ATLANTA — In a new and somewhat surprising development regarding the offensive coordinator job at LSU, coach Ed Orgeron admitted to the media it was a “mistake” to hire Matt Canada for the 2017 season.
“Here’s the deal, it’s tough when you make a mistake,” Orgeron said. “But it’s even tougher not to admit you made a mistake. [Canada’s offense] just wasn’t a good fit. I had to do what I thought was best for the LSU program. So that’s why I did it.”
Orgeron elected to not retain Canada in January after the bowl game against Notre Dame. Instead, Orgeron elected to promote tight ends coach Steve Ensminger to the offensive coordinator position.
After the 2016 season, Orgeron said to the media that he was going to go after the best offensive mind in the country. The “hottest commodity” didn’t pan out the way Orgeron or LSU fans had hoped so he went the route of building from within with Ensminger hire.
“I know Steve Ensminger wasn’t the hottest commodity out there, but I went after the hottest commodity and it didn’t work,” Orgeron said. “I have complete confidence in the direction he wants to take this offense. The players respect Steve and I think he’s an excellent game day caller and he’s a great recruiter.”
In 2016, Ensminger was the interim offensive coordinator, displaying gaudy numbers in his limited time. LSU averaged 32 points per game to go with 464.9 yards averaged in eight games with the Tigers.