This time next week, LSU may have already introduced its new head coach.

According to The Advocate’s Ross Dellenger, citing anonymous sources, LSU administrators are down to four candidates and preparing to make a head coaching hire following the team’s game Thursday against Texas A&M. FSU coach and former LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher remains the clubhouse leader, but interim coach Ed Orgeron has not been eliminated from consideration, despite the 16-10 loss to Florida on Saturday:

The university has spent the past eight weeks using backchannel methods to gauge the interest of multiple college head coaches and vet them, while also evaluating interim coach Ed Orgeron’s job with regards to his serious candidacy for the full-time position.

…

The loss opens the door to a pool of candidates — led by Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher — and ends a potential plan to quickly name Orgeron the school’s new leader, the source confirmed. Orgeron, a 55-year-old who’s 10-4 in interim roles at Southern Cal and LSU, remains a viable candidate for the full-time position, the source confirmed.

If Fisher does not work out and the Tigers pass on Orgeron, Dellenger speculates that LSU will seek another coach with offensive backgrounds, with one exception:

The university has vetted several other candidates outside of Fisher, as leaders are seeking an up-and-coming offensive-minded sitting head coach. One of the leaders of that group appears to be Houston’s Tom Herman, who many expect to be Texas’ top choice. Others who fit that category are North Carolina’s Larry Fedora, Virginia Tech’s Justin Fuente, more veteran coaches in Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy and West Virginia’s Dana Holgorsen, and even a defensive-sided coach in Colorado’s Mike MacIntyre.

Fisher was linked to the job a year ago before LSU reversed course at the last minute and decided to keep Les Miles for the 2016 season.