Ed Orgeron's days are officially numbered as the Tigers head coach, and the numbers involved in LSU's decision to make a leadership change are big ones.
LSU Athletic Director Scott Woodward announced the decision for LSU to move on from Orgeron as its head coach two years removed from a national title, though he'll remain in his role for the remainder of the 2021 season.
"I know Coach O will continue to give everything that he has, because that’s who he is,” Woodward said in his remarks.
Orgeron said Woodward approached him about the decision after a blowout loss to Kentucky that LSU's AD was on hand for, but the announcement didn't come until the hours after the Tigers' upset of Florida 7 days later.
That inevitable breakup required a buyout and several other stipulations, laid out in a termination agreement obtained by WWL Radio. Among those included an agreement that Orgeron would not take a head coaching job within the Southeastern Conference for 18 months.
Orgeron took away any mystery as far as his plans immediately after the season: He won't be coaching anywhere in 2022.
“I want to take a little time off," Orgeron said.
He added: "I think I’ll have enough money to buy me a hamburger every once in a while."
That will certainly be true, based on the buyout figures laid out the in termination agreement. Orgeron will be scheduled to receive nine separate payouts, the first scheduled for Dec. 15, 2021 in the total of $5 million.
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The next two will come on June 15 and Dec. 15, 2022 in the amount of $1 million. He'll also receive two payments each of $750,000, $500,000 and $426,000 each year, with the final coming on Dec. 15, 2025.
But that's not all. The company Tiger Boyz LLC will also receive nine buyout payments on the same schedule, eight in the total of $750,000 after the initial payment of $667,000. UbieKauf LLC will also receive a one-time payment of $680,000.
In all the buyout deal amounts to just shy of $18 million. After a new contract signed after the title season, Orgeron was the second-highest paid college coach behind only Alabama's Nick Saban, with a reported annual salary of just over $9 million.
The termination agreement also includes media appearance stipulations, with Orgeron required to make at least one public appearance on behalf of LSU per year through 2025. It's not specified what form those appearances might take. The school will also retain the ability to use Orgeron's name and likeness in media and promotional materials throughout the course of the agreement.
Finally, the agreement mandates Orgeron's cooperation in any investigations of the program. LSU's coach will also remain an employee of the program throughout the term.
And as Woodward put it Sunday evening: “The search for LSU’s next championship football coach begins today."
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