Ed Orgeron explains his approach to dealing with the transfer portal, NIL

Ed Orgeron might be taking this season off from coaching after parting ways with his beloved LSU Tigers to end the 2021 season, but that has not stopped him from making appearances this offseason.

As a guest on the XL Primetime Radio Show, the former Tigers headman gave his perspective and his approach on dealing with the transfer portal and NIL deals for players.

Orgeron started off by addressing how he would handle the transfer portal. And let’s just say the former LSU head coach had no time for a player straddling the fence.

“Two different things. Listen, man, if they’re thinking about the transport portal, go. We don’t need nobody half in over here. Just go. What are we gonna do? We’re gonna baby you? Go. You gotta go. Alright, that’s number one,” said Orgeron.

As far as the rise in NIL deals goes for players, Coach O is not opposed to them. However, he would prefer his players to focus on the better likely source of income.

“Number two, the NIL, here’s what I told our players; I want y’all to get paid,” he said. “But think about this: I don’t think there’s any company that’s going to pay you the amount of money that if you stay here, you work, you win a championship, and you the first player picked like Joe Burrow. And look how much money he signed (for). What Joe’s gonna sign for like $500 million. I don’t think there’s any NIL deal that’s going to do that for you. So, if you focus on the right things, and if you get a little money on the side, I think it’s good.”

Orgeron on Brian Kelly and expectations at LSU

Orgeron also addressed the expectations and the standard for new Tigers head coach Brian Kelly. Coach O led the Tigers to the national championship back in their 2019 season. However, since that historic season, LSU had been a .500 team under his command. And that subpar performance on the field played a significant part in him and LSU parting ways at the end of last season.

“Well, you know, I don’t know what they’ve discussed but I know that’s the expectation there at LSU. They want it and they want it now,” said Orgeron. “But you know what, you outta be able to do it at LSU. And you know, they gave me three years, which was very fair. They gave me the time to build our football team and look what happened. This is a great state, Louisiana. As you guys know, it’s not like Florida State. FSU, Florida, and Miami fight for the top players. It’s LSU, you should get the top players here. They got a great tradition, so you should be able to win the national championship game. Now you don’t win it every year, but you should be able to win it, you know, in three years. You should be able to do it.”

As Orgeron pointed out, expectations at LSU are undoubtedly high. The Tigers are expected to compete year-in and year-out for the crown of the best team in college football. And that expectation it’s unlikely to change with Kelly. LSU paid big money to swipe Kelly from the Notre Dame fighting Irish. And with that kind of money dished out, the Tigers are definitely looking for an instant return on their investment.