Life after Burrow begins
Published 7:14 pm Wednesday, January 15, 2020
NEW ORLEANS — Ed Orgeron’s dream came true.
The Cajun coach on Monday night led LSU to a perfect ending to the perfect season as his Tigers defeated Clemson 42-25 in the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Doing so in New Orleans made it all the more special.
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So how to celebrate such a momentous occasion? The party raged well into Tuesday morning as an avalanche of purple and gold flooded onto Bourbon Street, but Orgeron was nowhere to be found among the crowded balconies.
Instead, Orgeron enjoyed a quiet meal with his wife, Kelly, and got some well-deserved sleep before doing one more news conference and starting work on LSU’s title defense.
“We didn’t know what we was going to eat,” Orgeron said Tuesday morning. “Somebody gave us some Popeyes fried chicken, so we took it up in the room, and she ate half of hers and I ate the rest. And then we went to bed.”
LSU will commemorate its fourth national title with a parade through campus on Saturday. It’s scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. with a celebration to follow at noon.
Orgeron will take part in the festivities, obviously, but the coach woke up on Tuesday morning thinking about the work that’s ahead.
“We’re going to enjoy this, but it’s a recruiting weekend this weekend,” he said. “We’re going to start recruiting, get after it, and on to next year.”
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Orgeron’s prowess as a recruiter is the stuff of legends, and he’ll need it if LSU is going to have a chance to defend its crown next season.
It starts internally. Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow is moving on the NFL, as is heralded passing game coordinator Joe Brady. Reports surfaced Tuesday afternoon that Brady has agreed to terms to become the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers.
LSU and Brady agreed to terms on a contract extension, according to a Sports Illustrated report, but that didn’t discourage NFL teams from pursuing the 30-year-old wiz kid. Now LSU will have to find a replacement to help 61-yearold offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger run the show.
Several key contributors to LSU’s 15-0 season face their own NFL decisions. Think how different this season might have been had stalwarts like Rashard Lawrence, Kristian Fulton and Damien Lewis not decided to come back for their senior years.
All-American safety and Thorpe Award winner Grant Delpit and linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson are projected to be taken high in the NFL draft. Defensive linemen Tyler Shelvin and Glen Logan, linebackers Jacob Phillips and Patrick Queen and defensive backs JaCoby Stevens and Kary Vincent are draft eligible.
“I’m not really sure yet,” said Queen, who earned Defensive MVP honors for his eighttackle performance against Clemson. “Got to go home and talk to my parents and Coach O, do everything the right way. But LSU is always going to be capable of doing what we did this year. We’ve got great players, great coaches. As long as we believe in each other, we’ll be able to accomplish anything.”
That record-setting offense could look a lot different next season. Even if Myles Brennan takes over the starting quarterback gig, his supporting cast will feature some new faces.
Lewis and Adrian Magee, LSU’s starting guards, are seniors. Center Lloyd Cushenberry and tackles Saahdiq Charles and Austin Deculus are juniors. So are receiver Justin Jefferson, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire and tight end Thaddeus Moss.
LSU will have a talented nucleus returning led by sophomore receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Terrace Marshall and cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., who is a freshman, but convincing a few other veterans to run it back would go a long way.
“It’s going to be difficult to replace these guys,” Orgeron said. “But you know, you’re at LSU, you should be able to do it.”
LSU will simultaneously work to finish strong in terms of its 2020 signing class. LSU signed 19 players during the early signing period, which means there’s still six spots to fill come February.
There’s big fish out there in the proverbial pond, and now that he’s finished coaching LSU to a national title, Orgeron is focused on getting them to sign on the dotted line.
Kirk Meche
