Sleeper Candidate Emerges To Replace Coach O At LSU
Sleeper Candidate Emerges To Replace Coach O At LSU
Two weeks ago LSU announced that the team’s head football coach, Ed “Coach O” Orgeron would not be returning to the program next year.
A series of embarrassing incidents ultimately led to the decision, both on and off the field.
As a result, the hunt is now on to find LSU its next head football coach.
Some of the names mentioned have been absolutely wild.
According to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy is in the mix as a potential sleeper candidate.
“Don’t discount Mike Gundy,” Dodd said. “I’m not saying he’s getting the job. I’m saying he’d be interested. There are people in his camp who are very upset that he makes about $800,000 less than Gary Patterson at TCU. They’d argue that Mike Gundy has accomplished more at Oklahoma State than Gary Patterson has.”
One potential roadblock in stealing Gundy away is the fact that he literally just signed a five-year deal. If that does in fact prove to be an impediment, there are a number of other fascinating options on the table.
“There are some who believe the AD Scott Woodward wants, you ready for this, Dabo Swinney,” Paul Finebaum said on the ESPN College Football podcast this week. “Now, there’s talk that the president wants Mel Tucker (head coach at Michigan State). Billy Napier (ULL head coach) is out there maybe as a second-tier selection if everyone else goes bust. It seems like Jimbo (Fisher) is out of that one.
“Can James Franklin pop back into these? I don’t know. But I think after yesterday James Franklin might be looking around saying, ‘What else can I do here.’ It’s a good job (Penn State) but it certainly isn’t getting any easier. It’s not really a big deal anymore when Clemson loses, but that loss yesterday, Matt, I mean, that was a dagger. That was a seismic loss.”
Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union clearly aren’t shy. https://t.co/XVprdKabks
— Game 7 (@game7__) October 26, 2021
It will be interesting to see what direction LSU ultimately goes in here. The school has already lost out on a number of prominent recruits, including Arch Manning, because of its precarious coaching situation. The sooner it gets rectified, the better for all parties involved.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
