Nebraska Football Coaching Candidates: The good, bad and dark horses

Bad: Ed Orgeron

It’s normal to start talking about someone like Ed Orgeron in some circles when a job like the Nebraska football team’s comes open. After all, the former LSU coach won a National Title just three years ago.

At the same time, it says something that he was fired by the Bayou Bengals just two years after that. There’s just something about Orgeron that tends to make him a darling for a half second, before people get very tired of him.

It’s also not like he’s boasted a sterling, consistent head coaching record. His first stint as a major college head coach was at Ole Miss where he went a positively Frostian 10-25 and 3-21 in the SEC in three years before being fired.

He then had a successful run as the interim head coach at USC, going 6-2 in 2013 but … was not kept on in a permanent role. It wasn’t until 2016 that he finally got another chance at a head job, catching on with LSU. His first few years were quite good, including 15-0 in 2019. However, he went just 11-11 in his final two seasons before being fired.

It wasn’t just the on-field performance that convinced LSU to move on and bring in Brian Kelly of all people. Kelly, it should be pointed out appears to be the polar opposite of Orgeron, which should tell anyone hoping he could take Nebraska football to the highest heights following Scot Frost’s departure.

Orgeron has spent a good deal of his career surrounded by whispers and sometimes loud declarative statements about recruiting violations. No thanks.