DuckSouth.com

August 03, 2005

New Reb neighbor has West's attention

By Rick Cleveland
rcleveland@clarionledger.com

Mark Weber/Special to The Clarion-Ledger

Memphis coach Tommy West's biggest challenge so far this season may have come from outside Conference USA when Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron declared he'd dominate recruiting in the Bluff City.

MEMPHIS — Speaking at a Rebel Club meeting here last week, Ed Orgeron claimed Memphis solely as Ole Miss recruiting territory.

"We're going to build a fence around Memphis," Orgeron said. "I guarantee that."

Ole Miss fans loved it.

Naturally, that statement made headlines in the next day's Commercial Appeal. Among the more interested readers was Memphis Tigers football coach Tommy West.

"Yeah, I read that," West said Tuesday at Conference USA Media Days. "All I can say, is that's a lot of work. A fence? All the way around Memphis? Hey, it's a big city. He's got a lot of work to do.

"I figure it'll take a year or so at least," West said. "So maybe we can get a few players over the next 12 months."

Later, after taking questions on other subjects, West turned the conversation back to Orgeron's fence.


Rick Cleveland
"I keep thinking about that fence," he deadpanned, rubbing his face. "I'm kinda worried about that. Will we be able to get out of town when we need to, or will we be prisoners in our own city? Maybe, we'll have to ask for a pass when we have to get out of town."

West laughed along with reporters, but his message was clear. As University of Memphis football coach, and with a roster featuring 30 Memphis-area players, West doesn't plan to give Memphis up without a fight.

Don't look now, but the Memphis-Ole Miss football rivalry, dominated for so long by the Rebels, has heated considerably since West's Tigers have won the last two meetings. Orgeron's arrival apparently will only serve to make it hotter.

Nothing wrong with that, I say, especially since Orgeron's first season at Ole Miss — and West's fifth at Memphis — will begin on Labor Day in Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

Series contract in dispute

Just how long the Tigers and Rebels will continue to play one another annually on a home-and-home basis is a matter to be decided. You may remember the controversy last April. Ole Miss had a contract that had the series running through 2007. Memphis said it had an addendum to that contract that runs through 2011.

Athletic directors Pete Boone of Ole Miss and R.C. Johnson of Memphis reportedly will meet in the near future to decide how that contract plays out. Apparently, Ole Miss would like to spread those six games under contract beyond this season over a longer period of time. In other words, Ole Miss doesn't want to end the series but also doesn't want to play on an annual basis.

Said West, "What I know is we've got a contract and they'll either play us or pay us."

The rivalry, West said, makes dollars and sense. "There's little travel, both team's fans can see it with no problem," he said. "I noticed ESPN dropped Ole Miss-Mississippi State but it picked up our game, so obviously there's some national appeal, too. I just can't understand why they wouldn't want to play.

"I guess," he deadpanned, "we quit doing our part."

West's inference was obvious. After winning only eight of 59 previous meetings, the Tigers have won the last two, 44-34 at Memphis and 20-13 at Oxford.

Tigers making inroads

At West's first Conference USA Media Day back in 2001, he told all who would listen that he planned to recruit Mississippi. He looked at Memphis' record against Mississippi's three Division I-A schools and saw Memphis wasn't winning many. He looked at the rosters of the Mississippi schools and saw Mississippians by the scores. He looked at his own roster and saw not one player from Mississippi.

"Not one," he said Tuesday, "and I can just about hit an 8-iron from my backyard into Mississippi. It only makes sense for us to recruit there."

When the Rebels go against Memphis on Labor Day, they will go against a roster that includes 23 Mississippians.

Over the years, Memphis has won only 48 of 161 games against Mississippi's Big Three. Under West, Memphis has won four of 10. Obviously, he's doing something better than his predecessors.

Memphis had been to two bowls since 1912 before West came to town. The Tigers have been to two straight bowls under West. The Tigers won nine games in 2003 and eight more last season.

West has been rewarded with a contract that pays him a league-best $800,000 a year, more than he ever made as head coach at Clemson.

"I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time," said West, who at 51 is still young for a head coach.

But, said West, laughing again, "I'm too old to build fences."

I'll bet aside from all the disagreement between fanbases...

Our new coach could beat up most any other coach!

camlock you got that right.. and coach o's wife will agree with that as well!!!!

hehehehehe

bigwater wrote:camlock you got that right.. and coach o's wife will agree with that as well!!!!

Personally, I really don't know the man, and I am just a fan of the Ole Miss sports. So I have no personal emtions... But that is pretty dang low to go places like that about people you don't know their situation perrsonally, all u know is stories you heard from somebody else who is clueless. You really wouldn't think it were funny if it were about you or someone close to you, and a bunch of people thought it was funny to take it on their own to throw it around, when they not only don't know anything about it, but have no affliation to the people...and I don't know it to be true or not to be true either, but at the same time, I'm not making tasteless jokes about things I don't know anything about...I expect it from certain groups of people, not others...

" coach o's wife will agree with that as well!!!!"
_________________


Now Bigwater, thats a cheap shot.

