When it comes to myriad Coach of the Year award honors to be handed out this month, get ready to hear a lot about Ed Orgeron of LSU.
Saturday afternoon, the Football Writers Association of America announced Orgeron as the 2019 winner of the Allstate Sugar Bowl Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award. Orgeron is the third LSU head coach to claim an award named in honor of the Hall of Fame native of Louisiana, joining Paul Dietzel in 1958 and Nick Saban in 2003. Both of those coaches went on to win the national championship in those seasons.
The other finalists for this year’s award were Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Appalachian State’s Eliah Drinkwitz (now at Missouri), SMU’s Sonny Dykes, Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck, Boise State’s Bryan Harsin, Memphis’ Mike Norvell (now at Florida State), Baylor’s Matt Rhule and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney.
“Coach Orgeron is an incredibly deserving winner of this prestigious honor,” 2019 FWAA president Matt Fortuna said. “From the ways he has reinvented his program on and off the field, to the bonds he has formed with his players, it is easy to see how he has led LSU to a No. 1 ranking this season. (LSU quarterback) Joe Burrow’s Heisman speech alone made me want to run through a brick wall for Coach O.”
Orgeron has LSU sitting at 13-0 on the season and heading into the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. The Tigers secured that No. 1 seed with the football program’s 12th SEC championship.
“Coach Ed Orgeron and the LSU Tigers’ impressive 13-0 regular season record is a testament to Coach O’s relentless leadership and guidance of one of college football’s most storied programs,” said Eddie Robinson III, grandson of the legendary coach. “Congratulations Coach Orgeron from the Robinson Family on winning the 2019 ‘Eddie’!”