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LSU Tigers former head coach Ed Orgeron. Rebecca Warren-Imagn Images

Past coaching hires show why LSU should avoid reunion with Ed Orgeron

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Oct 29, 2025 11:44 PM ET

The LSU Tigers may be tempted to reunite with former head coach Ed Orgeron, but they should remember they broke off the relationship for good reason.

LSU (5-3, 2-3 in SEC play) is looking for a new HC after it fired Brian Kelly following an embarrassing 49-25 Week 9 loss to the Texas A&M Aggies at home. (Frank Wilson has since been named interim HC.) Unsurprisingly, Orgeron is interested in his old job.

Ed Orgeron says he wants to return to LSU

"Oh, I'd love to. You kidding me? I'm one phone call away," the Louisiana native said Wednesday on ESPN's "Unsportmanlike" when asked if he'd want to return to LSU. "I just gotta get in my truck. I could be there today."

Orgeron — who won a national championship with LSU in 2019 — would be a popular choice among the fan base. But the Tigers should think twice about reuniting with their ex-coach. Just look at how it's worked out for other programs.

Ed Orgeron on a return to LSU

“I’m one call away.”

Also says he’d consider being an assistant if Lane Kiffin were HC. pic.twitter.com/CZ4wJAW5Np
— UNSPORTSMANLIKE Radio (@UnSportsESPN) October 29, 2025

Schools that have rehired old coaches have struggled

In December 2024, the West Virginia Mountaineers rehired Rich Rodriguez as HC. He previously coached at the program from 2001-07, winning 10 or more games three times. During the 2007 season, the Mountaineers could've made the BCS National Championship Game had they not lost their final regular-season game to the Pittsburgh Panthers, 13-9.

However, Rodriguez's second tenure is off to a disastrous start. West Virginia (2-6, 0-5 in conference play) is tied with the Oklahoma State Cowboys for last in the Big 12 and has lost five straight games. Things may not get much better. 247Sports ranks its 2026 recruiting/transfer portal class eighth in the conference.

The Central Florida Knights, meanwhile, brought back Scott Frost as HC in December 2024. The Knights went undefeated under Frost in 2017, upsetting the Auburn Tigers in the Peach Bowl, 34-27.

Like West Virginia, Central Florida may be having second thoughts about its reunion. The Knights (4-3, 1-3 in conference play) are 12th in the Big 12 and have lost three of their last four games.

At least, Frost and Rodriguez were still coaching before they were hired at their respective jobs. Rodriguez was Jacksonville State Gamecocks HC, while Frost was an analyst for the Los Angeles Rams. Orgeron, meanwhile, has been out of football since LSU fired him and replaced him with Kelly after the 2021 season.

After 2019 Heisman winner Joe Burrow left for the NFL, Orgeron struggled to win without the star quarterback, going 11-11 in his final two seasons with LSU. That may have made him a less attractive coaching candidate.

Orgeron said he would be willing to serve as an assistant coach at LSU if it poached Ole Miss Rebels HC Lane Kiffin, his former boss. Orgeron was on Kiffin's staff when he was the HC for the Tennessee Volunteers and Southern California Trojans.

Regardless, LSU should avoid hiring Orgeron as HC. It could be a messy second marriage for the downtrodden SEC power.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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