Head coach Lane Kiffin will prepare LSU football to face his former team in No. 8 Ole Miss in a Week 3 tilt on Saturday. But Kiffin took time on Monday to talk about one of his staff members between comments about the Rebels and the No. 7 Tigers' strategy.
Ed Orgeron, a former LSU head coach turned defensive and recruiting assistant under Kiffin, is two games into his second stint in Baton Rouge. Kiffin confirmed Orgeron is facing ongoing health issues but is maintaining a strong presence among the team.
"He's doing better," Kiffin said. "He's still not all the way back, and he just means a lot to me. We've just been through a lot."
Kiffin and Oregon first worked together at Tennessee, when Kiffin was the head coach and Oregon was an assistant.
The pair then worked under Pete Carroll at USC. Oregon again worked under Kiffin as an assistant with the Trojans, then took over as the interim head coach when Kiffin was fired in 2013.
After confirming that Oregon, a Louisiana native, would return to LSU, Kiffin highlighted his longtime friend as a savvy football mind and recruiter. He shared what Orgeron said about his feelings toward his health and role as a coach.
NEW: LSU's Lane Kiffin says Ed Orgeron's health is better after previously taking time away, and Coach O told him:
— On3 (@On3) September 14, 2026
"Coach, you know I'm not going to the hospital. If I'm dying, I'm dying on that field out there."
(h/t @walexander) https://t.co/Et6cjNdwRP pic.twitter.com/esBRVOLALP
"He said, 'Hey, Coach, you know I'm never going to hospital, man. If I die, I'm dying on that field out there,' so that's who he is," Kiffin said. That's how he is with everything, and sometimes that's not always the best thing to follow."
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Lane Kiffin provides update on LSU football assistant Ed Orgeron
