Technik » ll face an opposing roster with only seven players he coached

BATON ROUGE, La. -- As much as Ed Orgeron might have preferred a different route to the top coaching job at LSU, the Louisiana native was never going to be able to hide his enthusiasm for his new opportunity -- and didnt try.Its a great day in my life, I promise you that, Orgeron said, calling it a dream, obviously to be the Tigers head coach.Its a well-respected position that Im holding right now and I hold it in high esteem. And I understand the expectations at LSU and I fully, fully intend to meet all of those expectations.The 55-year-old Orgeron, who was formally introduced as Les Miles interim replacement on Monday, said he has no idea whether hell have the job past this season and isnt saying whether he sees his opportunity as an audition to remain long-term.Take the future aside. Whatevers going to happen is going to happen. Let the chips fall where they may, Orgeron said, adding that his sole focus was on his players success. All I want to do is see them win.Orgeron said hes tapped current assistant Steve Ensminger, a former LSU quarterback, to replace offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, who was fired on Sunday along with Miles.Orgeron said hes also elevated defensive coordinator Dave Aranda to associate head coach. As for Orgerons old position as defensive line coach, hes adding a new, but familiar face to the staff in Pete Jenkins, who is 75 years old and has had two previous stints as a defensive assistant at LSU since 1980. Orgeron said Jenkins would be his mentor and right-hand man.Were going to flip the script, Orgeron said. Were going to do things different. Were going to do things that Ive done in the past to re-energize this team.The decision to fire Miles, who was 114-34 in 11-plus seasons, stemmed largely from lackluster offensive performances in big games, particularly because of an anemic passing game.LSU athletic director Joe Alleva said parting with Miles was tough, not only because of his past successes -- which include a 2007 national title and two SEC championships -- but also because of how he represented the university and cared for his players.Les is loved by his players, and that is because he cared about them as people, Alleva said. We will miss Les, and we thank him for all he did for us here at LSU.Change was necessary to give the players the best opportunity to succeed, Alleva added. I still believe this team has great things ahead of it and great things that can be achieved in the last eight games.Orgeron said the offense will be tweaked to feature more spread formations. He did not say whether hed re-open the starting quarterback job, which has been held by both Brandin Harris and Danny Etling this season already. But he did say, Im still a pro-style guy, which could lend itself more to the pocket-passing skills of Etling.Orgeron also emphasized that he wants his players fresh and energized, and intends to pursue that goal with less practice time and more meeting time.As long as you get your work in mentally or physically, its good, tight end Colin Jeter said. If we are in the film room more and get the same work done, thats saving our bodies.Known by players as Coach O, Orgeron was born in the bayou country southwest of New Orleans, in the town of Larose, close to where former Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert grew up.Orgeron, a defensive lineman, and Hebert were teammates at South Lafourche High School and in college at Northwestern State.Orgeron was a head coach once before in the SEC with Mississippi from 2005-07, but never had a winning record there and was fired after three seasons. He fared better as interim head coach at Southern California in 2013, going 6-2 in place of Lane Kiffin, whod been fired that season.Orgeron also had a brief stint as an NFL assistant in 2008 with the New Orleans Saints, serving as a defensive line coach. He then left the Saints to become the defensive coach and recruiting coordinator for Tennessee, under Kiffin, in 2009.LSUs first game under Orgeron is Saturday in Tiger Stadium against Missouri.Were going to start a new season, Orgeron said. Whatever happened in the past doesnt matter.That message seemed to resonate with players.This will be a fresh start for the team. We still have a lot of goals. We cant let the season go to waste, Etling said. To win out will require hard work, perseverance and guys coming together despite all the distractions.---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org Jorge Posada Jersey . -- Nathan Pancel scored twice as the Sudbury Wolves defeated the North Bay Battalion 4-2 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. C.C. Sabathia Yankees Jersey . 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Philadelphia is 2-0 against the Senators this season and scored five goals in each victory. The Flyers recorded a 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 12 and then earned a 5-2 home decision on Nov. 19. The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city. On Nov. 21, 2008, in the midst of their first season in Oklahoma City, the Thunder were 1-12 after being embarrassed on national television by the New Orleans Hornets. A young roster full of raw talent was stalling.So general manager Sam Presti made a change.?He walked into P.J. Carlesimos office and fired him, and promoted assistant Scott Brooks on the spot, informing Brooks after the team plane had taken off without Carlesimo on board.Our team needs direction, Brooks said after taking over. I have clear plans to make this team play with much more energy and passion.On Wednesday, Brooks, now head coach of Washington, will make his first return to Oklahoma City after being fired a year and a half ago.Brooks was never really supposed to be the Thunders coach. Presti had hired Carlesimo only