Ed Orgeron - Flip the Script: Lessons Learned on the Road to a Championship

Coach O saved my career, made me what I am today, and gave me the opportunity to prove myself, and for that, Im forever grateful.

HEISMAN TROPHY WINNER JOE BURROW, FIRST PICK OF THE 2020 NFL DRAFT

Ed Orgeron was the first guy I hired when I got to USC, and his departure from our program to become a head coach himself was the biggest loss I had when somebody left. Ive never been around a better recruiter, but he brought so much more than that to the Trojans. He puts all of his heart and soul into everything he does. Im not surprised he led his beloved LSU Tigers to a national title. I couldnt be happier for him or his family because I know just how hard hes worked to earn all that hes accomplished.

SUPER BOWL-WINNING COACH PETE CARROLL

Ive often said of Louisianans, they arent from there, they are of there. Its as if they grew from the soil. Who else could connect with the state the way a man from Lafourche Parrish does? I felt that way before their season for the ages. Now, he could run for King. That team preached one heartbeat, much like Eds heart beats for the LSU Tigers. Always has. I believe hes the most perfect marriage of coach and program in all of sports.

ESPNS SCOTT VAN PELT

Flip the Script

2020 by Ed Orgeron

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Nelson Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson. Nelson Books and Thomas Nelson are registered trademarks of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.

Published in association with One Street Books and editor Lavaille Lavette.

Thomas Nelson titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

Any internet addresses, phone numbers, or company or product information printed in this book are offered as a resource and are not intended in any way to be or to imply an endorsement by Thomas Nelson, nor does Thomas Nelson vouch for the existence, content, or services of these sites, phone numbers, companies, or products beyond the life of this book.

ISBN 978-1-4002-2518-7 (HC)

ISBN 978-1-4002-2520-0 (eBook)

Epub Edition August 2020 9781400225200

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020942667

Printed in the United States of America

2021222324LSC10987654321

I am grateful for my dad and mom, Bebe and Coco, who dedicated their whole life preparing me to be the man I am today. I grew up rich in their home because they gave me courage, toughness, the ability to compete, and the ability to communicateand for their unconditional love, support, and understanding. For that, I am forever grateful to them.

I would also like to dedicate this book to my three sonsParker, Cody, and Tyler. They are the most valued parts of my life. I know that they will pass on the same Orgeron traits to their kids that my parents passed on to me.

Geaux Tigers.

Coach O is a winner. A national champion. Hes a winner in the game of football and the game of life. But hes only a winner because he knows what its like to lose.

Ed Orgeron knows what its like to hit rock bottom and instead of staying there, he pulled himself up, became accountable, and eventually went on to become one of the most influential and successful coaches in college football history. I had the privilege of being coached by him while playing with arguably the most dominant defensive line college football has ever seen at the University of Miami.

I learned many tough, intense and smart lessons from Coach O. Lessons that would go on to influence my career and how I conduct my business today. And that will always be the mark of a GREAT FOOTBALL COACHwhen he teaches a player how to win beyond the gridiron.

Congrats, Coach O, on your book, Flip the Script: Lessons Learned on the Road to a Championship. Cheers to the lessons and cheers to the journey.

Dwayne Johnson

I wrote this book to share my story about what happens when you become totally honest with yourself and come to terms with your own strengths and weaknessesmuch like a coach would when assessing any recruit or opponent. Total honesty doesnt mean putting limits on yourself; rather, it enables you to set up environments where youand everyone else around youcan thrive and grow.

Ill tell you how LSU evolved into a program that went 150 and beat more top-ten opponents than anyone in the history of college football. But that change is really a by-product of something that goes far beyond the lines of a football field. Youll see what can happen when you open yourself up to making drastic changes andin the case of the LSU Tigerscreate the culture and innovations that help put you and your team in a prime position every Saturday.

This is my step-by-step journey of running up the coaching ladder and then plummeting all the way back down as I came to terms with my battles with addiction and the lessons I learned from it. I share how I set a new standard and all that it took to flip the script for myself and for the team, as I learned from both my mistakes and the mistakes of others. More than anything, this book will explore what can happen when you believe in a bigger plan, refuse to let anyone else define you, and never give up.

My whole life, not just my coaching career, has reached the highest of highs. It has also hit the lowest of lowsas low as any coach has ever experienced. When we step back and see the mind-bending twists and turnshow so many were completely out of our controlwe begin to grasp that something much bigger than ourselves is driving it all. But when were grinding away in the middle of it, were pretty oblivious to that.

The one thing Ive always tried to do is learn from all my experiencesespecially my mistakes. Those experiences shaped me as a person, a parent, and a leader. Theyve prepared me for where I am today and who I am today. And as a result I am able to handle more than I ever could before. These days, nothingwhether that be an issue with a player, a staff member, an opponent, or anything off the fieldcould come across my desk that would surprise me. And theres nothing I couldnt learn from. In fact, the low times have taught me the mosttheyve made it apparent that I had to do something different, to flip the script in my life, or in my coaching. Thats a skill that anyone can use to turn a disaster into a win.

And I can tell you now, one of my biggest disasters turned out to bein the long runone of my biggest wins. What most people thought was pretty much the end of my career as a head coach actually turned out to be the beginning of it.