LSU coach praises Brady Hoke, Vols ahead of return to Neyland Stadium

Ed Orgeron says he 'felt bad' leaving Tennessee in 2010

LSU head coach Ed Orgeron looks on during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Alabama, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
LSU head coach Ed Orgeron looks on during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Alabama, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

KNOXVILLE - Ed Orgeron has been back to Knoxville just once since he and Lane Kiffin left the Tennessee campus with students setting couches aflame in January of 2010.

"I went one time to speak to the booster club, and I enjoyed it," Orgeron said in an interview with Knoxville's Sports Radio WNML this week. "We went over there to that little place, Calhoun's, on the river right there and talked to everybody.

"It was a tremendous reception. Guys were really nice to me. I thought I had a great relationship with the people in Knoxville."

Orgeron was the defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator for Kiffin at Tennessee in 2009 before they bolted for Southern California after just 14 months on the job. Now the head coach at LSU, Orgeron will return to Neyland Stadium on Saturday for the first time since that infamous late-night exit just weeks before signing day nearly eight years ago.

His time at Tennessee was brief, but Orgeron knows both the school and the situation that interim Tennessee coach Brady Hoke finds himself in. Last year, Orgeron was named interim coach at LSU when Les Miles was fired after four games. The Tigers finished the season with wins in six of their last eight games, and Orgeron got the full-time job.

"I don't like anybody getting fired," Orgeron said on Sports Radio WNML. "But I know these SEC jobs are one in a million. You've got to win. That's why they hire you. That's why they pay you a lot of money. I understand the expectations."

The No. 20 Tigers (7-3, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) have rebounded from an early-season loss to Sun Belt foe Troy by winning four of their last five games. Their only loss in that stretch came against No. 1 Alabama.

photo LSU head coach Ed Orgeron prepares to "high five" running back Derrius Guice (5) during pregame warmups of an NCAA college football game against Mississippi in Oxford, Miss., Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017. No. 24 LSU won 40-24. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Orgeron and Hoke spoke highly of each other this week. Orgeron said he talked to Hoke when Hoke was the head coach at Michigan. Both have a background as defensive line coaches.

"He's done a good job bringing that team together," Hoke said this week. "He's a very personable guy, and I think our bond, if you want to call it that a little bit, (is that) we're both defensive line coaches."

Orgeron said he is expecting Neyland Stadium to be "rocking" Saturday night during Hoke's first game since Butch Jones was fired after Tennessee's 50-17 loss at Missouri last week.

LSU rattled off three straight comfortable victories - including two against SEC competition - immediately after Orgeron became the Tigers' interim head coach last year. On the other end of the interim spectrum, Florida has lost two straight games this season since parting with coach Jim McElwain and transitioning to Randy Shannon.

Tennessee players have talked of avoiding a Florida-type letdown this week while expressing a desire to play in honor of the team's seniors. Orgeron is expecting an inspired effort from the Volunteers during his return trip to Neyland Stadium.

"Well, I know what we can expect," he told Sports Radio WNML. "We can expect a tough football team, fired up ready to go, tough crowd."

Orgeron called the Tennessee coaching position "a great job" and spoke highly of his short experience at the school.

"You know, you think about it and I know if we would have stayed there we would have done well," he said. "But USC was something we couldn't pass up. But I felt bad we left Tennessee the way we left it. I wish it could have been better. Everybody knows that. I have the utmost respect for Tennessee and their football program."

Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com.

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