Pete Thamel: With Ed Orgeron on hot seat, watch out for these two options

LSU is now 3-2 on the season after losing 24-19 to Auburn in Week 5. The Tigers’ other loss this season came on opening weekend against UCLA. With LSU struggling and playing inconsistent football, some believe that head coach Ed Orgeron could be on the hot seat. Yahoo’s Pete Thamel is one person that believes Orgeron is on the hot seat, and went as far to name two possible replacements if he is fired.

Thamel notes that LSU athletic director Scott Woodward is not afraid to throw money around to make moves if he thinks it will results in wins. And if Woodward was to make a change in replacing Orgeron as LSU’s coach, he would chase some big names as the replacement.

“Woodward’s refined taste transcends to his coaching hires,” Thamel said. “Price doesn’t matter. Experience, wins and buzzy news conferences are his flavors. If there’s a problem, Woodward won’t flinch at throwing money at it.”

Thamel names two possible replacements if LSU moved on

If Orgeron is ultimately let go by LSU, Thamel says that Penn State coach James Franklin and Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin will be at the top of Woodward’s wish list.

“Franklin had a star turn in the SEC, breathing life into Vanderbilt after a century of bad football,” Thamel said. “He’s also going to be atop USC’s wish list, and there could be hours of calls into ‘The Paul Finebaum Show’ about which is a better job.

“Kiffin in Baton Rouge would be a fascinating stage for his offense and penchant for popcorn-popping antics. Whiel LSU fans may cringe at some of the tweets and narcissism, they’ve also cringed at a lot of neanderthal offenses the past 15 years. Kiffin may bring baggage, but his teams can snap the ball and are fun to watch.”

Franklin has Penn State off to a 5-0 start this season, and the Nittany Lions are currently sitting fourth in the AP top 25 poll. Ole Miss is 4-1 under Kiffin this year after Week 5’s loss to Alabama.

Paul Finebaum questioned LSU’s stability under Orgeron

After LSU’s loss to UCLA in Week 1, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum questioned LSU’s stability under Orgeron. While it was early in the season, Finebaum said that the fact that Coach Orgeron is already being questioned is very telling at the public view of LSU’s program under him.

“We’ve seen this before at LSU just a couple of years ago. But I don’t think we’re there yet,” Finebaum said. “And I think we also have to be mindful and considerate of the circumstances. … If you’ve got players in Game 1 on national television who are already thinking about getting out of there and making sure they’re available for the pros, and we’re talking about their best player, that trickles down.

“That permeates the atmosphere, and that was a problem before last season. I think Orgeron finally salvaged the season the final two weeks. And by no means am I writing this season off. But the fact that Greg McElroy asked the question on Labor Day morning is I think indicative in how little faith we have in stability at LSU.”