The 3 Most Important Moments in LSU Football History

For over a century, Death Valley has been one of college football's most hallowed grounds. From a Halloween night that shook the earth to a grad transfer from Ohio who nearly quit football altogether, the story of LSU football is really a collection of moments, hires and recruitments that could have gone another way but didn't.

The program has won four national championships, produced three Heisman Trophy winners and carved out an identity as one of the sport's true blue bloods.

But the history isn't just about trophies. It's about the moments that made those trophies possible.

3. Nick Saban's Hiring in 1999

Before you can appreciate the story of how 2003 carved the path to LSU's dynasty, you have to tell the story of how it never happened.

When Saban arrived at LSU, the school was in the midst of a major slide. After some success in the mid 1980s, LSU football had posted eight losing seasons in the next 11 years.

The program had talent but no identity, no consistency and no taste of winning football.

So LSU looked around for a new coach in 1999, and one name came up: Michigan State's head coach, Saban. He wasn't even sure he wanted the job, as he was leading the Spartans to what would be a 9-2 season.

Not wanting to risk a leak that he was looking at leaving during the 1999 season, Saban sent his wife, Terry, to go see what LSU had to offer.

"Man, this place needs a lot of work," Saban's wife reported to him after. "The stadium's in bad shape, they have no academic facilities, the coaches' offices were in a bank building. I don't know how you would recruit there."

Following the final regular-season game against Penn State, Saban abruptly resigned to accept the head coaching position at LSU.

Saban was nearly immediately successful at LSU, earning a winning record in all five seasons at LSU, including two years with a double-digit win total. In 2001, LSU won its first outright SEC Championship since 1986, and in 2003, the first championship since 1958.

2. Joe Burrow's Recruiting Visit to LSU in 2019

LSU would never have put together the greatest team in college football with Joe Burrow, and Burrow would never have come to LSU without crawfish and Ed Orgeron.

After arriving at Ohio State as a four-star recruit in the class of 2015, Burrow spent three years in Columbus, which broke him down more than it built him up.

He was competing for the backup job behind the entrenched J.T. Barrett in 2017. But when Barrett suffered a broken hand against Michigan, Dwayne Haskins stepped in, rallied Ohio State to a comeback win, and cemented himself as the starter going forward.

Burrow spent his time in Columbus questioning everything. Was he happy? Was he ever going to make it playing football? Would he have to leave everything in Ohio for a chance at his dream?

So after the 2017 season, Burrow entered the transfer portal and set out to find answers.

He was leaning heavily toward Cincinnati, where one of the coaches who had recruited him to Ohio State, Luke Fickell, was now the head coach, and his girlfriend was.

LSU was a long shot.

But Orgeron needed a quarterback, and he needed him immediately. His tip to go after Burrow came from LSU assistant Bill Busch, who had coached at Ohio State, and immediately recognized Burrow's potential and told Orgeron, "If we get Joe Burrow, we're going to the College Football Playoffs."

After a flurry of phone calls, Burrow and his family headed to Baton Rouge for a recruiting visit on Mother's Day weekend in 2018.

But this wasn't the typical recruiting visit. Burrow didn't want to be recruited. He wanted to eat crawfish and talk football.

Orgeron had no choice but to oblige. This was his top target.

The problem, they were eating at Mike Anderson's restaurant, and the menu there didn't include crawfish. So Orgeron made a call, and the restaurant sourced crawfish from a local vendor and served them to Burrow and his family.

Orgeron later said that dinner included what "may have been the most important conversation I've ever had in my career."

But Orgeron didn't stop there.

Burrow said he wouldn't take calls for a couple of days, and Orgeron couldn't wait that long.

“[Burrow's brother, Dan] talks a lot more than Joe,” Orgeron said. “I said, ‘You’ve got to be my voice now. LSU or Cincinnati?’ Dan gave me a little hesitation, and I said, ‘Forget that. Do you love your brother? ... If you do, call your brother and tell him to get down here to LSU.’ He didn’t hesitate."

Burrow called Orgeron days later.

"‘Coach, I’m going to be at LSU tonight,'" Orgeron recalled Burrow telling him. "How about that?”

Burrow went on to lead LSU to a 15-0 season, winning the program's fourth national championship. He was also unanimously named to the 2019 All-SEC First Team and 2019 All-America team, as well as earning six national trophies, including the Heisman Trophy.

To cap it all off, he was the No. 1 Overall Pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Burrow's approach to his visit to LSU made it feel like he had made up his mind when he came to Baton Rouge. But after some community assistance, crawfish and Orgeron's persistence, LSU was home to one of college football's greatest seasons by a quarterback.

1. The Hiring of Les Miles and the Decision Not to Bring Back Nick Saban in 2004

When Saban left LSU for the Miami Dolphins in December of 2004, it triggered one of the most consequential coaching decisions in college football history.

The Dolphins' offer to Saban in 2004 was too lucrative for LSU to match. Saban told athletic director Skip Bertman: "If I don't take this offer, I'll never get another one, because this is the best offer ever given to a college football coach."

So Saban moved on, and LSU did too. It had to.

LSU hired Les Miles, the coach who turned around an abysmal Oklahoma State team in just three seasons. Miles didn't just have the resume LSU was looking for; he had a strong character, too.

After two dismal seasons with the Dolphins, Saban regretted leaving LSU and then decided to leave the NFL for the college world again.

LSU had a chance to make it all right and get Saban back in Baton Rouge.

But Saban had already been in talks with Alabama about its head coach opening.

LSU boosters wanted Saban back. LSU boosters kept calling Saban's agent and telling him that he would win faster with the Tigers than he would at Alabama.

But the attempts never mattered as Bertman stood firm behind Miles.

The rest is painful history for Tiger fans. Saban went to Alabama, built the most dominant dynasty in college football, and spent the next 16 years making fall in Baton Rouge miserable.

The coach LSU once refused to take back went on to rub it in LSU's face every first Saturday in November and even in the postseason a couple of times, going 12-5 against the Tigers.

As for Miles, the decision turned into some good. Miles immediately began to top Saban's impressive LSU record. His first three teams reached double-digit wins, a streak Saban never pulled off in Baton Rouge, and by Year 3, he matched Saban's national championship with one of his own.

Overall, Miles capped his career at LSU as the school’s second-winningest coach, being fired four games into the 2016 season.

But for LSU, it will always be what could have been, as Saban went on to win six national championships at Alabama.

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