a year earlier and when the decision was made to fire him and promote Brooks, the thinking was to get through the season and find a new coach. But as he did during his 11-year career, Brooks earned his job.He quickly installed Russell Westbrook as his starting point guard, and while their record dipped to 3-29 -- a mark that remains a touchstone for players and personnel -- the response from the team was clear. The turnaround began on New Years Eve in 2008, a 107-100 win over the Warriors.The young Thunder finished the season winning 20 of their final 50, and were competitive almost every night. The final day of the season, Brooks was officially named head coach. The Thunder responded with a 41-point blowout win over the Clippers.Under Brooks, the Thunder rapidly grew into an NBA power. His first full season they won 50 games and pushed the eventual champion Lakers to six games as Brooks won Coach of the Year. That kicked off a run of three conference finals in four years, including an NBA Finals appearance in 2012.The Thunder were all about establishing a culture and an identity, and Brooks was determined to help a young roster grow. His message was always energy-centric, and not so much about Xs and Os. It was about learning how to be professional basketball players. How to practice. How to work together. How to get along in a locker room.And most importantly, how to win.He took pride in his ability to foster chemistry, and his Thunder teams reflected his personality. He would routinely put things into scout tapes to try to keep things loose and fun. For example: He spliced in security camera footage of practice facility manager, Johnny Schults, walking backwards while putting the cover on the exterior swimming pool. You can guess what happened.He embraced mistakes and encouraged his young players to learn through making them -- specifically with Westbrook, who Brooks religiously defended. In many ways, the Russell Westbrook were watching today is a result of Brooks dedicated commitment to letting Westbrook figure it out on his own. Brooks was the original #LetWestbrookBeWestbrook apostle.Scottys my guy, Westbrook said Tuesday. He gave me a real shot to be able to do some of the things [I do] and make mistakes and he always had my back in that situation. Especially when I first got here. He was always the one who had my back through those times, and hes obviously a good coach as well.Some saw Brooks as an enabler for Westbrook, with his unwillingness to rebuke bad shots and turnovers as a potential undoing for the Thunder. That was one of the primary whispers around Brooks during his tenure: Accountability was an issue, and he had no idea how to rein in Westbrook.Maybe so, but the resullts were tangible, and impressive.dddddddddddd Westbrook blossomed into one of the leagues elites. Durant won an MVP. And despite their blemishes, the Thunder produced five remarkable seasons, with untimely injuries at the center of most of their playoff failings.Brooks was fired on April 22, 2015, two weeks after the 2014-15 season ended, a campaign from hell that featured 55 missed games for Kevin Durant, 15 missed by Westbrook and 18 missed by Serge Ibaka. The Thunder failed to make the playoffs on the final day of the season by virtue of a tiebreaker.When Brooks took over, his vision was for a young roster to grow, develop and improve. But what ultimately got Brooks fired is a failure to do that himself. Anyone that watched the Thunder could see the problems his teams faced. They were predictable, stale and simple. They didnt take full advantage of the talent the roster had. Brooks solution to most issues was just to play harder.He was resistant to embrace advanced numbers. He prioritized intangibles and chemistry over data, sticking with veterans like Derek Fisher and Kendrick Perkins, almost to the point of insanity. When the Thunder fell behind 2-1 to the Heat in the Finals, with an obvious matchup issue being a primary culprit, he refused to adjust for fear it would upset the locker room.Instead, he said they needed to play harder. With the team ranking dead last in assists per game in 2012, and remaining near the bottom the next two seasons, the Thunder worked in the summer of 2014 to reconfigure the offense. Less isolation, more ball and player movement. Injuries derailed a lot of their well-intentioned plans, but the front office saw the issues persisting, with no improvement on the horizon.And with the most important season of the Thunders franchise ahead, they pulled the plug on Brooks. It was an excruciating decision for Presti, one he made with no joy, because of the respect and admiration he had for Brooks. He flew to Los Angeles to tell Brooks personally, and began a coaching search shortly after.The talking points following Brooks firing centered around transition and not reacting to an unknown future, but instead shaping it themselves. Durant would be a free agent in a year and the Thunder wanted to bring in a new coach he could learn and bond with. It seemed to work, with Durant saying during training camp it felt like a new era of Thunder basketball. Even with obvious improvement happening, eventually those good vibes ran out and Durant departed.There was a certain innocence to the Brooks era. It was the best of the Thunder, the up-and-comers with all the talent and all the flaws. Fans continue to have a deep appreciation for Brooks, not just because he was at the heart of the rise of the franchise, but because of his humanity.Youre not going to find anybody with anything bad to say about that guy, Nick Collison said. He had a way with people.When Brooks walks into Chesapeake Energy Arena on Wednesday, hell face an opposing roster with only seven players he coached, and only two he coached for more than two years. Its a far different franchise than the one he was fired from, with only Westbrook