Ed Orgeron is more than ready to lead his LSU Tigers to a fantastic season, and they have already cracked the top 15 in the country. He is the perfect coach for a team that seemed to have lost its way, and he is suited to this program because he believes in his Players. This writer does not purport to know if this team can keep winning, but this writer knows that belief goes a long way in determining how a team will play. Ed Orgeron does nothing but talk about how capable his players are, and that should help them play with the confidence they need to succeed.
Why is LSU surging?
LSU is surging because the team Orgeron inherited was not bad at all. He has more than enough talent on the roster, and he hired an offensive coordinator that he believes can turn around their offense. He talks glowingly about all his players, and he is trying to pump up the confidence of his offense in the media. This is a good step in the right direction for this program, and it gives Orgeron a lot of goodwill that he needs within the locker room.
Can he will them to win?
This writer believes that some games can be won by sheer will, and belief may cause Orgeron to make bad decisions in other games. It simply depends on what happens in the moment. That kind of coaching is much of what got Les Miles fired, but it was not perceived the same way in Miles.
We all assumed Miles was bad at making decisions, but we never assumed that he just believed in his players more. Perhaps we should have taken a deeper look at his motivations. If nothing else, Orgeron has proven that he just believes in his team more. He will trust them to do things that other teams might not do, and it could lead to success or failure.
Now is not their year
No matter what LSU does this season, they will not be able to beat Alabama. However, it will be interesting to see what they can do after a whole year working under Orgeron. The team will be very familiar with how he runs things, and they may circle Alabama on the calendar knowing that they have a chance of actually beating them.
That would make the whole 2018 season very interesting, and the team could still give Alabama a scare this year. We simply have to wait and see how close LSU is to making a push to win the west.
He has landed in the right spot
Ed Orgeron has clearly landed in the right spot. He has the accent and the grit to coach in Louisiana, and he seems like the kind of guy who can appeal to local talent. That is what LSU needs, and it could see them return to prominence in a very short period of time.