BATON ROUGE — Ed Orgeron may not have been LSU’s first choice to be head coach four years ago as the school flirted with the likes of Jimbo Fisher and others to take over for Les Miles. There is no doubt now that Orgeron is the man LSU wants to lead the football program.
A few weeks after guiding the Tigers to the program’s fourth national championship in history, Orgeron received a contract extension from LSU on Friday morning. LSU announced that the university and Orgeron had agreed to a six-year contract extension that will exceed $42 million in total compensation.
“Coach O has set a new standard at LSU,” LSU AD Scott Woodward said in a statement. “He has proven that he is not only a championship coach, but also a leader of a program committed to doing things the right way. He has represented our institution and our state with great pride, on and off the field of play. He is well-deserving of this new contract, which should make clear our commitment to Coach O and the direction of our football program.”
After taking over as interim coach in 2016, Orgeron has posted a 40-9 overall record, including going 23-7 in the SEC. In 2018, LSU began to ascend back to national prominence by winning 10 games and beating UCF in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.
This season LSU built off of that momentum to become the first team in Southeastern Conference history to go 15-0 and capped it with a a 42-25 win over defending champion Clemson in the College Football Playoff National Championship. In addition, quarterback Joe Burrow rewrote the LSU, SEC and NCAA record books as he became only the second Tiger ever to win the Heisman Memorial Trophy.
LSU must replace nine underclassmen, who declared early for the NFL draft, and several graduating seniors from this past season’s title team. Orgeron and then new-look Tigers will open the 2020 season on Saturday, September 5th at home in Tiger Stadium against UTSA.