LSU’s Separation With Ed Orgeron Still Baffles College Football Fans. Now, He’s Back in a New Role

Louisiana State University's 2021 firing of coach Ed Orgeron came as a surprise to many. Especially since his 2019 perfect year with the ball club, where he led the Tigers to a historic 15-0 record. So what happened in 24 months that led to his dismissal? Why did Coach O get fired?

The Sporting News reported that "not even an upset of No. 20 Florida could help Ed Orgeron keep his job," when news of his 2021 firing spread. Just two years after an infallible pigskin run, Coach O and his team found it difficult to replicate the same success.

Tigers' upper management handed him his pink slip around the same time the ball club started its season with a 4-3 record. At the time, Orgeron stayed with the team to finish out the season with a 6-7 win/loss ratio.

The outlet pointed out that technically, Coach O wasn't exactly fired, but rather, he had reached terms of separation with the university's athletics department. "That agreement did not occur out of the blue: LSU followed up its 2019 championship campaign with a dismal 5-5 record amid the COVID-19 pandemic."

Which means that under Coach O's leadership, the team's inability to maintain its winning ways prompted his exit from the squad. In the two seasons after winning every single game they played in, the Tigers went 11-12.

In October of 2021, Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports wrote that his leave went "beyond on-the-field results." Purportedly, drama between Coach O and the Tigers' management also played a part in his leaving the Louisiana team.

Dellenger wrote on X: "A strained relationship between Coach & administration — rooted in team management & public/private behavior - has warped into an untenable situation, distrust & outbursts."

The championship-winning coach may have been away from LSU for a few years; however, on May 22, 2026, word broke out that he had returned to the Baton Rouge team. Now, he's working as a "special assistant to recruiting and defense" under head coach Lane Kiffin, according to WDSU.

Kiffin gushed about the prospect of working with Coach O: "I'm excited to bring Coach Orgeron back to LSU. He brings us tremendous value with his ability to recruit elite players nationally, but especially the impact he can have for us recruiting the great state of Louisiana. Coach O understands my expectations and commitment to being a championship program. I look forward to seeing him with recruits and his intensity working with our defensive players," Kiffin told the outlet.

The Tigers' 2025 season carries their worst record since Orgeron's departure, with seven wins and six losses. Kiffin previously worked under Coach Orgeron as a graduate assistant at LSU between the years of 2007 and 2009. He officially jumped from his head coaching position at Ole Miss to the LSU Tigers on Nov. 30, 2025.