Joe Burrow addresses Ed Orgeron’s LSU departure

No two names define LSU’s most recent national championship than Ed Orgeron and Joe Burrow. The coach and quarterback duo led the Tigers on a magical run through college football’s biggest names. However, just two seasons later, the star quarterback was forced to address the unceremonious end of Orgeron’s tenure.

“That’s disappointing to me because he’s really a man that gave me an opportunity when nobody else really was,” Burrow told media members following his 34-11 win with the Cincinnati Bengals. “I wasn’t here without Coach O.”

Joe Burrow transferred from Ohio State to LSU under Ed Orgeron, starting two seasons for the Tigers. After winning the national championship, the breakout quarterback went No. 1 overall in the NFL draft.

“I’m forever indebted to him as a person and as a player and our relationship will continue for the rest of our lives,” said Burrow. “I love the man, I love the coach. They haven’t been winning as many games as I know they’d like but we did just win a national championship two years ago. So that’s disappointing. And I love Coach O and everyone over there, so I hope he’s able to find a place where he feels like he’s welcome.”

More on Ed Orgeron’s exit

Ed Orgeron and LSU reached a separation agreement, according to a report from Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellinger. The head coach will not return for the 2022 season.

Orgeron’s career at LSU will come to a close after this season, but he will finish the 2021 campaign before he is formally dismissed. Orgeron boasts a 46-17 record in six seasons at the helm of LSU. 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.

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

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,” Dellinger wrote on Twitter.

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