Ed Orgeron: 'The pressure has been let out of the tank'

Ed Orgeron feels like there is far-less pressure for the remainder of 2021 since the news was announced the LSU Tigers coach would step away from the program following the season.

“First of all I have been an interim coach already, so I feel like the pressure has been let out of the tank,” Orgeron said in his weekly press conference.

“I think everyone was hearing all the stuff before and now it’s done,” the LSU head coach continued. “Now that’s done and we can just concentrate on going out and playing football. I think we are going to play a lot freer, I think we are going to have some great practices. Our guys want to beat Ole Miss.”

Lane Kiffin on Ed Orgeron LSU announcement

Ahead of Saturday’s matchup between Ole Miss and LSU, Lane Kiffin was asked about the announcement that Orgeron will step away as the Tigers coach following the end of this season.

Kiffin said Monday he was shocked to hear the news that Orgeron and LSU had mutually agreed to part ways.

In particular, he was surprised that it came on the heels of a 49-42 victory against the Florida Gators in Week 7.

“I don’t know the details of everything that went on,” Kiffin said. “Obviously he did a great job there winning a national championship. So I’m not really sure what happened here as of late. It’s crazy. They just beat a really good Florida team and I’m sure not a lot of people gave them a chance after the Kentucky game. It shows that they have great players and can play really well. They did that.”

Since winning the national title in 2019, Ed Orgeron owns a 9-8 record. He is still an impressive 49-17 overall since taking over LSU in 2016. That includes a win in the Fiesta Bowl during the 2018 season.

Kiffin said Monday that the news that the coach is out at LSU is yet another example of how today’s coaching climate is more volatile than it’s ever been.

“It’s the profession we’ve always been in but now more than ever its not, ‘What have you done last year?’” Kiffin said. “Literally it’s, ‘What have you done Saturday?’ I just had this conversation with another head coach who’s struggling a little bit. I said, ‘Every Sunday you’re either a good or bad coach based off of that Saturday.’ When I see a thing on SEC Network when I walk by and someone’s talking bad about (Nick) Saban after the A&M game as a coach, that just shows you where we’re at.”

Kiffin himself has been a victim of that same mentality. The coach was fired from USC midseason in 2013 following a blowout loss to Arizona State. He then spent a couple years at Alabama before re-entering the head coaching ranks at Florida Atlantic in 2017.

Unlike Ed Orgeron, Lane Kiffin had to leave immediately and did not get to finish out the year as coach.