Sunday’s team meeting was an emotional roller coaster for the Tigers.
Within minutes, the players went from an emotional low to a high ­­— a shake-back only Ed Orgeron could induce.
Former coach Les Miles spoke with his team one last time on Sunday afternoon after being relieved and then replaced by Orgeron.
The players were despondent after parting ways with the 12-year coach, but the mood changed when LSU athletic director Joe Alleva announced Orgeron, formerly the defensive line coach, as interim head coach.
“Coach Miles came in, and it was dull because we knew what happened,” said sophomore outside linebacker Arden Key. “He choked up a little bit, and we choked up too, just because of the love we have for him. Coach O came in, switched it around and brought a lot of energy to the team. His energy is contagious.”
During his introductory press conference on Monday, Orgeron said he’s instituting a new offensive scheme, which poses spreading the ball and being more creative in the passing attack with former tight ends coach Steve Ensminger as the new offensive coordinator.
The players weren’t yet up to speed on all of Orgeron’s proposed changes, but if one thing’s certain, it’s that he’s re-energizing a once-dejected team with two losses in September.
“He’s got to have Red Bull or something in his office,” said sophomore offensive guard Will Clapp. “I don’t even have that much energy … He’s the type of guy that’d headbutt a player with his helmet on.”
Orgeron has experience taking over a team that was lacking in the energy department after its preseason goals were shattered early in the season.
He served as USC’s interim head coach in 2013 after the team lost two of its first five games and consequently fired Lane Kiffin.
Orgeron salvaged the Trojans’ season, winning six games with two losses.
The USC job taught Orgeron what type of coach he is, he said, and playing with high energy an integral.
Key said the locker room pregame under Miles was largely quiet, and he was one of the only ones who would be “turnt,” but Orgeron opened up the possibility for players to “turn up” before the game.
“The game is still one of emotion,” Orgeron said. “It’s college football, and the guys want to get fired up. They want to get jacked up. They listen to music before the game now. They want to dance around. They want to have fun. It is the approach that we will take.”
Junior offensive tackle K.J. Malone echoed Key’s sentiment and said he noticed a stark contrast in the LSU football facility’s environment on Monday.
“I just feel like everybody is more hyped,” Malone said. “It’s just how Coach O is. Coach O yells all the time, so people are walking around yelling now.”
As high-energy as he is, Orgeron still knows when it’s time to tone it down.
He said he noticed players were fatigued from lengthy practices, so under his leadership the team will spend less time practicing and more in the meeting rooms.
Sophomore tight end Foster Moreau said Orgeron’s practices are NFL-style, in which the workload is more fast-paced and efficient in a shortened amount of time. It should preserve the players’ bodies for Saturdays, Key added.
“A lot of guys are excited about the news because we had a heavy workload,” Moreau said. “I’ve never really worked like that. It’s always been quantity of [repetitions] over the strict quality. I’m pretty excited to see how that works.”