Ed Orgeron has never been a guy who knows how to slow down. The former LSU head coach, who rejoined the program this past May as a special assistant under Lane Kiffin, has built his entire life on endless energy. But that relentless drive hit a sudden wall last month.

New Orleans journalist Kaare Johnson reported that the 65-year-old coach recently spent 18 straight days in the hospital fighting sepsis, a severe and potentially life-threatening blood infection.

“From what I understand, Ed Orgeron spent 18 days in the hospital suffering from sepsis,” Kaare Johnson reported via an X post. “Essentially, a blood infection. Also, I believe he is back home now. Recovering. Very wise to go to the hospital. That is a dangerous situation. The worst is apparently over. Thank goodness. @LSUfootball.”

High-profile coaches facing life-threatening medical emergencies aren’t unheard of in college football. But for a guy like Orgeron, who once joked that he would rather die on the field than go to the hospital, spending nearly three full weeks as a patient shows just how severe this infection really was.

Orgeron left practice in mid-August after he “wasn’t feeling real well,” and Kiffin sent him home immediately to recover. He has been away from the building since, missing all of fall camp and LSU’s first two games. When Kiffin addressed Orgeron’s health situation in a presser on September 14, he confirmed that Coach O was dealing with serious health issues but kept the information private.

“He’s doing better,” Kiffin said, according to an X post by Jacques Doucet of WAFB. “It was a little bit scary. I’m not going to get into any details with that. But he’s doing better. He’s still not all the way back. He just means a lot to me; we’ve just been through a lot.” Kiffin and Orgeron go back a long way, even before either of them worked together at LSU.

They were both in Tennessee when Kiffin was the head coach, also at USC under Pete Carroll’s tenure. Some years later Orgeron stepped in as the interim head coach after Kiffin was fired as their HC in 2013. Coach O’s drive for the game and his mindset of never taking any job for granted brought him back to LSU after he stepped down from his coaching position in 2021.

Orgeron has delivered a national championship for the program in 2019 and went 51-20 across his six seasons of running the program. Kiffin brought him back because of Coach O’s personal history with him and his recruiting prowess in the Bayou area, hiring him as a special assistant for recruiting and defense. But there is more that the old Cajun brings to the Bayou than what can be counted in stats.

LSU AD Verge Ausberry described the impact of bringing Coach O back to Baton Rouge during a June 30 episode of Tyrann Mathieu’s In the Bayou podcast. “I think Lane coming here, having that relationship with O (Ed Orgeron), I think that’s so important to have O in this building and the excitement and energy he brings.” Although there is also an element of stability that was considered here as well.

“Lane is a coach that gets out there, but also he’s a guy who likes football. He’s 24*7 in this building,” Ausberry said. “I think O helps a lot with the external part of it, especially with new coaches, new people. We’re fortunate to keep the defensive staff here. In light of those guys, O was hired here. So, that was good to make that transition with those guys and be here.”

LSU kept the defensive coaching staff intact while Kiffin overhauled the offensive one. Defensive coordinator Blake Baker was hired by Orgeron back in 2021 as a linebackers coach. Defensive backs coach Corey Raymond also coached under Orgeron when he was the head coach LSU.

Kiffin recently brought up Orgeron’s stubborn side and his love for football, recalling a conversation that was classic Coach O. But hearing Orgeron talk about never slowing down hits differently now, especially after he spent 18 days in the hospital dealing with a life-threatening health issue.

“His passion… probably shouldn’t have joked one day,” Kiffin said. “He said, ‘Hey, coach, you know I’m never going to the hospital, man. If I die, I’m dying out on that field there.’ That’s who he is, that’s how he is with everything. Sometimes that’s not always the best thing to follow.”

Although Orgeron’s presence on the field and sideline brought energy to Kiffin and the players, LSU is moving forward to Week 3 without him. The Tigers are 2-0 now with wins over Clemson and Louisiana Tech, as they head to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for a matchup against Ole Miss on September 19. With Orgeron dealing with recent health concerns, there is no clear timeline for when he could return to the team.