LSU made a bold move on Sunday after a 2-2 start to their football season. LSU fired coach Les Miles and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and promoted defensive line coach Ed Orgeron to interim head coach, the school announced on Sunday.
“Decisions like this are never easy ones to make,” athletic director Joe Alleva said in a statement. “Coach Miles has done a tremendous job here and he’s been a great ambassador for our University, which makes this even more difficult.
“However, it’s apparent in evaluating the program through the first month of the season that a change has to be made. Our commitment to excellence and competing at the highest level is unwavering, and our goals for the remainder of this season haven’t changed. We have an obligation to our student-athletes to put them in the best position to have success on the football field each week and we have great confidence that coach Orgeron will do just that.”
“Coach O brings new energy. He is pumped up. I am excited to play for Coach O,” center Ethan Pocic said. “It’s not easy. College football is a business. The best thing I can do is do whatever Coach O asks us. He’s our coach now.”
Miles was expected to lead LSU to title contention but after and 18-13 loss to Alabama this weekend, LSU decided to go in another direction in hopes of jump-starting their season.
Miles had a 75-18 record (41-15 SEC) in his first seven seasons at LSU including three SEC West titles, two SEC titles, a BCS championship and another title game appearance. Miles is 16th all time in wins as an SEC coach and his win percentage is seventh among SEC coaches who spent at least five years in the conference. Miles’ 64 career SEC wins are tied for 10th all time.