Within a month, Coach O will either continue to be the brunt of jokes, or he'll shut some folks up by winning. Only time will tell. There are a lot of folks just waiting on him to fail in order to pounce on him, and there are many who are scared of what he might achieve. Anxiety is high. And laughter eases the tension, for now. Gonna be interesting.

Me? I'm cautiously optomistic. The Rebels probably have more talent than most folks are aware of or will acknowledge. Combined with a very favorable schedule, an "average" UM team could post a 7-4 season this year, without being a very good football team. A lot of the doom and gloomers may be scratching their heads at the end of this UM season.

August 3, 2005
The Orgeron Family
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James Bryant
Recruiting Analyst

Ole Miss fans have seen and heard head football coach Ed Orgeron for the last eight months, but do they really know him? Sit down and talk with Orgeron away from a football setting and it quickly becomes obvious what's important to him - his family. Beyond that, it's football with Orgeron comparing the team and Rebel fans to an extended family. In an exclusive interview, Orgeron sat down at his Oxford home and talked about his family, the team, and fans. In a three part series, the RebelGrove/OMSN.com brings the interview to life. Monday's story featured Orgeron talking about the upcoming season while Tuesday, Orgeron talked about his expectations from Ole Miss fans and family. Wednesday, the series concludes with a look at Orgeron at home with wife Kelly and his sons.


James Bryant

Orgeron with sons, Cody and Parker
Most college football fans are accustomed only at seeing their head football coach on game day and maybe once a year at an alumni function. For those lucky enough to live around a college town, they might even get to watch an occasional practice. And it is from those infrequent observations that they draw perceptions about the coach.

When it comes to Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron, he can put on the demeanor of an enthusiastic drill instructor and isn't shy about being vocal on the field to bring out the best in his players. However, once he leaves the campus for his home south of Oxford, he takes on a role that is equally as serious to him as being a head coach - that of husband and father - but one in which he deals with differently.

"Things are more relaxed and I let things flow at home as much as I can," Orgeron said Saturday evening at his home. "I learned early that I can't treat my wife and my kids the same way I treat my team. They are both special to me, but in different ways."

"Every minute of free time I can get is spent with my wife, Kelly, and my kids," Orgeron said. "We spend a lot of time right here by the pool, playing sports, and attending church on Sunday."

Orgeron, who is Catholic, and his wife, a Baptist, alternate going to his church and the North Oxford Baptist Church.

"We try to take the kids every Sunday," Orgeron said. "During football season and especially two-a-day practices, that may be a little more difficult, but we enjoy going to both (churches).

Orgeron is known for his work ethic on and off the field and his high energy, and it's apparent he takes just as serious of an approach with his family as his does with his football team.

However, what Orgeron and his family consider a big evening might be surprising.

"A big night for the Orgeron family is going to the Indoor Practice Facility and the boys and Ed throwing and teaching routes," Kelly Orgeron explained. "They can't understand why I don't get as excited as they do, but I usually will take a couple of good magazines with me or I shop on the internet in Ed's office. I will also go out and grade the boys on their routes. I'm pretty good at grading film and routes."

Orgeron met Kelly more than nine years ago as the couple was set up on a blind date by mutual friends, David and Janice Saunders. Saunders was later on the football staff at Ole Miss and is now head coach at Millsaps.

Orgeron, who was coaching at Syracuse at the time, met his future bride for their first date the week before the 1996 Liberty Bowl in Memphis.

Kelly, who is originally from Jonesboro, Ark. said their first date was in Memphis for dinner and the second date was the Liberty Bowl contest between Syracuse and Houston.


James Bryant

Orgeron with wife, Kelly, who gave up a career to support "Coach O".
Was it love on first sight?

"It was on my part," the first year head coach said. "I saw me a first round draft choice and I wasn't going to let her get away. When she didn't have a problem with our second date being a football game and dinner afterwards, I knew she was something special."

Recruits have made comments this season that Orgeron is a man that is hard to say no to and Mrs. Orgeron confirmed that can be true.

"I knew when I first met Ed that he was special," Kelly said. "And yes, it's true he has that charisma about him, and it's difficult to say no to him, especially when he asked me to marry him later on in the relationship.

Orgeron is known for his loud bass voice and his high energy on the football field, but Kelly said many don't get to see the softer side of her husband.

As the Rebel football coach frolicked in the pool with his twin sons, Kelly beamed while talking about her husband.

"That's what people don't see about Ed," she said, pointing to her husband and their son in the pool as he held up his son and gave him a word of encouragement and then kissed him on top of the head. "They don't see the loving caring side of him like I do everyday."

"He is a great husband and a wonderful father," Kelly said. "People assume he is this big man with a loud voice. Sometimes they don't see past that and see what a very genuine person he is."

"He is a lot different in the home setting as you see here today," she said. "He is very loving and fun to hang out with. Our family time is very valuable to us."

The arrival of football season is nothing new for the Orgeron family but this season will have its advantages over their time spent at Southern Cal.

"Everybody at our house gears up for football season," Kelly said. "When Ed was at USC we lived over a hour away, so it was hard for the boys and I to go to practice. Here it will be different. The boys will get to see their dad more, we will go hangout at practice some and let them be a part of the season a lot more."

