Coaching Carousel 2021

AlexanderFan

Hall of Fame
Jul 23, 2004
11,076
7,524
187
Birmingham
Shula had previous coordinator experience - and didn't have the 16-27 HC record Orgeron had before being hired at LSU.
Correct, he had nothing. At least Ogre could recruit. They are the same. Hometown boys done good, cheap salary (at the time), and willing to come. The results are panning out the same, only Shula didn’t have some miracle defensive coordinator to take his ten win season to a NC. Both in over their head.
 

4Q Basket Case

FB|BB Moderator
Staff member
Nov 8, 2004
9,568
12,865
237
Tuscaloosa
Shula was in over his head. But he wasn’t an embarrassment from the perspective of personal conduct. Growing up in the limelight himself, he understood the PR demands on Alabama’s Head Coach.

He had other weaknesses in his approach to managing 18-22 year olds, still others in managing highly talented players with over-involved parents, and listened to his dad too much. All of which are symptoms of the underlying problem of being overmatched.

To circle back around….yes, Shula was overmatched, and played at Alabama. Yes, O is overmatched, from Louisiana, and had a cup of coffee (or maybe several stronger beverages) as a player in Baton Rouge. But the similarities end there.

Ed Orgeron is embarrassing the LSU fanbase……and that’s not easily done. Shula did not have the skill set, but he was never going to embarrass the school.
 

CB4

Hall of Fame
Aug 8, 2011
9,446
13,420
187
Birmingham, AL
Orgeron has supposedly been “on the wagon” since 1998. He got sober a year after he married his second wife, Kelly.
 

deliveryman35

Hall of Fame
Jul 26, 2003
12,998
1,194
287
55
Gadsden, AL
Don't see Jimbo going to LSU. Texas AM has already made him the third highest paid coach in the country at $9 million/yr. Plus lets be honest, AM could outbid LSU 10 times over if it even came to that. Put me in the camp that thinks Lane Kiffin will get the first call from LSU and Scott Woodward IF he has a good season this year at Ole Miss. If not then I think they look at some up-and-comers like Matt Campbell or PJ Fleck. I do not think they will go the retread route with Gus Malzahn despite his better-than-the-field record against Saban.
 

81usaf92

TideFans Legend
Apr 26, 2008
35,306
31,375
187
South Alabama
Shula was in over his head. But he wasn’t an embarrassment from the perspective of personal conduct. Growing up in the limelight himself, he understood the PR demands on Alabama’s Head Coach.

He had other weaknesses in his approach to managing 18-22 year olds, still others in managing highly talented players with over-involved parents, and listened to his dad too much. All of which are symptoms of the underlying problem of being overmatched.

To circle back around….yes, Shula was overmatched, and played at Alabama. Yes, O is overmatched, from Louisiana, and had a cup of coffee (or maybe several stronger beverages) as a player in Baton Rouge. But the similarities end there.

Ed Orgeron is embarrassing the LSU fanbase……and that’s not easily done. Shula did not have the skill set, but he was never going to embarrass the school.
Well a guy that I talk with down here in mobile seems to be well connected to LSU has said most of Title IX stuff has been leaked because LSU wants to get rid of him. There are stories swirling that LSU is tired of his antics from posting pictures of him with women he is old enough to be their daddy, bad mouthing boosters, talking non PC at events, walking around campus without his shirt, and thinking he is LSU. They are desperately trying to move on.
 

twofbyc

Hall of Fame
Oct 14, 2009
12,193
3,326
187
I think looking at LSU Schedule
Next three games: McNeese, Central Michigan and Miss state should help with LSU confidence in winning games.

For Ed to keep his job, he needs to win games against Auburn, Kentucky, Florida, Ole Miss and Alabama.
But looking at it... If he drops 3 straight games, Florida, ole miss, and alabama... I suspect he will be fired after Alabama game.
And there is no way he wins more than one of those games, unless his team does a 180. I would even give the hogs and wildcats a decent chance. And don’t leave out A&M.
 

