LSU coaching search: What we’re hearing and things to consider

LSU moving on from Ed Orgeron had become such a foregone conclusion — a matter of “when, not if” — that a number of On3’s conversations with coaching industry sources in recent weeks included discussion about the coaches most likely to be considered as Orgeron’s replacement.

Now that the job is officially open, let’s take a look at some of the potential candidates. Here are four whom industry sources expected to receive consideration for the job even before Orgeron officially was let go.

LSU athletic director Scott Woodward’s previous three football hires have all been splashy (Steve Sarkisian and Chris Petersen at Washington and Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M). Woodward already has made two huge hires at LSU this year. He pulled off a coup in women’s basketball, hiring national championship-winning coach Kim Mulkey away from Baylor. He also hired Jay Johnson away from Arizona to coach the baseball team; Johnson was the Pac-12 coach of the year in 2021 after leading the Wildcats to the College World Series.

Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher
The buzz: In addition to being hired by Woodward at A&M, Fisher also has ties to LSU. Fisher, 56, was the Tigers’ offensive coordinator from 2000-06 under Nick Saban and Les Miles, including as the OC for Saban’s 2003 national championship team. Fisher won a national title as coach at Florida State and is 14-3 the past two seasons at A&M (with a recent win over Saban and then-No. 1 Alabama). While Fisher recently agreed to a contract extension with A&M through the 2031 season, he can leave without owing a buyout.

Penn State coach James Franklin
The buzz: Franklin could end up being a factor in two massive searches — LSU and USC. He remains a popular name in conversations with industry sources about the USC opening, and also in recent weeks has been coming up as someone who would make sense as a candidate at LSU. Franklin, 49, worked in the SEC as the coach at Vanderbilt, where he won nine games in 2012 and ’13. He’s now in his eighth season at Penn State and has the Nittany Lions set up for a possible fourth double-digit win season in the past six years. Penn State is 5-1 and ranked No. 7.

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin
The buzz: A source mentioned to On3 last week that he expects Kiffin to, at the very least, receive consideration for the LSU job. While there are some things about Kiffin, 46, that may be concerning for an athletic director, it’s hard to argue with the results during Kiffin’s two seasons at Ole Miss. The Rebels are 9-2 in their past 11 games under Kiffin, including 5-1 this season, and are ranked No. 3 nationally in total offense.

Michigan State coach Mel Tucker
The buzz: The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman reported Saturday that there are influential people at LSU extremely high on Tucker, 49. A couple of industry sources have mentioned Tucker to On3, as well, as someone they could see being a consideration. Tucker, another former Tigers assistant under Saban, has led a remarkable turnaround at Michigan State in his second season as the Spartans’ coach. Michigan State is 7-0 and ranked No. 9 after finishing 2-5 last season and 7-6 in both 2018 and ’19. In addition to working at LSU as Saban’s secondary coach in 2000, Tucker also has experience in the SEC as Saban’s secondary coach at Alabama (2015) and Kirby Smart’s defensive coordinator at Georgia (2016-18). It’s worth noting, too, that it worked out well for LSU the last time it hired a football coach from Michigan State. That coach? Saban.

It’s the best open job

LSU becomes the No. 1 coaching opening, surpassing USC. There are few, if any, better recruiting situations than LSU’s. No, the sheer number of top-flight players isn’t nearly as high in Louisiana as in Texas or California or Florida. But unlike those three states, there is no in-state competition in Louisiana for the Tigers, and the state produces a good amount of elite talent. No offense to Tulane or Louisiana Tech, but no high-level talent in Louisiana grows up saying, “Ooooh, I want to play for the Green Wave” or “Man, I can’t wait to get an offer from the Bulldogs.” Instead, it’s all about LSU and playing in Death Valley. LSU has won three national titles this century, under three different coaches. Contrast that with USC, which was adrift before and after Pete Carroll.

The ‘when’ caught some by surprise

While LSU staffers expected a change, the news breaking Sunday caught at least a few off-guard, especially since some hadn’t been informed of anything beforehand. Conventional wisdom seemed to be that if a change were going to be made during the season, it likely would come after this week’s game with Ole Miss because the Tigers are idle October 30 and that would give the interim time to sort a few things out. Instead, the news broke Sunday that LSU will part ways with Orgeron and that Orgeron will remain the coach through the end of the season.

Woodward swings for the fences

Woodward’s track record can’t be overlooked. Bottom line: He makes splashy hires for the big-money sports — and often times, bottom line be damned. (For instance, Washington’s athletic department was not in good financial shape when Woodward left.) Getting Mulkey was a true eye-opener. Outside of Geno Auriemma and maybe Dawn Staley, she is the highest-profile women’s basketball coach out there, and Woodward got her to leave Baylor, where she had been for 22 seasons. Getting Mulkey means Woodward is willing to go big.

RELATED: Ivan Maisel on Coach O’s departure

(On3’s Mike Huguenin contributed to this report.)