Coach O has proved that he has the perfect skill set to be a great interim head coach. At both USC and LSU he tweaked an existing staff and provided an emotional infusion to pull two large programs out of a death stall. I'm an LSU fan since the sixties and have experienced quite a roller coaster ride --- It's not always been fun, but for the most part, since O took over after the Auburn game last year, it's been fun, but with the agony of the MS and Troy games, I sure was wondering three weeks ago why I ever wanted to see O get the permanent HC job! I can take a loss in stride as long as LSU plays with spirit and gets beat, but this year's two losses were pitiful. To O's credit, he turned it and here we are dreaming that just maybe, we really can beat bama. Unlike CLM after the 21-0 agony, Coach O has shown and quickly shown that he can change. However, Coach O has not yet shown that he can be a great or even a good permanent HC for LSU, but it's way to early to tell, even if LSU was undefeated right now, it's way to early to judge. Will the LSU team continue to consistently play with intensity? How will this year's and future years' recruiting classes turn out? When our coordinators and position coaches move on, will O be able to find top replacements? But at least for right now... it's fun being an LSU fan. Geaux Tigers.
9 win season at Toledo, 4 seasons of .500 or above at Michigan State which is not easy to do. Being a head coach and an interim coach are 2 totally different things. Nick had his track record which was a decent one, O's track record was horrendous save 2 stints playing with house money. Look I get it, I want Orgeron to succeed, but my head is not in the sand either. Let's see how this thing turns out before we crown him that's all I'm saying.
To succeed, O needs to consistently inspire players, coaches, school administrators and fans in a very different way than Saban does. He needs to recruit good players, hire top coaches and most importantly, be honest as to what his limits are so as to nurture "esprit de corps" which is something that CLM ultimately failed to do. Decades ago, I did a tour or two in the Gulf. What politics and bs routinely went on, but once, we were in a true emergency (a giant storm) and the entire rig was endangered. Instantly, as the situation changed, the individuals making the calls changed and it was as if everyone knew who the best person was at any given moment, regardless of their position, to make the decisions that all of our lives depended upon. When I hear of receivers with no catches in a game, excited to see film of how well they blocked, and express the view that what's important is the team winning, I'm hopeful that O is building the kind of team which I want to be a fan of.
I don’t think most of us are crowning him, just trying to retort the opposite from the likes of Taint, and trying to embrace the positives. At least Six Pack is talking about the weaknesses Bama does have and trying to talk about us having a chance against them, and not rolling over playing dead. For me, I’m enjoying watching LSU again, something that was lost since 2011. CLM just became too frustrating, kind of like his alter ego here on TF.
