BATON ROUGE – Ed Orgeron, one of the premier defensive line coaches and recruiters in college football, has been named LSU’s defensive line coach, head coach Les Miles announced on Wednesday morning.
Orgeron, a Louisiana native with deep roots to his home state, will take the place of Brick Haley, who is being reassigned within the LSU Athletic Department.
“Ed is an expert when it comes to the defensive line,” Miles said. “He will bring tremendous enthusiasm and energy to our program. His passion and love for the state of Louisiana makes him a great fit for us.
“Ed has done a great job at every coaching stop he’s made. His teams are always well prepared, played hard on every snap and fed off the enthusiasm and excitement that he brought to the field. This is a great hire for us and we are really excited about Coach O becoming a Tiger.”
Orgeron last coaching stop came at Southern Cal where he served as recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach for the Trojans for four years (2010-13). Orgeron was elevated to interim head coach at USC for the final eight games of the 2013 season, leading the Trojans to a 6-2 mark over that span.
While at Southern Cal, Orgeron was named by Sporting News as the nation’s No. 2 recruiter in 2012. A year earlier, Scout.com named him the National Recruiter of the Year, ESPNU/ESPN The Magazine named him the top recruiter in college football (and third-best in all of collegiate athletics) and Rivals.com ranked him as the second-best recruiter of the previous 10 years (2002-11) in college football.
Orgeron served two stints at Southern Cal, the first as the Trojan’s defensive line coach from 1998 to 2004. He added the title of recruiting coordinator for USC in 2001 and helped the Trojans to top five signing classes for three-straight years from 2002-04. Rivals.com and Sporting News named him the 2004 National Recruiter of the Year.
Orgeron left USC in 2005 to become the head coach at Ole Miss, where he went 10-25 in three years with Rebels from 2005-07.
Orgeron spent the 2008 season coaching the defensive line for the New Orleans Saints and then joined Tennessee as defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator in 2009. He returned to Southern Cal following the 2009 season.
Orgeron made a name for himself as a top defensive line coach at the University of Miami from 1988-92, where he coached eight All-Americans, including NFL first rounders Cortez Kennedy, Russell Maryland and Warren Sapp. In 1988, he was a graduate assistant at Miami, working with the defensive line. During his tenure, the Hurricanes won the national championship twice (1989 and 1991), finished second in the AP poll once (1988) and third twice (1990 and 1992) while appearing in five New Year’s Day bowls (1989 Orange, 1990 Sugar, 1991 Cotton, 1992 Orange, 1993 Sugar).
Orgeron also was a graduate assistant at Northwestern (La.) State, his alma mater, in 1984 and McNeese State in 1985, working with the defensive line at both schools, then was an assistant strength coach at Arkansas for two years (1986-87). The Razorbacks were in the 1987 Orange Bowl and 1987 Liberty Bowl. He worked in private business in 1993.
As a player, Orgeron was a four-year starter on the defensive line for Northwestern State, captaining the Demons as a senior. He received his bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Northwestern State in 1984.
He starred in football, basketball and track at South Lafourche High in Galliano, La.
Born July 27, 1961, he and his wife, Kelly, have 3 sons, Tyler, and twins Parker and Cody. He played himself in the 2009 Oscar-nominated movie, “The Blind Side.”