Louisiana State University’s (LSU) football program has hired its’ next Head Coach. Ed Orgeron, who had been the Head Coach for the past 6 seasons, already said that at the end of the season he was stepping away. This past Saturday LSU beat Texas A&M 27-24 to end the Orgeron era on a high note. He is not going to coach LSU in a bowl game if they accept a bowl bid. His replacement is Brian Kelly who coached Notre Dame.
Orgeron has been very successful at LSU. He started coaching them in 2016. His overall record with LSU is an impressive 51-20, a winning percentage of .718. Orgeron earned 3 bowl game appearances with LSU and even went to the College Football Playoff. LSU won the College Football Playoff in the 2019 season, beating Clemson in the Championship Game 42-25, his only National Championship for LSU. LSU never had a losing record with him. This year and the COVID shortened 2020 season, they finished at .500.
LSU was looking to replace Orgeron. It wasn’t going to be easy because of how he turned the program around. Brian Kelly is now going to take over the program. Kelly agreed to a 10 year, $95 million contract which averages $9.5 million a year. It could be worth more because there are incentives included in the deal.
According to ESPN.com, Kelly said, “I could not be more excited to join a program with the commitment to excellence, rich traditions, and unrivaled pride and passion of LSU Football. I am fully committed to recruiting, developing, and graduating elite student-athletes, winning championships, and working together with our administration to make Louisiana proud. Our potential is unlimited, and I cannot wait to call Baton Rouge home.”
This is a great hire. Kelly is one of the better coaches in the nation. He has been with Notre Dame since 2010. In that time, Kelly coached them to a 113-40 record, a winning percentage of .739. Notre Dame went to 10 bowl games and appeared in a BCS National Championship in 2012. Notre Dame fell in the National Championship game to Alabama 42-14.
It is surprising that Kelly would want to leave Notre Dame which is an independent college and not affiliated with a conference. They can basically pick their opponents. The conference Kelly is now going to coach is the SEC (Southeastern Conference). It is not an easy conference to win. The teams he will have to compete against are the University of Alabama, University of Georgia, and Auburn who are always a threat, to not only win the SEC Conference, but earn a berth in the College Football Playoff. All of them can win a National Title. They are also going to add Texas and Oklahoma after the 2025 season. This is not going to be an easy schedule.
Kelly is expecting to help LSU win. He has the results at Notre Dame. At LSU he must win the SEC West Division a few times to have a chance to win the SEC Championship Game. If he is victorious in the SEC Title Game, LSU will have an opportunity to appear in the College Football Playoff and maybe even win a few National Titles. Anything less than that is a failure. Kelly must deliver otherwise LSU will question why they hired him.
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