Orgeron: Coaching LSU ‘a dream,’ offense will be ‘tweaked’

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — As much as Ed Orgeron might have preferred a different route to the top coaching job at LSU, the Louisiana native was never going to be able to hide his enthusiasm for his new opportunity — and didn’t try.

“It’s a great day in my life, I promise you that,” Orgeron said, calling it “a dream, obviously” to be the Tigers’ head coach.

“It’s a well-respected position that I’m holding right now and I hold it in high esteem. And I understand the expectations at LSU and I fully, fully intend to meet all of those expectations.”

The 55-year-old Orgeron, who was formally introduced as Les Miles’ interim replacement on Monday, said he has no idea whether he’ll have the job past this season and isn’t saying whether he sees his opportunity as an audition to remain long-term.

“Take the future aside. Whatever’s going to happen is going to happen. Let the chips fall where they may,” Orgeron said, adding that his sole focus was on his players’ success. “All I want to do is see them win.”

Orgeron said he’s tapped current assistant Steve Ensminger, a former LSU quarterback, to replace offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, who was fired on Sunday along with Miles.

Orgeron said he’s also elevated defensive coordinator Dave Aranda to associate head coach. As for Orgeron’s old position as defensive line coach, he’s adding a new, but familiar face to the staff in Pete Jenkins, who is 75 years old and has had two previous stints as a defensive assistant at LSU since 1980. Orgeron said Jenkins would be his “mentor” and “right-hand man.”

“We’re going to flip the script,” Orgeron said. “We’re going to do things different. We’re going to do things that I’ve done in the past to re-energize this team.”

The decision to fire Miles, who was 114-34 in 11-plus seasons, stemmed largely from lackluster offensive performances in big games, particularly because of an anemic passing game.

LSU athletic director Joe Alleva said parting with Miles was tough, not only because of his past successes — which include a 2007 national title and two SEC championships — but also because of how he represented the university and cared for his players.