Ed Orgeron Wants to Finish Season with 'Our Team' Before Parting Ways with LSU

Ed Orgeron might be on his way out the door, but he remains enthusiastic about remaining with LSU for the rest of the year.

"This is our team," he told reporters Wednesday. "I wanted to finish out with it."

Orgeron added that "really not much has changed" in terms of planning for Saturday's game against No. 12 Ole Miss.

One day after the Tigers upset No. 20 Florida, LSU athletic director Scott Woodward announced Orgeron wouldn't be retained for the 2022 season.

It didn't take long for the school's internal drama to become public knowledge.

The Athletic's Brody Miller reported how things began changing after the Tigers' national championship run in 2019 and Orgeron's divorce from his wife shortly thereafter.

One player said Orgeron's personal life began impacting his coaching.

"It was just a distraction," the player said to Miller. "In 2019, there was no, ‘What’s Coach O doing postgame or Sunday during the day? Is he laying by the pool with a lady?’ He was planning events other than football."

Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger painted a similar picture of a program in disarray and reported how Oregeron helped create a "volatile" and "hellish" atmosphere by how he treated others inside the program.

Keeping Orgeron as a lame-duck coach for the final five games is atypical largely because the uncertainty over the coaching situation can cause problems on the recruiting trail. The 60-year-old doesn't have much incentive to continue courting top high school stars if he's not going to be in Baton Rouge by the time they arrive.

But it appears Orgeron has every intention to end his reign on a high note. LSU could still qualify for a postseason bowl or play the role of spoiler for No. 4 Alabama since a second defeat may knock the Crimson Tide out of the College Football Playoff race for good.