Ed Orgeron could return to the SEC and here’s why it matters for Alabama

Two seasons after winning the national championship with a 15-0 record and one of the greatest teams in college football history, Ed Orgeron was out in Baton Rouge. Coach O hasn’t been back on the sidelines since 2021, but he’s angling to make a return, initially popping up as a candidate for the Oregon State opening, but the latest reports indicate that he could be heading back to the SEC. 

Arkansas is casting a wide net in its coaching search, and it appears that Coach O has been caught up in it. According to Pete Nakos of On3, Orgeron has been in communication with the Razorbacks, emerging as a candidate along with former Penn State head coach James Franklin, USF’s Alex Golesh, and Tulane’s Jon Sumrall. 

Coach O could land in Arkansas and on Alabama’s 2027 schedule

Across his six years in Baton Rouge, Orgeron notched just one win over Alabama, beating the Crimson Tide and Nick Saban 46-41 in 2019 with Joe Burrow and the embarrassment of riches that he assembled as a dominant recruiter. That’s precisely where Coach O could cause problems for the rest of the SEC if he gets a third shot as a head coach in the conference (he led Ole Miss from 2005-07). 

Arkansas is on Alabama’s schedule in 2027 and 2029, with the former matchup taking place in Fayetteville and the latter in Tuscaloosa. So, unlike during his tenure at LSU, Coach O won’t be a mainstay on Alabama’s schedule. With the expanded 16-team SEC, the Tide’s three annual opponents are Auburn, Mississippi State, and Tennessee. 

However, Coach O could cross paths with Kalen DeBoer and general manager Courtney Morgan on the recruiting trail fairly often if he does land the job. 

Orgeron was an elite recruiter at LSU, producing five top 10 recruiting classes through his six years at the helm, and sending 49 players into the NFL Draft, including five first-round picks in the 2020 NFL Draft alone: Joe Burrow (Ohio State transfer), K’Lavon Chaisson, Justin Jefferson, Patrick Queen, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

Now, in the NIL and transfer portal era, potentially with the backing of Arkansas’s major donor base that has been pouring money into John Calipari and the basketball program, Orgeron could be even more effective, at least relative to Arkansas’s typical level of talent acquisition. Orgeron's final season came in the first year with NIL rules in effect, but now that the system is fully operational, he could be even more effective.

The Razorbacks won’t necessarily be recruiting in the same geographic footprint as Alabama. Arkansas understandably dips more into Texas as its talent base, but recruiting has become so national in recent years that Coach O could take a bite out of the Tide and every other program in the SEC.

Oregon to Arkansas could have ripple effects

If Coach O does end up in Arkansas, it could have a major impact on the rest of the coaching carousel. Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall has been a top candidate for the Auburn job, and would probably be the best hire that the Tigers could make.

So, if Arkansas goes with Coach O rather than fighting with Auburn for Sumrall, it could lead the Auburn program to the most stable ground it has been on since Gus Malzahn was fired.