O'Sullivan may not be the panacea LSU fans see in a coach

By Ed Daniels
Clarion Herald

The next LSU baseball coach will have big shoes to fill.

That may not be the prevailing wisdom in Baton Rouge, but so be it.

When Paul Mainieri’s tenure at LSU ends, it will show one national championship, five appearances in Omaha, four SEC championships and four 50-win seasons.

In other words, consistent excellence.

And, for some LSU fans that hasn’t been enough.

It is understandable. But, it is also a tad unreasonable.

In the moments after LSU announced Mainieri’s retirement, the hue and cry began for Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan.

LSU would, theoretically, pursue the coach who defeated the Tigers in the championship series in Omaha in 2017.

But, a quick check of O’Sullivan’s record the past two seasons in the Southeastern Conference regular season is 30 wins and 30 losses.

After Florida won the title in 2017, and reached the CWS semifinals in 2018, the Gators finished fifth and third in the SEC East.

And, that was before the shocking events of the past week. Florida went 0-2 in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2014. The Gators were eliminated on their home field in a jarring 19-1 loss to South Alabama.

Another coach you might hear to be on LSU’s radar is Michigan’s Erik Bakich. Bakich coached the Wolverines to the championship series two years ago. He’s been the head coach at Michigan since 2013 and has yet to win a Big 10 regular-season championship.

This season, Mainieri lost his Friday night starter Jaden Hill to a season-ending elbow injury, and the Tigers won one of their first nine games in SEC play.

Yet, the head coach was steady at the wheel, as LSU finished 12-9 in league play.

And, on Monday night, there was LSU, coming out of the loser’s bracket to reach the regional final at Oregon.

Some teams could have and would have folded. To Paul Mainieri’s credit, LSU didn’t.

So, for the LSU faithful who believe that the next Skip Bertman is out there, I say, “Good luck.” The days of LSU winning five championships in a span of 10 seasons are over.

The next LSU coach will be paid handsomely to meet these unrealistic expectations.

Director of athletics Scott Woodward has quickly developed a reputation as an executive who lands the big fish, and pays top dollar.

And, his next hire at LSU, contrary to what many believe, will have a tough act to follow.

Ed Daniels is sports director at ABC26 WGNO. He can be reached at [email protected]