Ed Orgeron reveals unusual motivation he gave the LSU Tigers after upset loss to Troy

LSU’s Ed Orgeron is entering his second full season as Tigers head coach, but he has already established himself as one of the most colorful characters in college football. As Orgeron detailed recently, his methods were put to the test last year in one of the most trying moments for LSU football.

Orgeron appeared on the podcast “Pardon My Take” Sunday and discussed a number of stories from his 30-year coaching career. Among them was how the Tigers bounced back after losing to Troy, who entered the Sept. 30 game as a 20.5-point underdog.

Orgeron was initially asked about how he generally motivates a team in the week leading up to a game. Orgeron clarified that how he handles the days leading up to Saturday depends a great deal on who’s on the schedule.

“Really, the ones you need to motivate (your team for) are the teams that you’re supposed to beat,” Orgeron said. “Those are the ones I worry about the most. Most of the time, you’re going to play to their level, and you don’t want to do that.”

The Tigers struggled to a 24-21 loss, which dropped LSU to 3-2 to start Orgeron’s first full season as head coach. The immediate aftermath brought a great deal of scrutiny for Orgeron and brought into question whether the former interim coach could handle the job on a full-time basis.

Orgeron said several players came to him shortly after the loss as they tried to right the ship.

“I had 11 guys come in my office right there," Orgeron said. "Remember when daddy said, ‘Come to the table, we’ve got a meeting. It’s a family meeting?' We had a family meeting. Throw it all on the line.

“Actually, one of (the players) told me I was too nice. I said, ‘You know what?’ I’ll get that fixed right away, my man.”

The Tigers held a team meeting following the loss, something Orgeron said some of the coaches were against because of the perception that players-only meetings do not work. The Tigers had just a few days before they traveled to Gainesville, Fla., to face the Gators, who entered as the No. 21 team in the country.

Orgeron revealed when the team had what he calls their “heartbeat meeting” the day before the game, he offered his players an unusual tactic to get past what happened the week before.

“We had our heartbeat meeting on Friday night," Orgeron said. "I did this (Orgeron hits himself in jaw). I said, ‘When we get on the plane, I want everybody to hit their jaw just like that. We’re not getting back on this plane until we beat the Florida Gators.’”

Orgeron’s proclamation came true. LSU held off a late-charging Florida team to take down the Gators 17-16. The victory jumpstarted a Tigers team looking for answers; including the victory over Florida, the Tigers won six of their final seven regular season games.

With the benefit of hindsight, Orgeron said the upset loss gave the Tigers just what they needed.

“I believe the Troy loss — as bad as it was — (it gave us) grit and adversity,” Orgeron said. “We had to block out the noise. Stuff was going on all over, so our guys had to hear a bunch of stuff. I told them, ‘Block out the noise. Let’s just go beat Florida.’

“I tell you, everybody ran out on that field, punched their jaw like that, and we won that football game.”

This story was originally published May 21, 2018 at 1:08 PM with the headline "Ed Orgeron reveals unusual motivation he gave the LSU Tigers after upset loss to Troy."