Ed Orgeron hired by LSU as special assistant

By Hunt Palmer

A decade after Ed Orgeron tried to bring Lane Kiffin to LSU, Kiffin made the inverse a reality.

LSU announced Wednesday that Orgeron has been hired as Special Assistant to Recruiting and Defense. Kiffin and Orgeron’s relationship dates back to their days at USC under Pete Carrol.

When Orgeron was named head coach at LSU after the 2016 season, he tried to lure Kiffin to Baton Rouge from Alabama where he was Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator. Instead of coming to LSU, Kiffin took the head coaching job at Florida Atlantic.

Orgeron went on to lead LSU to the national championship in 2019. He was subsequently fired during the 2021 season and has been out of coaching since.

The former Tiger head coach is renowned for his defensive line coaching and recruiting relationships. Kiffin has said he spoke to Orgeron the day he arrived in Baton Rouge to be named head coach. Orgeron expressed his support and confirmed to Kiffin how much he thinks of LSU.

Orgeron joins Will Wade as formerly fired coaches to return to the school this spring.