AlexanderFan

Hall of Fame
Jul 23, 2004
11,076
7,524
187
Birmingham
Shula was in over his head. But he wasn’t an embarrassment from the perspective of personal conduct. Growing up in the limelight himself, he understood the PR demands on Alabama’s Head Coach.

He had other weaknesses in his approach to managing 18-22 year olds, still others in managing highly talented players with over-involved parents, and listened to his dad too much. All of which are symptoms of the underlying problem of being overmatched.

To circle back around….yes, Shula was overmatched, and played at Alabama. Yes, O is overmatched, from Louisiana, and had a cup of coffee (or maybe several stronger beverages) as a player in Baton Rouge. But the similarities end there.

Ed Orgeron is embarrassing the LSU fanbase……and that’s not easily done. Shula did not have the skill set, but he was never going to embarrass the school.
Agreed, but did LSU know he would be a personal embarrassment to the university? Some of the actions we find embarrassing endear him to the younger guys, probably has a lot to do with his recruiting success. Outside looking in he and Shula have similarities that would seem to make them safe hires, especially when on probation, or you’ve just fired a coach who won a National title and was still moderately successful.
 

Padreruf

Hall of Fame
Feb 12, 2001
8,687
12,227
287
73
Charleston, South Carolina
Agreed, but did LSU know he would be a personal embarrassment to the university? Some of the actions we find embarrassing endear him to the younger guys, probably has a lot to do with his recruiting success. Outside looking in he and Shula have similarities that would seem to make them safe hires, especially when on probation, or you’ve just fired a coach who won a National title and was still moderately successful.
There is a non-tangible asset called "class" -- CPB knew it and talked about it. Shula had it...EO could not even spell it, much less say it.
 

CB4

Hall of Fame
Aug 8, 2011
9,446
13,420
187
Birmingham, AL

Isn't the wagon where they kept all the alcohol?
Water wagon. During the temperance movement, people would take an oath to give up alcohol and drink only water. Water was delivered in many cities via water wagon. Ergo: giving up alcohol and climbing aboard the water wagon became “going on the wagon”.
 
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4Q Basket Case

FB|BB Moderator
Staff member
Nov 8, 2004
9,568
12,865
237
Tuscaloosa
Agreed, but did LSU know he would be a personal embarrassment to the university? Some of the actions we find embarrassing endear him to the younger guys, probably has a lot to do with his recruiting success. Outside looking in he and Shula have similarities that would seem to make them safe hires, especially when on probation, or you’ve just fired a coach who won a National title and was still moderately successful.
I don't think they could have not known that O posed a material risk on this front.

He has a long record of over-the-top histrionics, going back at least to when he pounded a Colonel Reb pin into his bare chest during his time at Ole Miss (O seems to have a thing about taking his shirt off in public), and numerous incidents since then entirely consistent with recent antics.

My guess is that the LSU PTB hoped he had matured out of that. And winning a NC masked some of it -- what's embarrassing for a loser can be endearingly eccentric in a winner.

But even they were embarrassed by his behavior on the field and in the locker room after they beat us in 2019. I can't link those episodes due to some pretty salty language. But they're easy to find on YouTube for anybody curious as to exactly what he did and said.

Yeah, some of that might appeal to 18-year-olds on the recruiting trail. But they're not typically going to register that it's entirely inconsistent with a winning culture or approach to the game. There's a reason top coaches don't act that way, and it's not a lack of testosterone.

From my recent visits to LSU boards, it appears that 2019 only gave O a bullet-proof image of himself, and he's been alienating a lot of important people with his over-the-top macho arrogance ever since. But 2019 bought him a pass, at least for a while.

So to circle back to the original point, even before they hired him, there's no way the LSU PTB didn't know that O was a huge PR risk. They hoped he'd matured out of the worst of it, and that winning would make the rough edges points of endearment, not embarrassment.

It's an understatement to say that it hasn't worked out the way they hoped.
 
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