When Ed Orgeron was recently asked about the open passing game coordinator position on his staff, the LSU coach made it quite clear hiring an assistant with an NFL background was something he coveted.

“There are a lot of coaches that are interested,” Orgeron said during his National Signing Day press conference. “We are looking in the NFL primarily, not to say we won’t look in college, we are looking for things to add to an already great offense.”

Just a few days later, LSU hired former Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Scott Linehan to replace Joe Brady in 2020. Linehan last coached in college back in 2001. Since that time, he’s served as a head coach, offensive coordinator and passing game coordinator in the NFL.

While his time in the NFL arguably featured just as many lows as highs, there’s no chance Linehan would have managed to stay in the NFL for nearly two decades if he was a bad coach.

That’s a sentiment echoed by Orgeron during a recent appearance on ESPN Baton Rouge 104.5 FM radio show “Off The Bench” on Tuesday morning.

“We are excited about our staff, excited about Scott Linehan, can’t wait to get to work, what a great hire for the LSU Tigers,” Orgeron noted on Linehan’s hire. “He and Ensminger are going to fit great together. He brings exactly what we want for our program.”

When it came to what made Linehan stand out from the other candidates for the position, Orgeron said it came down to Linehan’s experience managing the game’s most crucial situations.

“His expertise on third down and in the red zone, and let’s face it, we have a great package here, we are going to continue to do the things we know how to do here,” Orgeron said on the show. “I think Steve Ensminger has done a great job of running this offense, he is going to help Steve with the third down gameplan and the red zone and perhaps call some thrid down (plays), red zone (plays), we’ll see how he works. I think it’s going to be a great combination.”

Many LSU fans have expressed their concerns following LSU’s hire of Linehan but based on recent history down in Baton Rouge, Orgeron has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to coaching hires.