in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Orgeron acknowledged he had been intoxicated that night and had grown angry when not allowed back inside to retrieve his credit card. In October 1992, Orgeron took a leave of absence from the University of Miami coaching staff for personal reasons; the departure turned out to be a permanent one, however and he was replaced by assistant coach Randy Shannon. Taking a respite from coaching, Orgeron worked on his personal life: the permanent injunction against him was eventually rescinded and the felony second-degree battery charges he faced were dropped. He stayed with his parents in Larose, crediting his father for helping him get his life in order. Orgeron returned to coaching in 1994 but as a volunteer linebackers coach at Nicholls State University. The following year, he moved from the south to the northeastern U.S., accepting a job with head coach Paul Pasqualoni's staff at Syracuse University, where he coached the defensive line for three years. Orgeron credited Pasqualoni for giving him a second chance at major-college coaching (after his prior personal issues had damaged his 'hireability') and helping him develop as a coach on and off the field. USC (first stint) In 1998, Orgeron was hired by offensive guru Paul Hackett, the newly hired head coach of USC (the University of Southern California), to coach the Trojans defensive line. After Hackett's 2000 firing, Orgeron was one of a handful of coaches retained by Hackett's replacement, Pete Carroll, a defensive specialist. The two had met during a high school football game when Carroll was still only a candidate for the head coach position and connected over their shared passion for recruiting. During the Carroll years, USC enjoyed much success, including two (Associated Press) National Championships. Orgeron took on the added responsibility of Recruiting Coordinator in 2001 and was named assistant head coach in 2003. Orgeron won National Recruiter of the Year honors in 2004, the same year he was hired by Ole Miss to replace head coach David Cutcliffe. Ole Miss Upon arriving at Ole Miss as head coach, Orgeron attempted to bring USC's passing game coordinator, Lane Kiffin, with him as the new offensive coordinator, but Kiffin opted to stay with the Trojans. Entering the 2005 season, Orgeron had hoped to bring a USC-style offense to the Southeastern Conference (SEC), but found limited success. The University of Mississippi's offense finished the season ranked 111th out