Moving on From Ed Orgeron a "Bittersweet" Occasion for LSU Football Program
Ed Orgeron and Scott Woodward met face to face with the media for the first time in two years. The last time the two shared the stage, it was for LSU's celebration of its national championship run.
There was Joe Burrow and company walking into the PMAC 10,000 strong, Orgeron carrying the CFP trophy and all Tigers' fans across the country were on cloud nine. But fast forward less than two years and Woodward and Orgeron were meeting with the media for a "bittersweet" occasion.
On Sunday, LSU officially announced its decision to part ways with Orgeron, a move that will occur once the 2021 season is concluded. Woodward called the day bittersweet because of what Orgeron has meant to the program, including the ultimate highs brought to Baton Rouge and Louisiana from that 2019 season.
"The job requires us to put personal feelings aside and make decisions that are ultimately best for LSU," Woodward said. "At LSU we expect to compete for SEC and national championships year in and year out. Our last two seasons have simply not met that standard and we determined it is time for us to move in a new direction."
The decision to cut ties with Orgeron came to a clear head following the Tigers' 42-21 loss to Kentucky. In the days after, LSU and Orgeron worked on a buyout deal that kept Orgeron for the rest of 2021 but would pay him $16.9 million over the next four years.
"It was a great run, to go 15-0 and have one of the best football teams ever to play, not every person has a chance to say that," Orgeron said. "It was because of the players and the assistant coaches but the last couple of years were not the standard at LSU but I have no regrets. I know I went to work as hard as I could every day, tried as hard as I could and that's all you can ask."
Orgeron said he doesn't plan on coaching in 2022 as he wants to take some time off after coaching for 37 straight years and find out what direction he wants to be in. But the focus will now shift to the short term and what these final five games of the 2021 season will look like.
There's a case to be made that this was the best possible outcome for the program. Ripping off the band aid and knowing exactly what's going to happen can ease tension and put the focus back squarely on football. Orgeron has been around this team more than anyone and said there's still fight left in this group and is excited to see what the rest of the season holds.
"The players, I just told them how it was," Orgeron said. "Nobody talked, it was about five minutes. I know the expectations at LSU and I know after the Kentucky game we were heading down a road that wasn't positive for LSU and there was going to be a change made.
"I've been telling the kids, we gotta finish. We're not gonna blink. I'm gonna be right there with them and Scott and I mutually agreed. I love this team, I wanna be with this team, I love LSU and until the day I leave here I'm gonna give everything I can, everyday."
Below are the full details of the buyout. The payments will be paid over a four-year span, concluding in Dec. 2025 for a total of $16,949,000:
Dec 2021: $5.68M
Jan 2022: $667K
Jun 2022: $1M
Jul 2022: $750K
Dec 2022: $1M
Jan 2023: 750K
Jun 2023: $750K
Jul 2023: $750K
Dec 2023: $750K
Jan 2024: $750K
Jun 2024: $500K
Jul 2024: $750K
Dec 2024: $500K
Jan 2025: $750K
Jun 2025: $426K
July 2025: $750K
Dec 2025: $426K
