Louisiana State University is a different breed of beast. In Baton Rouge, they don't just want wins; they want soul-crushing dominance. When things go south and the school has to appoint an LSU interim head coach, the pressure isn't just coming from the athletic department. It’s coming from every gas station, every Saturday morning tailgate, and every fan who remembers 2019 like it was yesterday.
Interim coaches are usually sacrificial lambs. They’re the guys hired to steer a sinking ship into the harbor so the "real" captain can take over. But at LSU? It’s basically an audition for the biggest stage in the world. Just ask Ed Orgeron. He turned an interim gig into a national championship and a $42 million buyout. That doesn't happen at other schools. Usually, the interim tag is a professional death sentence or a polite "thanks for helping out" before they clear out their desk. Not here.
The Chaos of the LSU Interim Head Coach Tag
Why is this role so uniquely volatile? Look at the history. Most recently, we saw Brad Davis take the reigns after Ed Orgeron was shown the door following the 2021 season. Davis was the offensive line coach. Suddenly, he's the guy responsible for leading the Tigers into the Texas Bowl against Kansas State.
He had a roster that was essentially a skeleton crew. Transfers, opt-outs, and academic casualties left him with about 39 scholarship players. Think about that for a second. You’re the LSU interim head coach, and you literally don't have enough players to run a full scrimmage, yet you’re expected to represent a brand that claims to be the "Standard of Performance."
Davis didn’t win that game. They got hammered. But he did something more important: he kept the recruiting class from crumbling before Brian Kelly arrived. That’s the unspoken part of the job description. You aren't just a coach; you’re a glorified babysitter for four-star and five-star teenagers who are one "Update" tweet away from leaving the program forever.
Why the Mid-Season Fire is the New Normal
College football has changed. We don't wait until December to fire people anymore. If the vibes are off by October, the AD pulls the trigger. This puts the LSU interim head coach in a weird spot. You have to walk into a locker room of kids who might have loved the guy you just replaced.
Take 2016. Les Miles—the "Mad Hatter"—gets fired after a confusing loss to Auburn where the clock literally ran out on him. Ed Orgeron steps in. "Coach O" was already a legend in the bayou for his accent and his energy, but he was a massive question mark as a head coach after his stint at Ole Miss.
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What followed was a masterclass in how to use the interim tag. He didn’t try to be Les Miles. He simplified the offense, let Steve Ensminger call plays, and focused on "One Team, One Heartbeat." He went 6-2. He convinced the boosters he was the guy. He earned the permanent job. That is the 1% outcome. Most interims are more like Rick Venturi or someone you’ve already forgotten.
The Tactical Nightmare: No Staff, No Stability
Honestly, it’s a miracle these guys even get the team to the bus on time. When a head coach is fired, his coordinators are usually looking for the exit too. Their LinkedIn notifications are blowing up. They know they’re probably gone in six weeks.
The LSU interim head coach has to somehow motivate a staff that is actively interviewing for jobs at Houston or ULM. You’re coaching with a group of people who are essentially "quiet quitting."
- Recruiting Retention: You have to call parents and lie—or at least stretch the truth—about the stability of the program.
- The Transfer Portal: In the modern era, as soon as that interim tag is announced, every starter on the roster is being "tampered" with by other schools.
- Media Duties: You’re the face of the failure. You have to answer for the mistakes of the guy who got fired while trying to build a new identity.
Brad Davis and the Bridge to Brian Kelly
Let’s go back to Brad Davis in 2021. He was the first Black head coach in LSU football history, even if it was just for one game. That’s a huge deal. It’s a detail that often gets lost in the "interim" conversation.
The Texas Bowl was a disaster on the scoreboard (42-20), but Davis’s tenure was a success because of the transition. He held the line. When Brian Kelly walked in from Notre Dame, he didn't find a locker room in total mutiny. He found a group that had been stabilized by a guy who actually cared about the university.
Interim coaches are often judged by wins and losses, which is totally unfair. They should be judged by the "Retention Rate." If the next guy comes in and has to replace 50 players, the interim failed. If the next guy comes in and wins 10 games in Year 1, the interim deserves a ring.
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The Psychological Toll on the Players
People forget these are 19-year-olds. Their world just got flipped. Their "football dad" is gone. Now, some guy who used to just coach the defensive ends is telling them what to do.
The LSU interim head coach has to be a therapist. There’s a lot of "kinda" and "sorta" in these meetings. No one has firm answers. "Am I going to be a starter next year?" "I don't know." "Who is the new coach?" "I don't know."
It takes a specific kind of personality to lead through that ambiguity. You can’t be a tyrant because the players will just stop showing up. You can’t be too soft because then you lose the "LSU edge."
Lessons for the Future of the Tigers
So, what have we learned from the various cycles of the LSU interim head coach?
First, the "Internal Candidate" is usually better than an "External Interim." Bringing in some consultant to run the team for three weeks never works. You need someone the players already trust. Davis worked because the O-line loved him. Coach O worked because he was the heartbeat of the recruiting trail.
Second, the boosters need to shut up. When an interim is in place, the rumor mill is at 200%. Every flight into the Baton Rouge airport is tracked. Every Twitter account with "insider" in the bio is claiming Urban Meyer or Sean Payton is at a Carrabba's in Metairie. This noise makes the interim coach’s job nearly impossible.
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Moving Forward: How to Manage the Next One
There will be another one. That’s just college football. Whether it’s five years from now or fifteen, LSU will eventually find itself in a "transition period."
If you’re a fan or a donor, the best thing you can do is lower your expectations for the scoreboard and raise them for the culture. Did the team play hard? Did they stay out of the transfer portal? Did the interim coach represent the purple and gold with some dignity?
If the answer is yes, they did their job.
To navigate the chaos of a coaching change, keep these specific priorities in mind:
- Stop the Bleeding: Focus entirely on the top 10 recruits in the current class. If you lose them, you lose the next three years.
- Evaluate the "Glue Guys": Use the interim period to see which players lead when things are falling apart. Those are your starters for the new regime.
- Audit the Support Staff: The interim coach usually sees the "rot" in the weight room or the film room that the previous head coach was too blind to see. Document everything for the incoming guy.
- Embrace the "Nothing to Lose" Mentality: Throw the playbook away. Run a fake punt. Go for it on 4th and 10. The interim tag is a license to be weird.
The LSU interim head coach is a thankless, high-stress, temporary role that defines the future of the most valuable program in the SEC. It’s not about the trophy. It’s about the bridge. And in Baton Rouge, that bridge is usually on fire.