LSU coach Ed Orgeron said last week he was looking for someone with pro experience to fill the Tigers’ passing game coordinator vacancy.
Late Monday afternoon, he hired Scott Linehan, a former NFL head coach and offensive coordinator who has been fired from his last three jobs,
Linehan, 56, was head coach of the St. Louis Rams for just more than two seasons, from 2006 until the fourth game of the 2008 season. That’s when he was fired after the team’s 0-4 start, finishing 11-25 in 36 games.
He was offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions from 2009 to 2013 but was fired when head coach Jim Schwarz was fired at season’s end.
Linehan was then hired by the Dallas Cowboys in 2014 as a passing game coordinator and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2015. He held that position until he was fired at the end of the 2018 season.
With Linehan as offensive coordinator, the Cowboys struggled in the passing game. Dallas never had a passing attack rank better than 16th in the NFL, which was Linehan’s first season.
Also, Dallas had problems scoring. His predictable down and distance play calls resulted in the Cowboys averaging 22.1 points or fewer in three of his five seasons. In 2014 and 2016, the Cowboys averaged 29.2 and 26.3 points.
Linehan did not coach last season.
His last college coaching job was as offensive coordinator & wide receivers coach for Louisville in 1999-2001 under John L. Smith.
His second pro coaching job was as former LSU coach Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator in 2005 when Saban took over the Miami Dolphins.
Sounds like to me you just want to look o the negative side of this hire. The positive is that he certainly has a wealth of knowledge on the offensive side of the NFL and College game. If we looked at how many times a coach has been fired we wouldn’t have Coach O!
I’m a lifelong Cowboys fan and I mean literally since they came into the NFL in 1960. I’ve never been impressed with Linehan’s offenses in Dallas or the rest of the league. He always seemed predictable and conservative.
But I trust Coach O. He must see something most of us don’t. It’s a head scratcher but I’ve lived long enough to see an LSU team become a prolific passing offense under men I’d never previously heard of (The Joes’). Maybe Linehan will surprise me too. I’m glad Coach E is still there. I’m hoping those 2 heads are better than one!