In a response to a question regarding a burned timeout, head coach Ed Orgeron was completely candid. Only one issue, this isn’t the kind of statement you want to hear from your head coach. “We just weren’t very well organized.”
That seems to be the theme of the post-Joe Burrow era in Baton Rouge. A team that is 8-7 following the 2019 magical run to the national championship, they haven’t looked very well organized in the last 15 games. Will that suddenly change? Not likely with Ed Orgeron calling the shots as the head coach.
If there is one thing that Orgeron has been consistent at the last two years is hiring coaches that shouldn’t be in this situation. Daronte Jones and Jake Peetz are calling plays for the team. Jones had not done it in over a decade and Peetz is getting his first shot at being the playcaller. This coming off the heels of the 2020 campaign where Bo Pelini’s defense couldn’t stop a nosebleed and the offense was stagnant under passing game coordinator Scott Linehan and Steve Ensminger.
You really should only get one shot to wipe your staff, Orgeron did that after poor hires following the exodus from the 2019 team. While the coordinators looked to have bad nights against Auburn, this ultimately falls at the feet of the head coach. It is his job to put his team in a position to be successful, he hasn’t done that.
At least with Jones, his unit has performed when called upon since that UCLA debacle to open the season. They have been good, but not great. It is the offense that is ultimately killing this team. Let’s set the record straight, there is no Joe Brady offense. It was a Joe Burrow offense. Without an elite quarterback pulling the strings, that offense doesn’t work near as well.
The offensive line can’t protect the quarterback. The offensive line can’t get any push to allow the running game to get rolling. The run calls are abysmal. While Max Johnson can put up some big numbers, he is inconsistent and misses easy throws. When Auburn made an adjustment in the second half, it didn’t look as though LSU made a counter move. They kept trotting out the same offense that was stagnant in the final 36 minutes of the game.
While making a change at head coach probably isn’t the move at this point in time, one thing is for certain, the coach’s seat is heating up. Orgeron and company need to figure it out quickly because the Kentucky game on Saturday is going to be a dog fight.