LSU fired longtime head football coach Les Miles on Sept. 25, 2016, after a 2-2 start with two close losses to Auburn University and University of Wisconsin-Madison. Current coach Ed Orgeron is 6-2 as of Oct. 21 with a disastrous loss to Mississippi State University and a loss to Troy University that wasn’t as close as the score would suggest at 24-21. Both losses, plus a subpar win to Syracuse University, means that 3-2 record should put Coach O in the hot seat.
The Mississippi State game was a horrible showing for an LSU team that was expected to be good. In a game with zero turnovers by either team, LSU should never have lost 37-7. The in-game stats look bad when the offense puts up 270 total yards and even worse when Mississippi State puts up 465 total yards on our defense.
Mississippi State followed up the shellacking of LSU by dropping its next two games with a combined total of 80-13. Following the massive loss to Mississippi State, the Tigers laid a gigantic egg and lost to Troy. Troy upset LSU, giving the university its first loss to a non-conference team at home since 2000.
LSU played itself into defeat because of a woeful four turnovers and an arguably worse third-down percentage of 0 percent going 0-9 on the day. A team like LSU has no business ever losing to a team like Troy and at some point, that blame comes down on the head coach and the coordinators.
Les Miles didn’t evolve his offense from a ground and pound scheme that became outdated in the early 2010s. Miles’s inability to grow inevitably led to the firing and permanent hiring of Coach O. The issue is Coach O and offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Canada’s reputation as an offensive guru is long and extensive including successful stints all across the country, last of which was at the University of Pittsburgh.
At LSU, Canada’s ability hasn’t translated with the offense regressing from 39th in total offense last year to 76th in total offense so far this season.
The running game has taken a scary regression under Canada’s offense going from 7th to 40th. The regression isn’t as simple as losing personnel either because the leading rusher last year is still on the roster in Derrius Guice. Admittedly, part of Guice’s regression is because of an injury.
LSU just seems content relying on its defense only and it is troublesome. Coach O may have a considerable buyout cost – it’s $12 million this year, according to nola.com.
LSU needs to look past the price and see how beneficial moving on could be. Coach O is an invaluable recruiter, but this isn’t Troy, and athletes coming out of high school want to come to LSU.
If that isn’t enough proof, LSU can just sign well-known recruiters. One of these options could be Frank Wilson, former LSU recruiter and current head coach at the University of Texas at San Antonio. LSU could go after coaches like Chip Kelly who would implement an entirely different style of offense. The options are endless as they were last year.
The Tigers took a sidestep last year by hiring Coach Orgeron to a long-term deal and the Canada signing does not seem right either. LSU needs to realize that to compete, the team is going to need a competent offense. The smashmouth approach is excellent in short bursts but the last few seasons have shown it is not satisfactory as the primary offense. Improvement is necessary, preferably with new blood in Tiger Stadium.
Miles Jordan is a 20-year-old liberal arts sophomore from New Orleans, Louisiana.
