For the rest of the 2016 season, Ed Orgeron will be the head coach of LSU, hoping to land the job on a permanent basis when the season is over. However, the rumor mill is relentless, suggesting almost half the coaches in power 5 conferences, including untouchable guys like Urban Meyer and Nick Saban. We’re here to point out the more reasonable candidates.
Les Miles was fired into his 12th season with the team, after failing to make a BCS or New Year’s day bowl in four years, winning only nine SEC games over the last two seasons, and failing to beat Alabama since 2011. Orgeron, the defensive line coach, stepped up to take the job, but despite his head coaching experience and his connection to the state, very few see him as a possible candidate to lead the Tigers a few more years from now.
Trendier names like Tom Herman (way on top of the list) seem to be drowning Orgeron’s candidacy, but at this point, it really is impossible to tell who LSU will hire, and we probably won’t know until much later in the season, maybe even after it’s over.
Image: Source
The Candidates:
Ed Orgeron – Oregon was terrible as the Ole Miss head coach from 2005 to 2007, going 10-25. However, when he replaced Lane Kiffin at USC in 2013, they went 6-2 under him, and might be regretting not hiring him to this day.
Tom Herman – The hot name on everyone’s mind. He is 17-1 as a head coach with the Cougars, and his offensive knowledge is what makes him so enticing to the Tigers, who fired Miles partially because of his stagnating passing game.
Art Briles – Hard to say. Currently unemployed, but the stink from the Baylor mess is still all over him, so it might take more time until someone actually hires him, but unless more incriminating evidence comes forth, I do think he’ll land a job in the FBS this year or the next.
Mark Dantonio – If Dantonio feels he’s achieved all that he can with the Spartans, this might be an interesting option. He’s won the Big Ten three times since 2010, and his teams have won 11 games or more five times over the last six seasons. He’s worked almost his entire career in Big Ten territory.
Larry Fedora – Another interesting option, but it’ll depend on how well he does with North Carolina this season. He went bowling four times with Southern Miss, and despite the long road to success with the Tar Heels, going 11-3 last season and his offensive mind has put him on the Tigers radar.
Bobby Petrino – If Petrino knows what’s good for him, he should stay in Louisville, where he has always done a tremendous job. However, any SEC West job is an option for him. He did extremely well with Arkansas, including two 10+ win seasons, and finishing #5 in 2011 after winning the Cotton Bowl.
Jeff Brohm – Brohm, who is actually from Louisville, took Western Kentucky to a bowl game twice, including going 12-2 last season. He won’t stay with the Hilltoppers for long, but the backup NFL quarterback might be a bit of a reach for LSU unless he has another good season to show on his CV.
Dan Mullen – He’s reportedly been interviewing for big jobs when they become available. THe Mississippi State head coach took the Bulldogs to 10 wins in 2014 and 9 wins in 2015. If he can do well without Dak Prescott this season (go bowling I guess), LSU might set their sights on him, liking his familiarity with the SEC too.
Willie Taggart – The USF coach isn’t going to stay without a P5 job for long. He’s from Florida. He did a good job with Western Kentucky, and has done an excellent job of rebuilding the South Florida Bulls, so far off to a 3-1 start this season after going 8-5 last season.
0 comments:
Post a Comment