LSU hires Ed Orgeron as new football coach

— -- After flirting with other options, the? LSU Tigers?have?hired the same guy who has held the head coaching position for the last two months.

Sources confirmed to ESPN that LSU will promote interim coach Ed Orgeron to a full-time role after he went 5-2 as longtime coach Les Miles' replacement.

The school has scheduled a news conference for 1 p.m. ET Saturday. Orgeron's hiring was first reported by Football Scoop and The Advocate.

It had been a dramatic 48 hours as rumors swirled about LSU administrators targeting Houston's Tom Herman and Florida State's Jimbo Fisher over Orgeron. LSU finally went with Orgeron, who earned widespread support from the team and a wide swath of the fan base in his time as interim coach.

A source told ESPN's Brett McMurphy that LSU decided to go with Orgeron because it "wasn't going to be held hostage [while Herman negotiated with other schools]. ... In the end, they chose the guy who wanted the job and not the guy who wanted the money."

It initially seemed as though Orgeron was a stopgap between Miles' 12-year tenure -- a time when he became the program's most consistent winner -- and the next coach, but over time it became clear Orgeron had a legitimate chance to contend for the job. He developed a loyal following because of his enthusiastic approach, outreach to program alums and Louisiana roots.

His adjustments to LSU's game-week schedule won favor on the team -- signaling a stark change from his first head coaching job a decade earlier, when he went 10-25 in three seasons at Ole Miss and alienated the team and fan base in the process.

Orgeron claimed he was a more mature coach after the humbling experience at Ole Miss and earned a chance to prove it in two stints in an interim role.

Just as he had done while replacing friend Lane Kiffin as USC's interim coach in the middle of the 2013 season, Orgeron's new approach proved to be just what LSU needed after getting off to a disappointing 2-2 start this season. He didn't land that full-time gig with the Trojans, but he did at LSU once a series of impressive accomplishments solidified his candidacy.

The Tigers set multiple single-game school records under Orgeron and new offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger, whom Orgeron elevated from tight ends coach when Cam Cameron followed Miles out the door.

Among the notable offensive achievements:

* In Orgeron's first game, LSU posted 634 yards of total offense against Missouri -- the most any LSU team has accumulated against an SEC opponent.

* The following week, LSU averaged 10.9 yards per play against Southern Miss, setting a modern-day school record.

* Leonard Fournette broke LSU's rushing record by rushing for 284 yards on just 16 carries as the Tigers ran past Ole Miss on Oct. 22.

* Sophomore Derrius Guice threatened Fournette's rushing mark with 252 yards in a blowout win at Arkansas on Nov. 12 and then broke it on Thanksgiving night with 285 yards and four touchdowns in the season-ending win over Texas A&M.

"He's done a great job," Guice said of Orgeron after Thursday's 54-39 victory over Texas A&M. "He's a family guy. He keeps us close. He reminds us that it's you fighting for your brothers. ... We're all one heartbeat. I want Coach O to stay. We need somebody like Coach O to lead us out there."

However, Orgeron is likely to remake the program in his own image after taking over the job in a full-time capacity. For sure, he will make an effort to retain some members of Miles' coaching staff -- defensive coordinator Dave Aranda tops that list after LSU ranked in the top 15 nationally in both total defense and scoring defense this season -- but there are sure to be changes.

Orgeron's first order of business must be to bring aboard a top-tier offensive coordinator who can develop a scheme that can consistently rival the defense's standing as a national leader. Alabama offensive coordinator Kiffin and Orgeron remain close after working together in previous locales, and Kiffin is sure to sit high on Orgeron's list of candidates should he choose to leave Nick Saban's program without a head coaching contract in hand.

LSU could use Kiffin's guidance as an offensive playcaller and quarterback developer after struggling in both departments for the latter portion of Miles' tenure. Even after Orgeron took over, those issues reared their ugly heads in losses to Alabama and Florida, where execution mishaps directly contributed to LSU losses.

Wins and losses will be the ultimate measure of Orgeron's effectiveness in his new job, as LSU has not won an SEC West title since 2011 and the formerly competitive rivalry against Alabama has become one-sided with the Crimson Tide winning the last six meetings.

Recovering the program's reputation starts on offense, though, which is why most believed LSU would hire an offense-minded coach who would modernize Miles' ground-and-pound approach. Perhaps longtime defensive line coach Orgeron can still be the coach who leads that turnaround, but it will depend on the caliber of offensive assistants he convinces to join his staff.

ESPN Staff Writer Brett McMurphy contributed to this report.