LSU, Scott Woodward issues statement on Ed Oregeron's fate

Early Sunday afternoon, reports surfaced that Ed Orgeron and LSU had reached a separation agreement, and the head coach would not return for the 2022 season, effectively ending his six-year tenure at LSU.

By Sunday night, LSU athletic director Scott Woodward issued a statement confirming the reports. Orgeron has just five regular-season games left in his Tigers head coaching career, and LSU will hold a press conference to take questions at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Woodward’s statement, penned to the “LSU Community,” starts by confirming that Orgeron will not be returning for the 2022 season, “concluding his tenure with the Tigers upon completion of the 2021 season.”

“From my first day as LSU’s Director of Athletics in 2019, Coach O and I have maintained an open and consistent dialogue regarding the state of LSU Football,” Woodward said of his relationship with Orgeron. “His passion and pride for our football team and for our state are unrivaled and undeniable, and, even when faced with this difficult news, he still wants what is best for the Tigers, above all else. I have asked him — and he has agreed — to remain as head coach through the end of the 2021 season, giving our tam the best chance for success and continuing to aid in our recruiting efforts. I know Coach O will continue to give everything he has, as that is what he has always given our university and our state. For that dedication, for the greatest team in college football history in 2019, and for five years of relentless effort on behalf of the LSU tigers, we are forever grateful to Coach O.”

Orgeron boasts a 46-17 record in six seasons at the helm of LSU, and he won a national championship in 2019 — a season in which the Tigers finished 15-0 and put together arguably the greatest season in college football history, as Woodward included in his statement.

21 months after the national championship, the two have agreed to part ways. Since the national championship victory over Clemson, Orgeron’s 9-8 record hardly puts him over .500.

“Ultimately, we have very high standards for all of our sports programs at LSU,” Woodward continued. “And we will stand proudly behind our expectations of competing for SEC and national championships year in and year out. Our last two seasons have simply not met those standards, and based on our on-field results and our evaluation of the potential for immediate success, it is time for a new direction.”

Woodward ends Orgeron’s LSU tenure after skid

Negotiations between Orgeron and LSU began last week, before the Tigers pulled off an unexpected 49-42 upset over No. 20 Florida on Saturday.

“A strained relationship between coach and administration — rooted in team management & public/private behavior — has warped into an untenable situation, distrust & outbursts,” Sports Illustrated’s Dellinger wrote on Twitter.

After going just 5-5 in last year’s COVID-abbreviated season, Orgeron was named in a Title IX lawsuit about allegedly mishandling a rape allegation, igniting conflict off the field at LSU. An amended lawsuit named Orgeron as a defendant in the case, and it accused Orgeron of not reporting the alleged rape of a former student, despite his knowledge of the situation.

“It’s one of those things where no one wanted to be there anymore,” Yahoo! Sports’ Pete Thamel tweeted. “The players didn’t want to play for him, the coaches didn’t want to coach for him.”

LSU is expected to pay Orgeron the entirety of his buyout clause, according to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, which is over $17 million.

Orgeron arrived at LSU in 2015, serving first as the defensive line coach. After the university fired then-head coach Les Miles, Orgeron was named the Tigers interim head coach and finished the season with a 6-2 record. LSU then removed the interim tag from title in November 2016, officially naming Orgeron the 32nd full-time head coach.

Orgeron finished the 2016 season with a Citrus Bowl victory, and in 2017, LSU finished with a 9-4 record and lost in the Citrus Bowl. The Tigers showed signs of improvement in 2018, finishing with a 10-3 record and a Fiesta Bowl victory, but his 2019 national championship campaign saw LSU reach new heights. Led by quarterback Joe Burrow, who won the Heisman Trophy, LSU had its fourth undefeated regular season since the program’s inception in 1893.