It appears LSU finally said enough is enough to Jimbo Fisher and Tom Herman and did what was right for the Tigers program by hiring someone who dreamed of coaching at LSU.
If Fisher was a player for the Tigers head coaching job, then he was just playing. He did that a year ago and left LSU high and dry on the Saturday it was going to fire Les Miles.
There are a couple of stories out there that would indicate Fisher was never leaving FSU. First, he allegedly demanded Nick Saban kind of money and even in the inflated (bad business model) world of coaching, no one coaching today has accomplished what the Alabama head coach has. The second story is that his son, Ethan, suffers from Fanconi anemia and has a great doctor in Tallahassee.
As for Herman, who was definitely the flavor of the year, when his agent told LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva that they were going to talk to Texas, Alleva decided to go with his gut and not get into a bidding war for the sexy name and took his offer off the table.
The Ed Orgeron who was introduced as LSU's new coach is not the old Ole Miss coach, at least not mentally or emotionally.
Long gone are the days when Orgeron was known more for his antics away from football than he was for coaching and teaching the game.
The guy who showed up loud and proud in Oxford, challenging anyone and everyone, learned a valuable lesson after he was fired -- not all kids can be treated like defensive tackles. When you have a whole team to be concerned with, you have to push a lot of different buttons.
Same with assistants.
There was a story about Orgeron assistants at Ole Miss finding a way to drive circles around The Square and insulting some alumni.
Now Orgeron, who obviously used his two months to lay out a well-organized plan of where he wanted to take LSU, is looking to hire the best coaches he can -- he's already re-signed defensive coordinator Dave Aranda -- and that might include another coach who blew early opportunities to be a head coach, Lane Kiffin.
Kiffin spent a year at Tennessee, where he hired Orgeron, before jumping to Southern Cal, where he again hired Orgeron, before he was summarily fired.
Saban bailed out Kiffin's coaching career, and the offensive coordinator is leading Alabama back to the College Football Playoff -- regardless of what Saban says could happen if the Tide somehow found a way to lose to Florida, which would be almost as big of an upset as Arkansas losing to Missouri.
Word is Kiffin is ready to move on, and while he should be a solid candidate to replace Herman at Houston, the most likely next move is to Baton Rouge where he could continue to rehab his reputation and prepare for being a more mature head coach the next time that door opens.
What is obvious is Orgeron was impressive in his interview with Alleva and others. Organizational skills seem to be the buzz phrase, as it was with Miles, but for the opposite reason.
Of course, it seemed Orgeron had shot his foot off when LSU lost to Florida, but apparently the big, exciting wins over Arkansas, Ole Miss and Texas A&M -- and perhaps the narrow loss to Alabama 10-0, which was one of the closest contests the Tide have had all season -- weighed more heavily.
Orgeron may not have been the first choice, but given his growth the past decade, and his ability to recruit, motivate and manage a clock, he has a chance to prove he was the best choice.
Sports on 11/30/2016