Former LSU head coach Ed Orgeron said on Wednesday that he’s “one phone call away” if the university wants him to fill the vacancy left by the firing of Brian Kelly.
Orgeron, who coached the Tigers for six seasons including a 15-0 run to the national championship in 2019, agreed with LSU to part ways following campaigns of 5-6 in 2020 and 6-6 in 2021.
He has not coached since then, but Orgeron, 64, said during an interview with ESPN’s “UnSportsmanLike” that he’d love to coach again in Baton Rouge, where he said he still has a home.
“I’d love to,” Orgeron said. “Are you kidding me? Hey, I’m one phone call away. I just gotta get in my truck, I could be there today.”
Orgeron has an overall record of 67-47 including three seasons at Ole Miss (2005-07), one as the interim coach at Southern California (2013) and six seasons at LSU (2016-21), where he was 51-20 overall and 4-1 in bowl games.
A native of Larose, La., Orgeron was asked if he was interested in returning as an assistant to Lane Kiffin, the Ole Miss head coach who has been linked to the LSU post. Kiffin was an assistant with Orgeron at USC.
“Yeah, I’d consider it,” he said. “I love LSU. I still got my home in Baton Rouge. I loved when I was coaching for Coach (Les) Miles being the defensive line coach. I love the Tigers, and if I’m getting back into coaching, for sure I’d consider it. No doubt.”
Kelly did not live up to lofty expectations at LSU, which fired him less than four years after he was hired away from Notre Dame and one day after a 49-25 home loss to No. 3 Texas A&M on Saturday.
The Tigers are 5-3, 2-3 in the Southeastern Conference. Kelly went 34-14, but he was perceived as not embracing the state’s culture, Orgeron said on Wednesday.
“I think that’s one of the things — whether it’s true or not — the look from the outside, Brian Kelly never embraced the state of Louisiana,” Orgeron said. “When you get those guys on your side, it’s very powerful. I think getting everybody to pull in the same direction, like Pete Carroll did, like we did, one team, one heartbeat, is gonna be the key for the next coach.”
