What Lane Kiffin said about Ed Orgeron hire for LSU football

During SEC meetings on Tuesday, LSU football head coach Lane Kiffin talked about his program's most recent hire. The Tigers brought back Ed Orgeron as a special assistant to defense and recruiting.

"It just seemed like the perfect time to bring him back," Kiffin said. "We talked for a number of days about it. We had to figure out exactly what it was. I feel awesome about it."

Orgeron held the head coach position in Baton Rouge from 2016-2021. He won the national championship in 2019 then parted ways with the program after a disappointing 2021 season. He cut his teeth coaching defensive line before joining the head coaching ranks.

The hire also marks a reunion between Orgeron and KIffin. The pair worked together under Pete Carroll at USC then Orgeron spent time as an assistant under Kiffin with the Trojans and at Tennessee.

A Louisiana native, Orgeron brings a unique advantage to the newly minted LSU staff. He brings familiarity to a team with which he signed multiple top-five classes in a state where he's a household name.

Lane Kiffin on Orgeron's return to LSU: "It just seemed like the perfect time to bring him back. We talked for a number of days about it. We had to figure out exactly what it was. I feel awesome about it."

He adds on the recruiting benefit of having Orgeron on the road… https://t.co/0UxiB5yF5I— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) May 26, 2026

"That’s a tremendous value anywhere, let alone the state of Louisiana," Kiffin said.

This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Lane Kiffin addresses Ed Orgeron's return to LSU football