Bless You ... Coach O?

When the good Lord lent the nickname "Saints" to the New Orleans NFL franchise back in 1967, surely this is not what he envisioned. Sean Payton has expressed interest in hiring embattled former Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron to coach the Saints defensive line for the 2008 season.

Yes, that Ed Orgeron. The same Ed Orgeron whose advertisement of a Hummer dealership sparked this YouTube sensation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX7wzhMvbzo

And this parody. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nACZJ5x_wBY

Simply put, Coach O is a j-O-ke.

Sure Orgeron played college football for Northwestern State. Those would be the Deamons of Nacthitoches, La., not the Wildcats of Evanston, Il. Never mind that his route to Northwestern St. required a pit stop at LSU. Orgeron lasted only one practice in Baton Rouge before quitting the team and bolting for less developed pastures. But that was in the early '80s.

From '88-'92 Coach O served as the defensive line coach for mighty Miami Hurricanes. During that span, the Canes won two national championships while Orgeron coached Outland Trophy winner and first overall NFL draft choice Russell Maryland. It was also during that stint in Miami that Orgeron was sentenced to a 26-week domestic violence counseling program for an incident involving a woman in Dade County. Shortly thereafter, Orgeron was arrested and charged with second-degree battery after a fight at a Baton Rouge bar. The charges were later dropped.

Despite his off-the-field issues, Orgeron continued experiencing success on the gridiron. After three solid years coaching defensive line at Syracuse, Coach O joined the staff of another dynasty-in-the-making at Southern California. As assistant head coach from 1998 to 2004, Coach O also served as recruiting coordinator and maintained his duties with the D-Line. USC's success during that period is well-documented: two national titles, two Heisman trophy winners (Reggie Bush, who Orgeron recruited, would win it the following season) and 2004 National Recruiter of the Year honors. that notoriety earned Orgeron his first head coaching job at Ole Miss.

Those three years would be among the worst in Rebels history.

Not only did Orgeron's teams win a putrid 10 games combined over three seasons. Not only did Orgeron oversee an 0-8 SEC record in 2007. Not only was a school's proud tradition smeared when a mere 23,283 showed up at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium to watch the Rebels defeat O's Alma mater. Ole Miss also had to shoulder the embarrassment of Coach O's attempted piracy of Tulane University players after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans.

An now, Coach O is hoping to return to the city he insulted after the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States. "If that opportunity would come," said Orgeron, "I would be very favorable to coach for the Saints. There's no doubt about that."

The opportunity has come. Saints defensive line coach Marion Hobby has left the franchise to join David Cutcliffe's staff at Duke. If Payton is looking for someone to rip off his shirt in team meetings to rally the troops, Orgeron could be his guy. But, with that fiery attitude also comes embarrassment.

As Coach O has proven with every coaching opportunity he has been given, he lacks the maturity to maintain such a high profile position. If it's bar fights and bedlam Payton wants, Coach O is his man. If running a first class professional organization with the integrity exemplified by the name on the jersey, maybe Payton should go another route.

He can even take a Hummer to get there.