Ed Orgeron summons his inner-Pete Carroll in new job at Louisiana State
Fifteen years later — and 1,800 miles away — Ed Orgeron re-created a little USC in his new job as interim coach at Louisiana State.
The first thing Orgeron did after taking over for the fired Les Miles this week was call his players together for a team-building exercise that involved a little tug of war.
That’s exactly what Pete Carroll did at a surprise, late-night team meeting when he took over the Trojans in 2001 with Orgeron as a top assistant.
“Coliseum at midnight with Coach Carroll,” Orgeron recalled on Wednesday. “Everything I’m doing is what we learned before.”
The drill involves offense pulling against defense. Then, everyone switches to the same side and pulls together.
Motivational tricks are only a small part of what Orgeron said he gained from working for Carroll and a later stint as USC’s interim coach when Lane Kiffin was fired midway through the 2013 season.
The framework for his practice schedule and film sessions were gleaned from previous jobs. Needing to tweak a sluggish LSU offense, he will call upon schemes from those past teams.
“It gives me a lot of experience,” he said.
LSU began the season in the Top 5 but has slipped from the rankings after losses to No. 8 Wisconsin and Auburn. The 2-2 Tigers play at home against Missouri on Saturday.
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