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The LSU Tigers are already looking for their next head football coach after firing Brian Kelly, and a former Death Valley sideline leader put his name in the hat for a potential reunion.
Ed Orgeron has a national championship ring with the Tigers, and he said in a recent interview that he would love to wear the purple and gold again.
“Are you kidding me? I’m a phone call away,” he told Unsportsmanlike Radio on Wednesday. “I just need 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 win against the Clemson Tigers in the College Football Playoff national championship game in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. (Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports)
Orgeron led the Tigers from 2016-21, when his star-studded 2019 squad, which featured 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 he was fired after a 5-5 campaign in 2020 followed by a 6-6 record in 2021.
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The Louisiana native is staying in the state, which is why he said he just needs to pack up his truck to come down to Baton Rouge. But if he’s not the choice, Orgeron said the next head coach needs to become one with the unique Tigers community.
“When they meet with the candidate, is that the person who can handle the pressure of LSU and embrace the state of Louisiana?” Orgeron said in the interview. “I think that’s one of the things, whether it’s true or not, it looked from the outside that Brian Kelly never embraced the state of Louisiana. And when you get those guys on your side, it’s very powerful.”
While he might want to return, Orgeron hasn’t been a head coach since that 2021 campaign. Instead, others still leading programs elsewhere are among the first 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 November 27, 2021. (John Korduner/Icon Sportswire)
Among them is Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, whom Orgeron knows 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 the head coach at Tennessee, and when USC came after the former the next season, the latter followed him out to sunny California.
If Kiffin is headed to Baton Rogue, Orgeron said he wouldn’t mind working with him again.
“I still have my home in Baton Rouge. I loved coaching with coach (Les) Miles as the defensive line coach. I love the Tigers,” Orgeron said. “And I’m going back to training. I would definitely consider it. No 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 took out the Tigers earlier this season, 24-19.
Former college football coach Ed Orgeron cheers in support of Team United States ahead of 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 deal to become LSU’s head coach after a successful career with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
