BATON ROUGE, La. — When LSU went after Tom Herman for its vacant head coaching spot Thanksgiving weekend, the then-Houston coach tried to use the offer as leverage.

He was also interested in the Texas job. And after initially giving LSU a favorable response, multiple reports have said he wanted LSU to pay him $6 million a year, a demand LSU reportedly walked away from, to instead off the job to Ed Orgeron, who accepted the position for somewhere between $3-4 million.

Herman eventually accepted the Texas job for $5 million a year, less than he asked for from LSU. He tried to use leverage and had the rug pulled out from under him when LSU athletic director Joe Alleva walked away, a departure that probably cost Herman about $1 million a year, if not more.

And, now, through the savings of not hiring Herman, LSU has gained leverage in building a staff.

LSU used that leverage Monday when it reportedly made defensive coordinator Dave Aranda the best-paid assistant coach in college football. Numbers have not been disclosed, but Texas A&M defensive coordinator John Chavis, one of  Aranda’s predecessors at LSU, reportedly makes around $1.5 million.

Considering that Aranda made $1.2 million for the 2016 season for LSU, even if he’s paid in the neighborhood of $2 million a year — numbers that many around LSU have bounced around — that’s considerable cost savings for LSU when one adds Aranda’s price tag to Orgeron’s.

LSU reportedly offered Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher $6.8 million a year to be the head coach and was turned down. It was also likely willing to offer Herman much more than the $3 million he was making at Houston. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say LSU was willing to pay him somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 million.

That means Orgeron signed with LSU for at least $1.5 million less than what Herman reportedly could have gotten and a whopping $3 million-plus less than LSU would have paid Fisher.

So an $800,000 raise for Aranda — if LSU paid him $2 million — is peanuts.

The same math can be applied to the offensive coordinator spot. Even after Aranda’s big pay raise, LSU could make Lane Kiffin a $2 million offensive coordinator — $600,000 more than Alabama pays him and $800,000 more than what former LSU offensive coordinator Cam Cameron was making before he was fired after four games  — and do it comfortably within the cost savings of hiring Orgeron.

That’s a huge bonus for Orgeron, who has painted his management style as a hands-off, CEO-type who consistently harps on letting his assistants do their job.

That Aranda, who likely was being vetted by Herman, his former roommate in college, for the same position at Texas, was so quick to sign on at LSU verifies that. Aranda coached one of college football’s best defenses last year with little, if any, interference from his boss.

Obviously, he was happy with his workplace environment.

For a confident, veteran offensive coordinator, that implicit endorsement has to be attractive. Not only is LSU offering to potentially pay you more than anybody else, Orgeron is promising to allow you to do your job with scant little meddling. Orgeron will be the first guy to deflect credit to his coordinators. He’s already proven that to be his style.

Could that be attractive for Kiffin, Orgeron’s friend and former boss at Tennessee and USC? Kiffin has rehabbed his image and been brilliant at directing Alabama’s offenses, but Nick Saban has a reputation for being notoriously hard to work for. Among those who might doubt Kiffin, the question remains: Is it Kiffin’s brilliance, or is it Kiffin “light,” with his negative traits suppressed by the restraints of the Saban’s heavy hand?

On one hand, Alabama almost guarantees continued success if he stays. On the other hand, LSU might be able to offer more money and more autonomy over the offense, which would allow him to take full credit and further build his personal brand toward the next (head coaching) job.

That has to make LSU an intriguing option for Kiffin and any other offensive coordinator Orgeron choses to pursue.

By not allowing Herman to leverage it for more money, LSU now has a ton of leverage to build the “best staff in America” that Orgeron promised when he was introduced as head coach.

Retaining Aranda was the first piece of the puzzle. Now, on to offensive coordinator.