LSU has been through turmoil within the last week. To start things off, the team lost at Auburn in dramatic fashion, 18-13. Neither team looked bright on either side of the ball, or special teams. Auburn scored all of its points on six field goals, which presumably was enough to seal the win. As LSU was just about to complete the comeback, the Tigers were called for a penalty that set them back five yards and eventually ran out the clock before they were able to snap the ball for the game winning score. The day after the game, athletic director Joe Alleva met with Les Miles to give him the stunning news that he and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron had been fired from the program.
College football fans, as well as coaches, were ultimately shocked by the news of Miles being fired. Recall that Miles is the second-best winning coach in school history. In his 12 seasons at the helm, Miles piled up a 114-34 record at LSU, including two trips to the SEC Championship game and two trips to the National Championship.
With Miles gone, LSU promoted defensive line coach Ed Orgeron to interim head coach. Orgeron was the head coach at Ole Miss from 2005-2007 with a 10-25 record, and he served as interim coach at USC in 2013. Replacing the ousted Lane Kiffin, he compiled a 6-2 record to finish the season with the Trojans.
What’s Next for LSU?
For the remainder of the season, the Tigers will look to Orgeron to lead this team. Should LSU finish strong, he is a clear candidate for the head coach position. With a few names surfacing for the job, LSU will have to make the right decision.
As for the players who are eligible to leave, the majority of them should pursue their NFL careers. Led by Leonard Fournette, the juniors and seniors who can leave should do so before they regret it. Fournette hasn’t been the running back we all thought he would be so far into this season. As some could tell in the game against Auburn, he looked worn down and not his normal defender-crushing self.
As of now, the future of the LSU program appears dim. Things can only get better if the team wins games. If the Tigers want to get back to their powerhouse status, they need to open up the offense and get the defense going through the right formations. Otherwise, LSU is set up for a bad season the rest of the way, and that is something Tiger nation definitely isn’t looking forward to. Alleva should look to hire the right coach to fit the system. For them to contend once again in the SEC, LSU needs to develop quarterbacks, and get all three aspects of the team in sync before they find themselves so far downhill that they aren’t able to climb back up to the top. LSU is a historic program, and one that will have many coaches calling for a job. The Tigers want to get back in contention for a national championship, something they haven’t done since 2011.
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