It didn't even take 2 full seasons for LSU football to decide it needed a change in leadership from Ed Orgeron.
That leads WWL analyst Mike Detillier to ask one obvious but important question: "How could it have went south this quickly?"
That one-and-a-half season has seen the Tigers land just a shed over .500 and needing an upset of Florida to get there, but that wasn't enough to save Orgeron's job. The program officially announced Sunday evening Orgeron would be out after the season.
So what happened? Losing key players -- most notably star QB Joe Burrow -- was part of it. Losing key assistants was another factor. But most importantly, it was failing to handle success.
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"Most people in life can’t handle great success; can’t handle it. There is a reason 73% of Powerball and lottery winners are broke within 36 months," Detillier said. "[They] don’t know how to deal with money, they don’t know how to deal with that type of wealth all of a sudden. Ed did not do the best job — and I think when he’s gonna look back it he’s gonna admit that."
Orgeron won't be broke after 36 months, if for no other reason because his $17 million buyout deal from LSU pays out through 2025. It also means he's barred from taking a head coaching job in the SEC for at least 18 months. Orgeron said he has no plans to coach in any capacity in the 2022 season.
LSU fans have seen the fall from the mountaintop before their eyes, even if they weren't fully aware of what they were saying. It all played out in some obvious ways, but many that weren't so obvious, Detillier explains.
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“You lose your focus. You lose your, maybe work ethic isn’t as tight as it was before, and things distract you. People around you aren’t as good. You maybe don’t listen as well to people you maybe would have listened to," Detillier said. And that’s what great success brings you, OK? But no one wants to admit it. No one. ‘Oh, I can handle it.’ BS. You think you can handle it. Very few people can."
But neither LSU nor Louisiana at large are done with Orgeron. He'll remain the coach throughout the end of the season, which includes prime matchups against Ole Miss, Alabama and Texas A&M still to go. Orgeron will be at center stage for however those play out. He'll also remain affiliated with the school, with his buyout agreement stipulating he's required to do at least one public appearance representing the program per year through 2025.
But the Orgeron saga has made one thing very clear.
"It’s hard to get to the mountaintop," Detillier continues. "It’s even harder to stay there."
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