It's apparent that team work is very important to Orgeron and Kelly explained that he emphasizes team work with his family as well.


James Bryant

Orgeron at home in the pool with one of his twin sons.
"Ed is great with the boys, he gives them a lot of encouragement and support and everything that they do," Mrs. Orgeron said. "He teaches them how to operate as a team. It takes all five of us to be successful and we all depend on each other."

The couple has three sons, Tyler, 13, from a previous marriage, and twins Parker and Cody, 7. All three of the boys get a long great with Tyler worshipping the twins, according to their mother.

"Tyler is an old soul, he worships the twins and is a great older brother," Mrs. Orgeron said. "Ed is a great father to all the boys, he treats Tyler as if he was his own, you would never know the difference."

While it's apparent that Mrs. Orgeron has a lot of respect and admiration for her husband, Orgeron is quick to point out that his wife is a big part of his family's success.

"Kelly is a big part of my success," Orgeron said. "She runs the family and is the rock and the glue that keeps us going."

The coaching profession often takes a toll on marriages with long hours and the constant traveling required by away games, recruiting, and alumni gatherings but not the Orgerons.

"Kelly never asked once about where I'm at or what I'm doing," Orgeron said. "She trusts me 100 percent and knows how important football is. But she realizes how she and the boys are important to me also. Kelly was a successful athlete in her day, playing basketball and track and she realizes what it takes to be successful at this level in sports."

In addition to the trust, Orgeron also credits his wife with providing his sons with a good role model and mother.

"Our kids are great students, she works with them on a daily basis, they are well mannered and disciplined young men," Orgeron said. "The boys understand the commitment that coaching takes, they also appreciate the special benefits such as going to all the games, special events, and getting to know the players, such as Carson Palmer, as well as our team here at Ole Miss."

The Orgeron boys are also very advanced for their age and knowledge of the game.

"They know what a curl route is, a skinny post, they have a lot of our terminology down already," Orgeron proudly explained. "They are pretty advanced for their age. Sports is always on the television in the Orgeron household."

While many may think that the Ole Miss job is the most important thing in his life, he quickly points out this isn't the case.

"I was 37 years old when I first saw the twins' face," Orgeron said. "I was like, are you kidding me? They make all the difference in the world to me - my family is my most important job.

"Both Kelly and my parents raised us to have a better quality of life than they did - now it's our turn to do the same for our boys."

well tell me guys...

what is the story about coach o and his wife.. i've just heard stories anything to themm... here latlely i've learned the hard way that where theres smoke theres fire!!!!! see raphel palmerio..

really i thought he had some type of altercation with his wife and the police were called.. maybe charges were dropped.. anyway ya'll set me strait!!!!

has coach o started building that fence around memphis yet???

cheap shot!!! good grief..

break it down gentelmen!!!

The truth is, over 10 years ago when he was one of Jimmy Johnson's assistant coaches just out of college he got into a barfight and headbutted a guy, and there is also a claim that he got in trouble back then for fighting with a girlfriend at the time, but no actual arrest....before he ever met his wife and had a family...

That turned into him being an abusive husband and that he fights and headbutts his players. WOW...

I'm sure you'd appreciate someone saying that you abuse your family b/c they found out you got into a couple barfights when you were single so they turned it into gospel that your a moron that abuses your family and now your whole community looks at you funny....bet that'd feel great huh? That's all I'm trying to say, like I said before, I don't know the man and have no emotional attachment to your joke, just crappy in my opinion, like gossipn' church women...

Well, at least UM's got their 4 C's lined up correctly.

Cussin' Cajun Catholic Coach.......

UM and Orgeron were made for each other.

Greenhead22 wrote:Well, at least UM's got their 4 C's lined up correctly.

Cussin' Cajun Catholic Coach.......

Um and Orgeron were made for each other.

I'll be a trashy with my comments as yall have been...

Croom and State were made for one another as well, and I'll leave it open ended!

Settle down guys before Camlock starts to CRY!

Camlock, you gotta chill brotha. If you let Bigwater and GH22 under your skin, you're really gonna hate it when Big Gumbo shows up in the fall. Don't worry though, he won't be around for long; usually disappears when the piggies start losing. Shouldn't take long. (You hear that BG, you lilly-livered bastardo....show yo face!!! )

Besides, who really cares what fans of a program whose winningest coach is Jackie Sherrill think? It would certainly show that they are not in a position to judge the character of a coach, wouldn't it?

mottlet

i guess you hold a very good point there, and the idea that all those rednecks (and nothing wrong with a redneck) are wearing shirts that say "Maroon is the only color that matters" in response to their new "BLACK" head coach...LOL

If Ole mIss had hired a black guy, WOW, could you imagine, think the Coach O jokes are rough!!!!

Anyway, I'm not really upset about it, I know they have nothing to be excited about with State football so they have to target us to get a kick, just like to call a spade a spade on the outplace jokes...

the slytanic is BS, he's not running any cleaner a program than any one else in the SEC...... See recent events