LSU lifted Orgeron's interim title and officially named him permanent head coach.
BATON ROUGE -- Ed Orgeron, who led the Tigers to a 5-2 mark as interim coach over the past two months, has been named LSU's head football coach, vice chancellor and director of athletics Joe Alleva announced on Saturday.
Orgeron, a native of Larose, Louisiana, becomes the 33rd head football coach in LSU history. Orgeron, who has also served as head coach at Ole Miss and Southern Cal, is 11-4 in his Past 15 games as a head coach, which includes a 6-2 mark as interim coach at USC.
"This is a great day for LSU and for all of Louisiana," Alleva said. "We got our man and he's been here all along. Coach Orgeron has demonstrated his ability to run this program with excellence, even under difficult circumstances. Coach ‘O' earned this job. I worked closely with [LSU] President Alexander and board leadership throughout a very deliberate process. By the end of that process, our decision was clear. Coach Orgeron took us step by step through every aspect of his plans for this program and there was no question that he is the man to lead LSU football."
Since taking over as interim coach of the Tigers on Sept. 25, Orgeron guided LSU to a 5-2 mark, beating four Southeastern Conference opponents – Missouri, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Texas A&M – all by double-digits. LSU's two losses during that span came by a total of 16 points as the Tigers held top-ranked Alabama scoreless for three quarters and came up a yard short in falling to Florida, 16-10.
In seven games under Orgeron, LSU set offensive records for most yards in a SEC game (634 vs. Missouri), longest scoring play from scrimmage (Derrius Guice 96-yard TD run vs. Arkansas), and twice set the school single-game rushing record (Leonard Fournette 284 yards vs. Ole Miss, Derrius Guice 285 yards vs. Texas A&M).
Defensively, LSU held opponents scoreless for 14 of 28 quarters under Orgeron and limited the opposition to an average of 10.3 points per game over the seven contests. With 39 points, Texas A&M became the only team to score more than 21 points against LSU this year. Overall, LSU's defense, under Dave Aranda, ranks in the top three in the SEC in three major categories – scoring, total defense and rushing defense.
Orgeron originally joined the Tiger staff in 2015 as defensive line coach, before adding the title of recruiting coordinator in the spring of 2016.
In his first year with the Tigers in 2015, Orgeron's defensive front served as a catalyst for a Tiger defense that ranked No. 3 in the SEC in both rushing yards (122.9 yards per game) and sacks (34). Six times in 2015 LSU's defense help opponents to fewer than 100 yards rushing in a game, including limiting Mississippi State to 43 yards in the season-opener and Texas Tech to 29 in the Texas Bowl.
Prior to joining the LSU staff, Orgeron's last coaching stop came at Southern Cal where he served as recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach for the Trojans for four years (2010-13). Orgeron was elevated to interim head coach at USC for the final eight games of the 2013 season, leading the Trojans to a 6-2 mark over that span.
As a player, Orgeron was a four-year starter on the defensive line for Northwestern State, captaining the Demons as a senior. He received his bachelor's degree in liberal arts from Northwestern State in 1984.
