Former LSU head coach Ed Orgeron has never shied away from a good soundbite, and he gave just that this week when retelling his ouster in Baton Rouge.
The decision was made midway through the 2021 season with LSU mired in a second consecutive disappointing season. AD Scott Woodward was on hand to see the Tigers' 42-21 beatdown by Kentucky, and Orgeron said he was called into his boss's office for the obvious to be stated.
"They said 'coach, things are not going well,'" Orgeron recalled, speaking at the Little Rock Touchdown Club this week. "'No shit, Ray Charles could see that, brother.'"
And the Louisiana native confirmed what many had guessed: The program's willingness to guarantee the remainder of his contract made the departure much easier to stomach.
That fact was summed up in hilarious fashion by Orgeron himself:
I gotta tell you this, though. [They] say, coach, you got $17.1 million on your contract. We're gonna give it to you' " Orgeron recalled, before continuing: "I said, 'what time do you want me to leave and what door do you want me out of, brother.'"
Orgeron's buyout involved several other stipulations, including continued media obligations with the program and limitations to where he could potentially coach next. But it's clear he was more than OK with his time being called at LSU after a half-dozen years, and one ascendantly perfect 2019 season and College Football Playoff title to his name.
"I'm so grateful of my time at LSU," he said. "That was my opportunity, You know, coaches got a shelf [life]. Some coaches got 50 years. Some coaches got 12. Mine was 6. Good."
OL coach Brad Davis served as the head coach for the Tigers bowl game and the Baton Rouge native was retained on new head coach Brian Kelly's staff. This year's squad dropped its opener, 24-23 to Florida State, marking the third consecutive season LSU football began 0-1.
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