LSU Tigers

LSU hires Ed Orgeron as its full-time head football coach

Published Dec. 9, 2016 12:50 p.m. ET

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Chris Bahr

The LSU Tigers named Ed Orgeron as their new head football coach on Saturday afternoon, removing his interim tag and ending the program’s pursuit of Tom Herman.

At his introductory news conference Saturday afternoon, Orgeron promised to live up to the high expectations and standards that come with the "greatest job in the country":

“I believe that we can compete for it very fast. Now that I have been given full rein … I have a vision and there’s certain pieces of the puzzle that have to come together. And I do believe they will come together and once they come together, off we go.”

Orgeron went 5-2 after replacing Les Miles — fired after an 18-13 loss to Auburn on Sept. 24 — on an interim basis. He led the Tigers to a convincing 54-39 win over at Texas A&M on Thanksgiving.

Following that win over the Aggies, it was clear Orgeron had the support of his players, who chanted “Keep Coach O!” in the locker room:

With Orgeron staying at LSU, Houston’s Herman immediately became the favorite to take over at Texas. And not long after the Longhorns fired Charlie Strong on Saturday morning, there were reports that Herman would be hired to replace him in Austin.

And Herman might not be the only domino to fall with this hire, as The Advocate in Baton Rouge reports Orgeron is expected to pursue Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin for the same position on his LSU staff:

Kiffin's next order of business, however, is top-ranked Alabama's Iron Bowl matchup with Auburn this afternoon.

As for Orgeron, he went 6-2 as USC's interim head coach during the 2013 season and 10-25 at Ole Miss from 2005-2007 - his only previous stint as a full-time head coach in college football.

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