LSU’S struggles just latest hurdle for resilient Ed Orgeron
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU coach Ed Orgeron forged a career path that led him to the top of his profession by persevering through personal and professional hardships.
So it’s little wonder that he continues to project optimism while the Tigers have labored in mediocrity just one season after a historically dominant national title campaign.
After going 15-0 a season ago, with most victories by double-digit margins, LSU is 3-3, unranked and listed as a two-touchdown underdog when the Tigers visit No. 5 Texas A&M on Saturday.
“Sometimes you learn the most from your losses,” Orgeron said in an interview with The Associated Press about his recently published memoir, “Flip The Script: Lessons Learned on the Road to a Championship.”
“Nobody wants to lose, but if you can grow from that, it’s going to pay off in the end,” Orgeron said. “I think that’s what we’re going through right now. This is a brand new team. Hardly any of these guys played on the championship team and this is the first (season) a lot of them have played. ... I know we’re building a championship team, but championship teams take a while to build. I’m in no panic or nothing like that.”
Off the field his program is part of an LSU investigation of the university’s handling of reported sexual and domestic assault cases. Interim LSU president Thomas C. Galligan Jr. and Athletic Director Scott Woodward announced the start of the probe in a published letter to the LSU community. The investigation encompasses all departments at LSU. But several high-profile allegations in recent years have involved members of LSU’S football team.