Elton Hayes

LSU running back Derrius Guice’s glazed stare on the sideline at Davis Wade Stadium in the final minutes of the Tigers’ 37-7 loss at Mississippi State on Sept. 16 perfectly encapsulated the likely feelings of many loyal fans who just watched their team suffer one of its worst losses in recent memory.

Many of those fans, however, were exuberant just a year ago when LSU athletic director Joe Alleva fired 12-year head coach Les Miles after an 18-13 loss at Auburn. 

To be fair, Miles’ stubbornness by continually refusing to address his offense’s lack of a pulse over the last five seasons — despite those units including a crazy amount of future NFL talent — and the general consensus that the program had become stale under his leadership, played a role in Alleva’s decision. 

But the fact remains: Miles went 114-34 overall and compiled a 62–28 SEC record at LSU while winning two SEC titles, three West division crowns and a national championship. When LSU fired Miles, he was the school’s all-time winningest coach.

So, naturally, LSU officials would replace Miles with a coach with an even higher ceiling, right? 

I guess they can’t be faulted for trying. Alleva and Co. reached out to then-Houston coach Tom Herman and current Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher. Herman declined, and Fisher is still in Tallahassee. And it appears the search ended with those two targets.

Enter Ed Orgeron, Miles’ defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. The same Orgeron who went 10-25 overall and 3-21 in SEC play in three seasons at Ole Miss. That’s who Alleva deemed worthy to replace a coach who won more SEC West titles than Orgeron had conference wins in Oxford. 

Yes, Orgeron guided Southern Cal and LSU each to 6-2 records as interim head coach, but being interim is akin to being the cool uncle who shows up when your parents leave town on vacation. There’s a big difference in the roles, and Orgeron’s repeated perplexed looks against MSU likely signaled that he, too, came to this realization.

A handful of SEC teams have had tumultuous starts to the season, and seats on the “Fire my coach!” bandwagon are filling quickly. That was highlighted by an Associated Press article Thursday that shined a spotlight on Bret Bielema (Arkansas), Gus Malzahn (Auburn), Butch Jones (Tennessee) and Kevin Sumlin (Texas A&M), coaches who have faced growing criticism as of late. Sumlin may have bought a little time while Bielema’s leash may have gotten shorter as the Aggies beat the Razorbacks 50-43 in overtime on Saturday.

There’s a lesson to be learned here for those teams’ fans: The grass isn’t always greener, so be careful what you wish for.

That’s not to say a program should be content with mediocrity out of fear that things could get worse, but if a school decides to part ways with its coach, its athletic director better do his or her due diligence in searching for the right replacement.

The verdict is still out on Orgeron’s future at LSU, but the drubbing by Mississippi State could be foreshadowing of things to come for the Tigers. And judging by the various articles and comments I’ve read out of Baton Rouge last week, one wonders if those same fans who cheered Miles’ departure didn’t have a bit of regret for helping drum up support to run off a coach under which the norm was winning 10 games a season.

It may be safe to say Miles felt a bit vindicated knowing his first meeting with the Bulldogs as LSU’s head coach ended with the same score but opposite result for Orgeron, which was MSU’s biggest win in the series.

Elton Hayes is a sports reporter for The Meridian Star. He can be reached at ehayes@themeridianstar.com.