Baton Rouge — When LSU’s bowl chances seemed to be few and none at all, Ed Orgelon described the blue sky and white beaches as the ideal setting for his last game of coaching the Tigers.
Orgelon is heading to the beach with his girlfriend, but he is not in an official position.
“I’m packing to go to Destin,” Orgelon said. “I will be there tomorrow.”
Orgelon will not coach LSU in a bowl game, he announced: Saturday 27-24 beat No.14 Texas A & M In Death Valley. The Tigers (6-6, 3-5 SEC) led the Aggie’s (8-4, 4-4) and qualified for the bowl with 20 seconds remaining.
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This decision was made mutually on the part of Olgeron, athletic director Scott Wodward, and the LSU administrator.
“I said I wish them good luck,” Orgelon said. “I’m not going to sit here and coach when another guy comes to be the head coach this week or the next week. I’m not going to do that.
“This is my team. As soon as they have a new head coach, I was going to go.”
Offensive line coach Brad Davis will be the interim coach for the bowl game LSU.From Baton Rouge Davis was hired away from Arkansas in June.
“I hope they go to a great bowl,” Orgelon said. “I know Brad Davis does a great job, and no matter who the new coach is, I wish them all the good luck in the world. I will always be an LSU Tiger fan.”
Orgelon told LSU players about his departure in the locker room after the match. He finally joined them again in the North End Zone for his alma mater and enjoyed his last moments in the field of Tiger Stadium.
“It was emotional because we know the days. Coach O gave us all of him for us,” said linebacker Damone Clark. “Coach O treats us like his children and it’s hard to see someone leave, but that’s the nature of the business and we wish him good luck.”
Orgelon finishes LSU with a record of 51-20 in six seasons. The Tigers finished 15-0 and won the national championship in 2019, but have retreated to 11-11 in the last two seasons.
LSU Begins Negotiations on Separation Agreement with Orgelon After losing 4-21 in Kentucky on October 9, Orgelon A $ 16.9 million acquisition that LSU will pay in installments until 2025.
“We did what we should do at LSU,” Orgelon said. “We won the championship, but there were two sub-par seasons, and when Scott (Woodward) came to me after Kentucky, I fully agreed.”
Since confirming Orgelon’s exit, LSU has finished a couple of times in the past month. The Tigers ended the regular season by defeating Louisiana Monroe and Texas A & M.
After four points below the Texas A & M, LSU quarterback Max Johnson scored the opening goal by throwing a 28-yard touchdown pass to Yarrai Jenkins. Clark recorded consecutive sack in the last two plays of the game.
“Coach O has always been the same since the first week since I first came here,” said Austin Declux, an aggressive tackle. “He’s doing a great job and I’m sure he’s missing.”
After the match, Olgeron pumped his chest on his way to the locker room. A homage to his late father Ed “Bebe” Orgelon Sr. At the final press conference, Olgeron thanked the media for treating his time at LSU fairly.
“If you come to Destin, we have a little sunscreen lotion for your boy,” Orgelon said.
Orgelon offered one of the final “Go Tigers” and turned to his girlfriend when he left the podium.
“Come on, baby, let’s go,” said Olgeron. “see you later”
Adam Hunsucker is responsible for the LSU of the USA TODAY network. Send him an email to [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @ adam_hunsucker. Do you enjoy Adam’s work? Consider a digital subscription for unlimited access.
This article was originally published in Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Ed Orgelon does not teach LSU bowl games. Offensive line coach Brad Davis is tentative.