Ed Orgeron ‘would love’ to return to LSU after Brian Kelly firing

A familiar face would welcome an LSU reunion. 

Former Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron said he would be delighted to take his old job back after the school fired Brian Kelly over the weekend.

“I’d love to,” Orgeron said when asked about LSU’s opening during a Wednesday interview on ESPN’s “UnSportsmanLike”. “Are you kidding me? Hey, I’m one phone call away. I just gotta get in my truck; I could be there today.”

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin is currently considered one of the front-runners for the job. 

Orgeron told ESPN that he’d even chew over a return to Death Valley under Kiffin, whom Oregon worked with at USC. 

“Yeah, I’d consider it,” Orgeron 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.”

Orgeron was LSU’s head coach from 2016 to 2021, going 51-20 and winning the 2019-20 national championship. 

After agreeing to a buyout and parting ways with Orgeron, LSU hired Brian Kelly, who had been Notre Dame’s head coach for the previous 12 years, in November 2021. 

The decision to fire Kelly came less than 24 hours after LSU dropped to 2-3 after losing 49-25 to Texas A&M, the third defeat in the Tigers’ last four games. 

LSU athletic director Scott Woodward said a search for Kelly’s replacement would begin “immediately.”

“When Coach Kelly arrived at LSU four years ago, we had high hopes that he would lead us to multiple SEC and national championships during his time in Baton Rouge,” Woodward said as part of a statement after the dismissal. “Ultimately, the success at the level that LSU demands simply did not materialize, and I made the decision to make a change after last night’s game.”

He added: “As a proud alum, and as the current caretaker of our athletics programs, I will not compromise in our pursuit of excellence and we will not lower our standards.”

No matter who the school decides to be its next head football coach, it won’t be Woodward making the call.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said during a press conference on Wednesday that it’d be LSU’s Board of Supervisors — not the school’s athletic director — making the call.

“I can tell you right now Scott Woodward is not selecting the next head coach,” he said. “I’d let Donald Trump select it before I let him do it.”