Why Lane Kiffin had no choice but to bring back Ed Orgeron

Shortly after being hired as head coach of the LSU football program, Lane Kiffin brought former head coach Ed Orgeron onto his staff. With training camp around the corner, Kiffin opened up about why bringing Orgeron back to LSU was a no-brainer decision.

While guest appearing on “In the Bayou with Tyrann Mathieu,” the 51-year-old coach claimed that Orgeron’s presence with the Tigers is a big advantage to help the program with recruiting in the state of Louisiana. Kiffin stated that Orgeron is willing to do any and all jobs, which is why he felt he had to bring the former national championship-winning head coach back to the program.

“I got to learn from him to see how he recruited, the passion and the drive, and that no job is too small,” said Kiffin about Orgeron. “Now that I’m here, I realize that’s the Louisiana in him, there’s no job too small… To have him back is even better than I thought.”

Lane Kiffin on his 26-year relationship with Ed Orgeron and why he had to bring him back to LSU 👀

“I got to learn from him to see how he recruited, the passion and the drive, and that no job is too small. Now that I’m here, I realize that’s the Louisiana in him, there’s no job… pic.twitter.com/21o4ehwigS

— In The Bayou With Tyrann Mathieu (@InTheBayouPod) June 18, 2026

Kiffin hired Orgeron as a special assistant to recruiting and defense. That essentially puts Orgeron in his wheelhouse. He gets to play a major role in recruiting, as well as assisting defensive coordinator Blake Baker. Meanwhile, it doesn’t hurt that Orgeron, who is 64 years old, has been friends with Kiffin for about 26 years.

Ed Orgeron has been in coaching since 1984, when he began his career as a graduate assistant at Northwestern State. His first head coaching gig came in 2005, when he coached the Ole Miss Rebels for two seasons. He was initially hired by LSU as head coach in 2016, where he led the program to a national championship in 2019 with Joe Burrow as his quarterback.