When LSU promoted Ed Orgeron as its head football coach on Nov. 26, athletic director Joe Alleva said he had 90 percent confidence the 55-year-old Cajun was going to deliver on a high-powered, point-scoring offensive coordinator.

Wednesday, Orgeron did as LSU hired former Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Matt Canada after one season with the Panthers. Canada will replace interim play-caller Steve Ensminger, who will be paid a lump-sum payment of $75,000 for his role as interim.

Canada will remain as offensive coordinator at Pittsburgh through the Panthers’ Pinstripe Bowl game versus Northwestern on Dec. 28, Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi said in a news release Wednesday. 
“We have a real opportunity under Coach Orgeron to propel LSU football to another level,” Canada said. “The chance to put together a high-powered offense with the athletic ability available at LSU and the leadership of Coach ‘O’ is incredibly exciting. I’ve long-respected Coach Orgeron’s ability to recruit, lead and motivate. What he did as head coach at LSU under difficult circumstances was really impressive.  I’m thrilled to be a part of the vision for the program.” 

So, who is Canada?

His offenses have been described as “creatively simplistic.” Meaning, Canada’s offense is complex enough to confuse defenses and simple for his unit to understand.

“Any offensive system, you want your kids to know what to do, and certainly you have to score points,” LSU’s new offensive coordinator told ESPN in a November interview. “That’s all that matters. People talk about how many plays you run, lots of people looking at different stats, but the bottom line is, if you win or you lose, it’s all about scoring points. We want it to be as simple as we can for our guys, but you have to find a way to score. So that’s a fair assessment, is we’re trying to make it hard for defenses.”

Prior to Pittsburgh, as offensive coordinator at North Carolina State, Canada and the Wolfpack notched the program’s highest rushing total since 1977 with 2,659 yards in 2014.

Under his direction, the Wolfpack concocted two of the top seven scoring seasons in school history: 432 points (3rd) in 2015 and 392 points (7th) in 2014 and two of the top five rushing outputs in school history: 2,659 yards (4th) in 2014 and 2,627 yards (5th) in 2015.

Canada helped mold former Florida quarterback, and now New England Patriot reserve, Jacoby Brissett as one of the top quarterbacks in the Atlantic Coast Conference during his time at NC State. Brissett threw 43 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions over his junior and senior seasons in the ACC.

Brissett was one of just three Power 5 conference quarterbacks in 2014 with at least 2,000 passing yards, 300 rushing yards, 20 passing TDs and five (or fewer) interceptions.

From 2004-10, Canada was the quarterbacks coach at Indiana. He was the Hoosiers’ offensive coordinator his final four seasons (2007-10) after serving as passing game coordinator for two years (2005-06). In 2007, the Hoosiers posted a school-record 412 points earning an invitation to the Insight Bowl — the program’s first postseason game in 14 years.

The spread offense is the way of the future, Orgeron said during the introductory presser, although some teams are still running the pro-style, ground-and-pound type of offense.

From his first official day in office, Orgeron said his “blueprint, or mindset” for LSU’s offensive future include: a dual-threat quarterback, a heavy use of tight ends in the passing game and a ferocious run game.

All of which, Canada’s scheme fits.
“When I first sat down with Joe Alleva and we mapped out a plan for LSU football, we agreed that we were going to demand excellence on both sides of the ball,” said Orgeron. “We want a defense that’s impenetrable and an offense that’s exciting and unstoppable. Anyone who wants to play football at the highest levels is going to want to play at LSU.”

• A note: When officially hired, Orgeron said he expects Ensminger, LSU’s former tight ends coach before his interim promotion, to remain on staff after the hiring of an offensive coordinator … “Steve Ensminger is going to be a Tiger with me,” Orgeron said on Nov. 26. “I love him. I spoke to Steve this morning, he’s always going to be with me.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

Prior to his official promotion more than two weeks ago, Orgeron presented Alleva and other LSU officials with a list of names — probable staff, offensive coordinator candidates — in hopes of renewing the program to championship-level competition.

Prior to last Friday, Lane Kiffin was, reportedly, a frontrunner for Houston’s head coaching gig before losing in the race to Cougars’ assistant Major Applewhite, leaving Kiffin available for pickup by LSU, according to The Advocate. Former LSU coach Les Miles was also a finalist for the Houston job before the University went with Applewhite, a Baton Rouge native.

Once the Cougars decided to stay in-house with Applewhite, focus for the Tide offensive coordinator shifted to South Florida, another alternative for Kiffin, before that spot was filled by former Texas coach Charlie Strong a week ago.

After Alabama blasted Florida, 54-16,  in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 3, it was no secret Kiffin wanted to be a head coach, but his friendship with Orgeron could’ve provided a soft landing pad if being a head coach become intangible.

“He wants to be a head coach,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said after the Championship Game. “I want him to be a head coach. I want to help him to get a head coaching job. The rest of it we have not discussed, and I don’t think it’s the right time. Maybe the right time will be sometime in the next couple weeks. But, right now, we’re focusing on him trying to get a head coaching job.”

Since the announcement, Kiffin headlined the list to remodel LSU’s offense. Monday morning, multiple reports surfaced saying Kiffin, a 41-year-old offensive guru and longtime friend of Orgeron’s, was announced to become Florida Atlantic’s next head coach.

Kiffin’s hire became official Tuesday in an introductory press conference.

“Why [Kiffin] emerged, he wanted to be the next head coach at FAU more than anyone else we talked to,” FAU athletic director Pat Chun told reporters Tuesday in a news conference.

Kiffin, who will make $1.4 million as offensive coordinator in Tuscaloosa this season, is expected to make roughly $950,000 per year as head coach at FAU. Fox Sports reported earlier this week Kiffin’s new deal is a five-year contract. Kiffin added he intends to coach the Tide’s offensive in the College Football Playoff at his introductory FAU news conference.

Kiffin told reporters he would not be a coach anywhere else, other than Alabama, if not for the job opportunity at FAU.

“That’s why I don’t read what’s out there,” he told reporters in Boca Raton, Florida, on FAU’s campus.

Because of the prudent contractual details for Orgeron — who agreed to a five-year, $3.5 million-a-year deal with LSU, according to The Advocate — the Tigers added more flexibility to set aside larger contractual sums to fill its coordinating positions.

Earlier this month, LSU announced the official re-signing of defensive coordinator Dave Aranda to a three-year deal, making him the highest paid coordinator in football. Aranda will make $1.8 million next season, 1.85 in 2018 and 1.9 in 2019.

Canada’s deal is pending approval from LSU’s Board of Supervisors. His contract is expected to be a three-year deal worth more than $1 million per year, according to The Advocate.
“We want coaches who will represent this program with integrity, who recognize that character is as important as wins,” Alleva said. “We want coaches who pay attention to every detail and hold these young student-athletes accountable, on and off the field.” 

That’s when Tiger eyes turned toward Canada.
“Coach O and Joe have been very clear about what they expect,” Canada said. “With the talent already here and what we will recruit, we can put together one of the best offenses in the country. We’re going to develop quarterbacks, score points and bring some excitement to the offense here at LSU. And of course, we’re going to do it the right way — the LSU way.” 

You can reach Christian Boutwell, @CBoutwell_