Ed Orgeron. Rebecca Warren-Imagn Images

Championship-winning HC discusses returning to college football

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated Oct 2, 2025 11:24 PM ET

Ed Orgeron had a long and successful college football coaching career. The apex was undoubtedly winning the national championship while going undefeated with Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson with the LSU Tigers in 2019, but his career started way back in 1984.

As far as coaching experience and ability to lead an organization while also being effective on the recruiting trail, there are few more qualified than Orgeron.

That's what made it shocking when LSU parted ways with him just two seasons after he won a national championship. There were reasons, though, a myriad of them. That included a middling 11-11 record in the two seasons after the championship, public outbursts and even what was called a "mishandling" of social justice issues that impacted his locker room.

Orgeron left LSU in 2021, and he's not been on a college sideline as a coach since, but he recently revealed to Jacques Doucet of WAFB-TV in Louisiana that he's ready to get back to it.

“All depends what the best thing available is,” Orgeron said. “But I’m ready to coach again. I left a little bit of meat on the bone. I’m ready to go.”

"I'm ready to coach again."

Former @LSUfootball head coach Ed Orgeron at @Patrickqueen_ stadium ceremony Wednesday evening.

"All depends what the best thing available is." #LSU pic.twitter.com/GIGNlOxrZw
— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) October 2, 2025

Orgeron has a strong track record as a college football coach

It didn't end well at LSU, but Orgeron's resume as a college coach is hard to argue with.

He began as a graduate assistant at Northwestern State in 1984 and then spent a year in the same position at McNeese State. Orgeron parlayed those opportunities into an assistant strength coach job at Arkansas, and he got his first big opportunity at Miami as the defensive line coach from 1988-92.

Orgeron really made a name for himself as the associate head coach, defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at USC under Paul Hackett and Pete Carroll. That led to his first head coaching gig, at Ole Miss from 2005-07.

He went just 10-25 at Ole Miss, so that was not a great run, but Orgeron established himself on the national scene back at USC under Lane Kiffin. When Kiffin was fired by the Trojans, Orgeron took over as the interim head coach and went 6-2.

That all led to LSU, where his reputation as one of the best recruiters in the country met up with the ability to pull elite SEC talent. Where he ends up next is anybody's guess, but there will undoubtedly be opportunities.

Andrew Kulha

Andrew Kulha is probably the only sports writer you know who also doubles as a mortician. Spooky! @KulhaSports

More must-reads: