December 5th, 2019 at 5:42 PM ^
Exactly. To be fair, in 2015 we had injuries on the defensive line...but that again speaks to depth.
December 5th, 2019 at 5:10 PM ^
Orgeron probably had the same thing happen to him that Belichick had happen: he learned from his mistakes while coaching the first time around and made changes accordingly.
December 5th, 2019 at 5:39 PM ^
Yeah, a lot of people on this blog have been dismissive of Orgeron for years. While everyone around here thinks they are so smart and could probably do it better, at this level (Division 1 and the NFL) there are few coaches (that includes Hoke and Rodriguez) who aren't really good coaches; it's just a matter of the right people in the right circumstancesto be successful.
December 5th, 2019 at 11:01 PM ^
More than anything . . this. He got better at the craft of coaching and learned from head coaches (as much as what NOT to do, as what to do) he worked under.
The most underrated thing he did is tell Matt Canada to pound sand after he realized that situation just wasn't working. Made a hire, realized it was wrong, and moved the fuck on. How many coaches let it drag out for 2 years too long and then find themselves on the hot seat? Looking at you Tom Herman.
I read somewhere after Miles was let go, Orgeron cut team reps in practice back by about 80%. My best guess is that Orgeron has the ability to identify problems within the program and addresses them quickly and decisively. That's about as ideal a quality you can have as any leader of an organization.
December 5th, 2019 at 5:22 PM ^
Not sure. Magnets, maybe?
December 5th, 2019 at 5:49 PM ^
They got lucky with Joe Brady and they play by SEC rules.
December 5th, 2019 at 5:55 PM ^
Orgeron learned a lot in between his first failed coaching stint which was a job he got too young and at a school that's perpetually dysfunctional and his current gig. His school also opened up the checkbook for the best assistants, and Ed is still what he's always been: an adept and skillful recruiter who people just naturally like. Also Les Miles left him some pretty good teams that would have been competing for national titles if Les would have stopped trying to play Bo-ball.
If Ed has proved anything, it's that people focus way too much on past results when trying to predict the future of how a coach will do, and we don't give guys who had a bad run enough of a chance down the line. I think retread hires like Will Muschamp where the guy isn't out of a HC for more than a year or two are a bad idea, but a guy like Ed who had to wait like 10 years for another chance and had to spend a lot of time thinking of what he did wrong and what works now, I think the industry needs to take a harder look at those guys.
December 5th, 2019 at 6:00 PM ^
Ed Orgeron is one of the best recruiters in the history of the sport. Lets just say hes tried to get actually illiterate kids enrolled..and thats just the stuff thats on the record. Dude cut his teeth recruiting for Miami in their heyday...and introduced Hugh Freeze to the world of CFB recruiting.
The dudes commitment to compliance can be summed up with “how do we not get the death penalty?”
December 6th, 2019 at 10:40 AM ^
LOL. Though I think nowadays the death penalty is just a myth. If PSU didn't get it and Baylor didn't even flirt with it then no one will get it again.
I think cheating is just an open accepted thing nowadays.
I'll be honest, I hope something can happen so these kids can make money off their likeness. I have zero problem with that. I'm not on board with having kids not go to class and just do online stuff or go to fake classes like UNC. I like that Rashan Gary was actually going to class, and getting tutored. I like that Gardner got his masters in his time here.
I honestly don't know what the outcome would be, but it would be fascinating to me to compare Michigan football players, from walk on to NFL draftees, 5-10 years after the fact with those from other schools.
I'm guessing Michigan and most B1G schools would probably be okay. I don't know about the kid who went to Bama, played, but wasn't drafted.
December 5th, 2019 at 6:45 PM ^
150k-180k per OLineman ?
December 5th, 2019 at 6:55 PM ^
December 5th, 2019 at 7:04 PM ^
Took LSU a few years
not Long ago he was Cajun hoke
December 5th, 2019 at 7:25 PM ^
He is forever Cajun Hoke in my heart.
December 5th, 2019 at 8:53 PM ^
Isn't that the point; their fan base always supported him, to them he was the "LSU Harbaugh".
They're just not as sophisticated as UofM fans are, so they didn't turn on their guy.
December 5th, 2019 at 7:51 PM ^
LSU benefits from having a great increase in Louisiana high school football talent, Coach O recruits well, Burrow is an extremely good transfer acquisition (it’s not luck, but their season wouldn’t be the same without him), and LSU is crazy about football to a point that few fan bases/donors are.
At the risk of being an ass, I also will make the assumption that they have deep pockets, limited academic requirements, and have made some recruiting gains from these “relaxed” standards.
December 5th, 2019 at 7:55 PM ^
He went 9-4, 10-3 (you know, unacceptable seasons) and then good play out of Joe Burrow so undefeated this year.
December 5th, 2019 at 8:30 PM ^
Sounds a bit like they’re trending up. Nobody would complain if the same was true at UM.
In some sense Harbaugh is a victim of his own success. 10-3 with a fairly bad loss to OSU could be his first year, his last year, or the best case for this year.
December 5th, 2019 at 8:32 PM ^
Because SEC and academics...
December 5th, 2019 at 8:41 PM ^
IBD.
Hold on, this shitty post has existed for almost 5 hours? The mods have been kidnapped.
December 5th, 2019 at 8:54 PM ^
Bag men...lots and lots of bag men.
December 5th, 2019 at 10:41 PM ^
What facts should I look at again? Please post pretty much anything but what you posted
December 5th, 2019 at 11:29 PM ^
Because having a great QB is everything.
December 5th, 2019 at 11:48 PM ^
We had the Hoke, just not the Cajun.
December 5th, 2019 at 11:49 PM ^
Because he's a national treasure who has found his happy place.
VIVA DA COACH O.
December 6th, 2019 at 12:38 AM ^
Did they win a championship yet this year?
December 6th, 2019 at 7:47 AM ^
I didn't see the premise of the post being about that.
But certainly, they would seem to be much, much closer to one that Michigan.
They went from 69th in total offense last year, to 2nd in total offense.
They were 56th in total rushing last year. They are 57th in total rushing this year. No real change.
They were 68th in total pass last year. They are 2nd in total pass this year. A world of difference from last year to this.
Orgeron did it by hiring Joe Brady. That's what this post is about.
December 6th, 2019 at 3:50 PM ^
Who cares if they don’t win a conference title or get bounced in the CFP...
December 6th, 2019 at 3:07 AM ^
LSU got a yankee QB.
Burrow is a generational college QB. LSU always has SEC top notch talent but they had some god-awful QBs screw up their chances.
most teams are a transcendent QB away from greatness.
December 6th, 2019 at 6:53 AM ^
We’re not as close as LSU was. LSU always had just as much talent as Alabama on both sides of the ball. They just never had someone who could figure things out on the offensive side of the ball and put a good unit together. There is a rather significant talent disparity between Michigan and OSU.
Also, Alabama does not focus on beating LSU every hour of every day, 365 days a year. They hate each other, but it doesn’t run that deep. OSU focuses on beating Michigan 24/7/365.
So we’ve got a rival in the middle of a 20 year golden age who hates our guts, recruits far better than we do, and focuses solely on beating us. LSU does not have to face all of those issues simultaneously.
December 6th, 2019 at 7:30 AM ^
He was smart enough to hire someone that came ready, not needing on the job training, and hoping they will be good "next year".
December 6th, 2019 at 8:00 AM ^
Pretty simple answer -- they have Joe Burrow. He also made the full-on offensive switch this season. But, it's Joe Burrow. And their gaggle of super-talented skill players. And someone else mentioned OSU, and it's the QB their, too. They were correct re JTB -- he scares no one. He's far more Krenzel/Tresselball than wreaker of destruction. Ryan Day's shift to Haskins and Fields (and whoever else) is the problem. A real problem.
That's why Gattis is so important to M.
But, yeah, Joe Burrow, man. Their defense ain't any better than M's. Their offense, though...
December 6th, 2019 at 8:10 AM ^
My personal experience says that sometimes talent takes over and rules the day despite mediocre coaching-though this is a difficult scenario and does not often happen. It appears as though Michigan is going to have to experience this in order to get over the ultimate hump. I will hold this belief until Michigan actually wins games at OSU, at least, at a 30-50% rate.
December 6th, 2019 at 8:11 AM ^
LSU = SEC = Bagmen+No NCAA regulation on anything = Very Fast Turn Around
December 6th, 2019 at 9:09 AM ^
how do you think they did it? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how the top tier SEC schools and Ohio State are doing so well in recruiting right now
December 6th, 2019 at 9:38 AM ^
at a medium pace?
December 6th, 2019 at 9:40 AM ^
LSU has elite talent. 2015 - 2019 saw the 5th, 2nd, 7th, 15th, and 5th recruiting classes.
Orgeron took over in 2016 with a 6-2 record.
2017 was 9-4, of those 4 losses two were blowouts, and the other 2 were 1 score games. Of the wins, 2 were close being 1 score games. I would consider that season 7 handed wins, 4 close games, and 2 losses.
2018 was 10-3,of those 3 losses 1 was a blowout, the other 2 were close. Of the wins there were 2 close games. I would consider that season 8 wins, 4 close games, 1 loss.
2019 is currently 12-0. There were technically 3 1-score games, but Texas closed the gap with 2 minutes left, Auburn and Bama did the same with 1 minute left. 2019 has Joe Burrow completing 80% of his passes on the season.
LSU has had a great season, but I'll wait to pass judgment on if Orgeron is Saban-tier after Burrow leaves. 2017 had 6 losses or close games, and 2018 had 5 losses or close games. That's not Saban-tier. So, did LSU do it with Orgeron? Or is that elite talent and Joe Burrow more deserving of this season's credit?
December 6th, 2019 at 1:45 PM ^
I think this year's LSU success is because of the QB. We'll see what happens when Burroughs departs. Just like when Fields departs OSU.
December 6th, 2019 at 11:31 PM ^
When Fields leaves there’s another five star waiting to take his place. Same with Dobbins and same with Young. It’s part of the reason they haven’t missed a beat in twenty years.
Just stop with the “wait till this guy leaves” shtick with OSU. When one star leaves, another fills in to take his place and picks up where he left off.
December 6th, 2019 at 4:09 PM ^
LSU was a ship full of talent with no rudder for years. Joe Burrow makes simple throws that they couldn't do in the past and he keeps the chains moving.
LSU has the worst defense that they have had in years and still winning because they can score now. I think they will regress when Burrow leaves.