Michael Desormeaux details Ed Orgeron's visit to UL's practice, their budding relationship
LAFAYETTE – Ed Orgeron lumbering around Louisiana’s football facility is more commonplace than it may seem.
The former LSU football coach was on hand at the Ragin Cajuns' first preseason scrimmage Saturday, shaking hands with staff and talking with players as he made his way inside the Leon Moncla Indoor Practice Facility.
UL football coach Michael Desormeaux said after the scrimmage that Orgeron wasn’t invited to watch the team practice, but that he “decided to come check it out.” Orgeron's son, Parker, works as an offensive analyst with the tight ends at Louisiana, but the family connection isn’t the only reason Orgeron has been around.
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In fact, Desormeaux has spent some time with Orgeron dating back to the spring as the two have shared and talked past experiences.
“Coach O has been really good,” Desormeaux said. “He came by this spring and spent some time with us. And I sat down and had a lot of time with him talking about his experiences. The things he did that he liked, the things he did that he’d do differently and get his take on it.
“A guy that’s won a national championship is someone I’m going to sit down with, spend time with and see what I can take from him.”
In their meetings, Desormeaux has talked about structure and scheduling. He said there’s been some things Orgeron shared with him that he has implemented in the Cajuns’ preseason practice agenda.
“He talked about doing it your way. I particularly talked to him about some of the practice schedules, off days, some of the ways that we manage some of that stuff. He was very open with him about the way they managed their practices and how they did things, how they handled off days throughout fall camp,” Desormeaux said.
“I’ve actually taken some of that and we’ve used a little bit of it. We’re tiering our practices similar to what we did in the past, but we’ve got our own spin on it the way we’re doing it too.”
Orgeron guided LSU to the 2019 national championship with one of the most prolific offenses in college football history, led by Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow. Last season, he and LSU agreed to part ways in October amid a string of lopsided losses and a federal lawsuit about how the program handled sexual assault complaints against some of its players.
For much of the past year, Orgeron has spent time visiting with a number of college football and NFL teams. In recent weeks, he has been spotted at Notre Dame and Miami but he did not speak with UL’s team at practice.
“I’m all for anybody that’s been in the game as long as Coach O has to come by and spend some time with us,” Desormeaux said. “I’ll never turn that down.”
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: UL football coach Michael Desormeaux on relationship with Coach O
