napier has been mentioned for a number of jobs in the off-season and it’s hard to see him staying at Louisiana-Lafayette forever. Regardless, Orgeron will be getting paid over $16 million to walk away and do nothing. He won’t be struggling financially anytime soon. Truly, he gets to do whatever he wants.
LSU will get a chance to become bowl eligible on Saturday night when they face off against the Texas A&M Aggies. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 PM EST from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.