Arguably the best job in college football is now open.
LSU and Ed Orgeron agreed to a buyout Sunday that will sever their partnership at the end of the 2021 campaign. It’s a swift end to Orgeron’s LSU tenure. He’s just two seasons removed from the 2019 national championship. But a 9-8 record in the time since, a lot of bad luck and some looming off-field issues have managed to sully any goodwill generated from that magical national title run.
With a few weeks remaining before what’s expected to be a wild coaching carousel kicks off in earnest, LSU athletic director Scott Woodward made a difficult call and got out ahead of things. The Tigers are now up front in a coaching cycle that includes USC and could balloon to include programs like Miami maybe Nebraska.
Who will come next is a matter of speculation at this point. Woodward always takes mighty swings, so expect LSU to go big-game hunting. He has every right to. With its combination of recruiting base, facilities, conference prestige and the athletic department’s commitment to winning, few programs provide an easier path to a national title.
Think about it: Each of LSU’s last three coaches have won a national championship, all of them coming since 2000. program in the country can claim that. Titles usually require stability and generational coaches. LSU managed one title each from Les Miles and Orgeron while the best coach of all time (Nick Saban) occupied the same division at Alabama.
All-time great coaches can win in Baton Rouge (Saban). Miles and Orgeron have proven good-to-great coaches can, too.
If you think LSU is the best job in college football, your argument would start with the recruiting pipeline. You can talk about the sunshine of Los Angeles and Miami or the depth of talent in places like Texas, but no state provides easier access to elite recruits with less competition than Louisiana. The Tigers are the only Power Five program in a state that consistently ranks among the 10 best talent producers in the country. And LSU is KING in Louisiana. Just look at how many top-10 Pelican State recruits have played for the Tigers each of the last 10 years.
2021: 6 of 10
2020: 3 of 10
2019: 8 of 10
2018: 5 of 10
2017: 3 of 10
2016: 7 of 10
2015: 7 of 10
2014: 5 of 10
2013: 7 of 10
2012: 6 of 10
Each of those 100 players were ranked as four-star recruits or better, per the 247Sports Composite. That’s what sort of depth can be found in Louisiana. There were 14 five-star prospects to come out of Louisiana in that span. Eleven of them signed with LSU. The high-end talent stays home, too.
USC? It must battle with UCLA and those outside its region for its top players to stay home. Schools in Florida or Texas? More than half the top 10 recruits leave the state each cycle pretty much no matter what, and then schools like Texas/Texas A&M or Miami/Florida/Florida State are left to battle for the leftovers. LSU also borders the talent-rich states of Texas and Mississippi while being able to recruit in a footprint across the SEC. It can access whatever it needs.
Like a lot of other national powers, LSU does not lack for monetary support. And like a number of other powers, it can sell recent success. But almost nobody, perhaps outside of Georgia, has such commanding control over the talent base within its own state.
Frankly, the only obvious negative to this job is that the Tigers play in the SEC West. But as we’ve seen time and time again, the national champion runs through that division. Nine of the last 14 national title winners hail from the SEC West and all but two national title games in that span included a team from the division. The SEC West provides an opportunity, and whoever takes over as LSU’s head coach will have the talent needed to take advantage of it.
LSU is on the short list for the best job in college football. The Tigers just jumped to the front of the line in what promises to be a wild coaching offseason.
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October 18, 2021 at 01:37AM
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Recruiting dynamics make LSU the best open job of the coaching cycle - 247Sports
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