Big one who got away may cause LSU angst
Orgeron needs to win to make fans forget Fisher expedition
ATLANTA — In an ideal world for plenty of LSU fans, Ed Orgeron and Jimbo Fisher would switch ZIP codes.
A couple of years ago, LSU made another attempt at luring Fisher from Florida State to no avail, something Fisher acknowledged this week at SEC Media Days at the College Football Hall of Fame.
“I always had a great affiliation and great love for the place,” said Fisher, Texas A&M’s new coach and a former LSU offensive coordinator. “Unfortunately, it didn’t work out at the time. (But) they’ve got a great coach and a great situation.”
Both contentions are debatable, considering Orgeron’s multiple mishandlings of issues in the past year, including at offensive coordinator. Orgeron hired Matt Canada from the University
of Pittsburgh prior to last season, a bad fit for the Tigers from the start.
Orgeron fired Canada following a disappointing season offensively for the Tigers, and this week at SEC media days the gregarious coach with the thick Cajun accent admitted to his transgression.
“It’s tough when you make a mistake, but it’s even tougher not to admit you made a mistake and it’s just not a good fit,” Orgeron said. “And I had to do what I thought was the best for the LSU program, and that’s why I did it.”
In some ways, the idea Orgeron’s seat is hot — and make no mistake, it is — isn’t fair to the 56-year-old coach, considering the Tigers finished 9-4 last season and their 6-2 SEC mark was good for third in the West Division. Troy upset LSU 24-21 in late September in Baton Rouge, which is what many fans particularly remember about the 2017 season.
“This is why you come to the SEC — you know the expectations are high,” Orgeron said concerning the daily pressures he faces. “You invite those challenges, and you’re going to play in the SEC West in perhaps the best conference in the United States.
“You know what? Any competitor wants that. … This is a tough league, but that’s why you come here.”
Orgeron slipped up when he hired Canada, who failed miserably in a lone season at LSU, and Orgeron has tried remedying the situation by promoting Steve Ensminger from tight ends coach. Ensminger was fired as A&M’s offensive coordinator in the mid-1990s under then-coach R.C. Slocum, and he has spent most of his time since in his home state of Louisiana, in the college and high school ranks.
“I have complete confidence in the direction he’s going to lead this offense,” said Orgeron, who has known Ensminger since the 1970s. “He and I are on the same page. … He runs more of the offense that I’m used to, an offense that we won championships with in the past. It’s a combination of all of those things.”
Orgeron scored an offseason victory when he outbid A&M to retain third-year defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, whose unit has allowed a touchdown or less in 14 of his 25 games with the Tigers.
“He doesn’t say much, and he doesn’t have to,” LSU defensive lineman Rashard Lawrence said of Aranda. “Every day, he brings in new wrinkles and schemes to our defense that are absolutely great. They work Saturday after Saturday.”
Fisher and the Aggies came hard after Aranda in early January, but he ultimately chose to stay in Baton Rouge after earning a pay bump to $2.5 million annually.
“Dave Aranda has done a fantastic job,” Orgeron said. “We feel we’ve got the best defensive coordinator in all of the land. You’ll see more of Dave’s defense this year — more of a blitzing, attacking style.”
The Tigers will find out in a hurry if they’re headed in the right direction under Orgeron, who replaced Les Miles, in his second full season in Baton Rouge. They face Miami in their opener on Sept. 2 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington and play at reigning SEC West champion Auburn in the third game.
In the meantime, loads of LSU fans will have Fisher in the backs of their minds, and the only two things that will win them over is if Orgeron routinely beats Fisher on the field along with posting a better record along the way.
LSU tight end Foster Moreau advised not to be fooled by his coach’s accent, saying he’s the right man for the Tigers.
“When you talk to him one-on-one, you understand the intelligence he brings to the game,” Moreau said. “He really has a brilliant football mind.”