Ed Orgeron didn’t have much to say Monday morning at LSU’s Charles McClendon Practice Facility. An illness kept him out of the Tigers’ ninth preseason practice, and Lane Kiffin sent him home for the day. But nobody around Baton Rouge seems to think the silence will last.
Orgeron is back at LSU after four seasons away, and his presence has already been felt in the way you’d expect: loudly, energetically and all over the place. The former Tigers head coach returned in May as Kiffin’s special assistant to recruiting and defense, giving LSU a familiar voice with a long track record in the program and a reputation that still travels fast.
“He was loud though, that's what I can say… he was real passionate.”
That was Ole Miss transfer edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen’s first impression when asked about Orgeron. It fits. Orgeron has never been the quiet guy in the room, and LSU is leaning into exactly that.
Kiffin knows the relationship well. The two have worked together before, and he said Orgeron’s presence gives LSU something most programs can’t manufacture.
“We have a background,” Kiffin said, “and it's pretty easy for him to sit and sell to a kid why to come to LSU and why to play for his head coach, more than anyone else on the planet could sell, so it's really just a perfect situation.”
That sales pitch matters, especially with LSU trying to shape a young defensive line. Orgeron has been barking instructions at practice, with much of his attention going to a group that includes freshmen Lamar Brown, Richard Anderson and Deuce Geralds, all of whom have a chance to carve out meaningful snaps right away.
He’s also brought value to a coaching room that looks different than it did a year ago. Defensive coordinator Blake Baker said Orgeron adds another set of eyes and a wide-angle view, while also fitting in with the rest of the staff.
“Obviously, his bread and butter is the defensive line. Just giving (us) a different set of eyes,” Baker said. “But I think all those guys work really well together: (Interior defensive line coach) Kevin Peoples and (defensive line coach) Sterling Lucas and (assistant defensive line/pass rush specialist coach Lou Spanos) and (defensive line assistant) De'Andre Williams.
“We have a really, really good group of defensive line coaches. And he's done a good job kind of feeling his way in there.”
Orgeron’s influence hasn’t stopped with the defensive line. Baker said his big-picture view has helped across the board, and even LSU’s offensive line has noticed the noise.
Colorado transfer left tackle Jordan Seaton called him “probably the loudest coach I've ever heard,” while adding, “But he's also the funnest, and he means business. He means well.”
That’s the Ed Orgeron package LSU knows well. He spent six seasons with the Tigers in his first run, starting as defensive line coach before becoming interim head coach in his first year. He then stayed on as head coach for five more seasons, winning the national championship in 2019 before his final two years ended with an 11-11 record and his departure in 2021.
He didn’t take another coaching job after leaving Baton Rouge. Instead, he kept his ties to Kiffin, who had worked under him at Southern Cal and Tennessee from 2009-13, and eventually found his way back to LSU in a role built around recruiting and defense.
For LSU, it’s more than a nostalgia play. Orgeron still brings the same forceful personality, and the same edge that made him such a presence in the first place.
“I like that he just doesn't take - excuse my French - but he doesn't take BS,” Seaton said. “And I think we need that from all our coaches, and he's a big part of that. He'd been in this program before, so he knows what it looks like to win.”
Monday may have been quiet, but that won’t be the lasting image. Orgeron is back where his voice has always carried, and LSU seems just fine with that.
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