Ed Orgeron releases statement on end of season departure from LSU

LSU head coach Ed Orgeron has released a statement regarding his split with the program after the 2021 season. LSU shared the statement via Twitter ahead of a 7 p.m. CT press conference with Tigers’ athletics director Scott Woodward.

“Dear Tiger Nation, five years ago, I fulfilled a lifelong dream and returned to LSU to lead the Tigers into Death Valley,” Orgeron wrote. “I have loved LSU since I first touched a football in Lafourche Parish in the late 1960s. I loved the Tigers when I enrolled as a freshman defensive lineman in 1997. I loved the Tigers when I left to continue my playing career elsewhere, and I loved them every step of my professional journey–even from far away–as my career took me across America until I returned 35 years later.

“My love for LSU has only strengthened over the past five years. All I wanted to do when I accepted the position as head coach in 2016 was to build a championship program and make the state of Louisiana proud. With the hard work and support of talented players, loyal assistants, dedicated staff and the most passionate fans in college football, we did just that in 2019.”

Orgeron continued.

“I have always understood the expectations at LSU, and they are the same expectations I have for myself and our staff. I am disappointed that we have not met these expectations over the past two years. Thank you to the entire LSU family for the opportunity to coach one of the greatest college football teams of all time. I’ll continue to fight, as will our team, throughout the rest of the season.”

LSU AD Scott Woodard also released a statement ahead of the Sunday evening press conference.

Ed Orgeron done at LSU

Ed Orgeron boasts a 46-17 record in six seasons at the helm of LSU and one national title. Twenty-one months after that title, however, the two parties have agreed to part ways. Since the national championship victory over Clemson, Orgeron’s 9-8 record hardly puts him over .500.

LSU and Orgeron reportedly opened buyout negotiations before Saturday’s upset win over Florida, meaning last week’s loss to Kentucky was the final straw. LSU lost that game, 42-21, and never stood a chance against the Wildcats.

Ed 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. LSU finished the season with a 6-2 record.

LSU removed the interim tag from his title in November 2016, officially naming Orgeron the 32nd full-time head coach.

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