Ahead Of What Might Be The Craziest College Football Coaching Carousel We've Ever Seen, Coach O Wants To Get Back Into Coaching
This isn't the first time Coach O has expressed an interest in getting back into coaching since being fired by LSU. But the fact that he's going on a podcast to say it again right now... on the verge of an offseason where seemingly half the teams in college football are about to have job openings... it seems pretty clear that if Coach O had his druthers, he would love to be leading a college football program come 2026.
In a tongue and cheek way, part of of me is almost disappointed in him. As a regular person who isn't eternally fueled by a insatiable competitive desire to win football games, I appreciated how Coach O took his $17M buyout from LSU and moved to a beach in Florida. Coach O was one of us. He was doing what all regular people say they would do if they were paid tens of millions of dollars to stop working. Just buy a house on the beach and fuck off for the rest of your life.
To be fair, the courts did order Coach O to turn half of his buyout over to his ex-wife. But still, $8M should still be plenty enough to ride off into the sunset for a 60+ year old retired football coach.
But Coach O is now 64-years old. To have millions of dollars in the bank at that age, and still have the itch to get back to work... that does not compute in my brain. I could not relate to that impulse any less. But that's the cruel irony of being rich and successful. In order to get to the point of earning a multi-million dollar buyout, your work ethic has to be off the charts. You need to be competitive to the point that it's bad for your health. If your wife and kids aren't calling family meetings to beg you to stop coaching, because you're literally having heart attacks on the sideline every time your opponent scores a touchdown, you're never going to be a great coach. People who are wired that way can't simply accept a multi-million dollar buyout and "fuck off".
How foolish of me to think Coach O would be any different. Of course he wants to get back into coaching. The term "Football Guy" is thrown around a lot (some might say too much) here at Barstool. But there is truly nobody who defines "Football Guy" better than Ed Orgeron. Winning a National Championship with LSU may have satisfied him for short time. But now he's been away from coaching for some years... the only thing that National Championship did was give him a taste of what winning one is like. Now he's got the hunger. And even at 64-years old, he's fiending for another.
I can't say what school would be the best fit for Coach O. Coach O is such an outlier when it comes to college football coaches. He took over one of the best teams in college football history. His roster was so phenomenally good that people are almost reluctant to give him credit for winning. But he's clearly a great recruiter. He's clearly a great motivator. If Coach O can get the right coordinators around him, I really do think he could lead another team to a National Championship. But again... he's 64-years old. He's such a character. It's what makes him the perfect interim head coach. But are any National Championship worthy teams out there wiling to turn the keys over to Coach O? That remains to be seen.
But as Coach O said... he's willing to coach the defensive line if it's for the right team. So for any teams right now who feel as if they're on the precipice of breaking through... and maybe their defense could use a little boost... I gotta think there's a place for Ed Orgeron somewhere in college football. If Coach O truly wants to get back into coaching, I'm sure he has a place in college football.