Former Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron, most recently a defensive line coach with the New Orleans Saints, has accepted a position on Lane Kiffin's staff at Tennessee. He had mulled competing offers from LSU and Tennessee, both with big money dangled in front of him.The LSU offer was reportedly worth $500k, while Tennessee reeled him in with that shiny $850k offer.
Being that his former employ was in the NFL, Ed Werder style gossip soon followed.
Apparently, some within the organization felt Orgeron was more focused on his coaching future than his current job, and Payton grew tired of Orgeron juggling phone calls from LSU and Tennessee.
The source also suggested that [Saints' coach Sean] Payton was not very pleased with the progress of the defensive line under Orgeron even before the LSU-Tennessee tug-of-war began, and he is looking forward to the opportunity to bring in a veteran defensive line coach with NFL experience.
Meeeeowwwwwwww. This isn't all that surprising, we are talking about the gossipy NFL here where if somebody isn't ticked at something they might as well stop breathing.
Whatever, welcome back to college football Ed, we missed you. He should be an immediate boost to Tennessee's recruiting efforts, and give fire to the defense in whatever capacity he's been retained. He'll also work under Vols' defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, a close friend of old boss Pete Carroll.
I have doubts about Lane Kiffin, but he's put together a strong, strong group of assistants. Orgeron is actually not alone in ticking off his old boss in joining Tennessee, so he's already in good company.
