Odds released for LSU head coaching search

Ed Orgeron and LSU agreeing to part ways shook the college football world to its core on Sunday. Now, the Tigers must turn their focus to finding a suitable replacement for their soon-to-be-former coach.

In addition to LSU, the USC Trojans are also looking for the game who will lead them into a new era. As you can see, there’s plenty of competition for the nation’s top options.

Of course, Las Vegas has their opinions on who the favorite for the LSU job is. According a casino, here are the men who have the best odds to be the next LSU Tigers head coach.

• Lane Kiffin 5/2
• Luke Fickell 11/2
• Billy Napier 7/1
• Jimbo Fisher 15/2
• Billy O’Brien 17/2
• Mark Stoops 17/2
• Bob Stoops 9/1
• James Franklin 19/2
• Joe Brady 10/1
• Mel Tucker 12/1
• Dave Aranda 14/1
• Urban Meyer 14/1
• Jon Gruden 100/1

Surprisingly, Lane Kiffin leads the way. While the charismatic coach of Ole Miss seems content with his position, he also has shown in the past that he doesn’t plant his roots for long.

After Kiffin, Luke Fickell is a hot name in both coaching searches. Currently, he has the Cincinnati Bearcats ranked an unprecedented No. 2 in the nation.

Rounding out the top three is Billy Napier, who has been said to be biding his time for a position of LSU’s caliber to open up. Napier has been a revelation at the University of Louisiana, leading the Ragin’ Cajuns to success they’ve never enjoyed before.

Finally, some long-shot names outside the college football world include Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady, Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer and disgraced former Raiders coach Jon Gruden. Of those options, Brady may be the most interesting — he enjoyed tremendous success as an offensive assistant at LSU, but he’s never been a head coach prior.

Report: LSU brass ‘really high’ on Michigan State coach Mel Tucker

The folks in Vegas have him at 12/1, but Michigan State coach Mel Tucker is reportedly a top candidate to replace Ed Orgeron as LSU football coach, according to FOX reporter Bruce Feldman. The Tigers announced Sunday they will part ways with Orgeron, the coach since 2016, at the end of the season.

The news came on the heels of a 49-42 victory for the Tigers against Florida this past week, but negotiations had been in the works before then.

“I am told that there are some very influential people inside LSU who are really, really high on Mel Tucker,” Feldman said. “Mel Tucker was an assistant at LSU on Nick Saban’s staff. He knows the SEC very well. He was at Colorado and now Michigan State. Would he make another move in a short period of time? But this I know: People who are inside LSU who matter are really high on Mel Tucker.”

Tucker is in his second year leading the Spartans and has them at 7-0 and ranked inside the top 10. This year will be the first winning season of his coaching career. He finished 2-5 in his inaugural season with the Spartans and 5-7 in one year at Colorado.