LSU’s Orgeron has more job security than many think

Ed Orgeron has a lot of purple and gold support.

Yet, there is that faction at LSU that will continue to perceive Orgeron as a placeholder, the coach after Les Miles and the coach before Coach Fill-in-the-Blank.

However, those who are anticipating a swift Orgeron departure will likely be sorely disappointed.

Over the past few weeks, Orgeron has secured a flurry of commitments including one from 5 star defensive back Deryl Stingley of Baton Rouge.

Those commitments have raised LSU to the sixth spot in the ESPN recruiting rankings.

In Louisiana, there’s still room for LSU to grow its profile.

Amite five star defensive tackle Ishmael Sopsher and Destrehan running back John Emery are still uncommitted. So, are wide receivers Trey Palmer of Kentwood and Devonte Lee of Amite and defensive back Devin Bush of Edna Karr.

So, if LSU wins seven games, their current over/under total for the Tigers in Vegas, do you make a coaching change and risk losing, potentially, the nation’s number one recruiting class?

The answer is, of course not.

The only way back to the top of the SEC West is to have better players and a better quarterback than Alabama.

Yes, that is a very high bar. It is also reality, no matter the head coach in charge.

Under Les Miles’ tenure, LSU had many great players including Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry and Patrick Peterson but the program had slipped over his last four seasons.

In those four years, Alabama had 10 first round picks while LSU had three.

In the three games that a Les Miles-coached LSU team defeated Alabama, the Tigers had better players in 2007, pulled a mild upset at home in 2010 and one year later were on a par with Bama when LSU won 9-6 in overtime in Tuscaloosa.

Back the present, Ohio State transfer quarterback Joe Burrow seems to be winning over the coaching staff in his brief time in Baton Rouge. He gets plaudits for his accurac and his leadership.

If Burrow is as talented as the LSU coaches believe, the Tigers, despite an onerous schedule, are likely to exceed seven wins.

Teams with good quarterback play and excellent defensive front sevens have a tendency to be relatively successful or better than expectations.

On the Tigers Football Caravan in Metairie, defensive coordinator Dave Aranda noted how lack of depth on the defensive line caught up with the Tigers last season.

He doesn’t anticipate that being the case in 2018.

Aranda said last year some of his d-lineman played 60 snaps per game, when the optimum number was about 36.

Understandably, the goal of summer coaching caravans is to spread good news and generate optimism.

In the fall, positive vibes can quickly dissipate.

Unless LSU wins five or fewer games this fall – in other words, a total train wreck – Orgeron will be back in 2019, perhaps with one of the best recruiting classes in the history of of the program.