Fans and media alike seem eager to push LSU coach out the door. Dave Miller
It doesn’t seem too long ago that LSU fans were rejoicing when head coach Les Miles decided to stay in Baton Rouge rather than bolting for Ann Arbor to replace Lloyd Carr at Michigan.
Less than three years later, Miles is seemingly being pushed out the door.
But that’s SEC country, where skepticism and doubt creep in even after a 9-4 campaign. And where a certain aggressive style of coaching may be wearing thin on Tigers fans.
After athletic director Joe Alleva sent a letter to the LSU fan base at the end of the 2009 season, many wondered if he was set to take the program in another direction if another SEC championship and national title wasn’t immediately on the horizon.
ICONLSU head coach Les Miles celebrates winning the BCS Championship over Ohio State to close out the 2007 season.
“This is a big year coming up for Les and the football program,” Alleva told the Baton Rouge Advocate.
“I think Les is a wonderful person, a marvelous recruiter. He has the respect of the players, and he’s put together a really good coaching staff. He’s done a good job, and he realizes his job is to win. We’ve had conversations, and he understands that we’re always striving for championships. We aren’t going to win them every year, but we have to make sure we’re in the hunt every season.”
While he did not give his coach an ultimatum, Alleva didn’t exactly heap high praise on his coaching abilities or past successes, either. All of this helps fuel speculation that Miles must get the Tigers back on top of the SEC.
Alleva noted that last season “was an improvement” over 2008 — and it was, with two of the Tigers’ four losses coming to Alabama and Florida. The Capital One Bowl loss to Penn State, meanwhile, was anything but embarrassing particularly because the game was played in treacherous weather. Keep in mind, as well, that the loss to the Nittany Lions was Miles’ first postseason defeat at LSU.
The major blemish on the Tigers’ season, however, was the late-game meltdown against Ole Miss. Miles’ risky coaching decisions — a staple of his career — didn’t exactly go his way in the loss to the Rebels. No question that game wasn’t one of his shining moments in terms of play-calling and time management.
But his usual aggressive approach also helped propel the Tigers to a national title. Has the shine from that 2007 season already worn off?
It doesn’t seem logical to me that a national championship-winning coach with a 51-15 record at a school — and a 27-13 mark in the toughest conference in America — would be on any sort of a hot seat entering a season. But that’s the overwhelming sentiment across the college football landscape.
The Tigers putting together back-to-back 5-7 seasons is one thing. But successive seasons of 8-5 and 9-4 following a national title shouldn’t raise the panic level in the state of Louisiana.
Miles has won more games in the past five years than any other coach in school history over the same amount of time, and the Tigers boast one of the best records against ranked opponents (13-11) among SEC schools since Miles replaced Nick Saban in 2005.
But the embattled head coach, whose $3.751 million salary will come under heavy scrutiny with every Tigers mistake, occupies the hottest seat in the SEC.
ICONQB Jordan Jefferson hopes to improve on an unsteady sophomore season.
Never mind that Miles has dealt with a ton of personnel moving onto the NFL and an unsteady quarterback situation since the dismissal of Ryan Perrilloux. And while the talent on the Tigers roster certainly is better than compiling a .500 mark in SEC play the last two seasons, sometimes certain teams just don’t gel for one reason or another. It’s happened to even the best of head coaches.
One can argue that quarterback Jordan Jefferson will have a major impact on Miles’ future. Coming off of a mediocre sophomore season despite showing flashes of brilliance against Auburn, can he break out and become one of the more exciting SEC signal-callers in 2010? If he can at least partly resemble the quarterback who led the Tigers to a Chick-fil-A Bowl thrashing of Georgia Tech to close out 2008, he will help stabilize the offense.
And will a newfound emphasis on the run game translate into a more productive rushing attack? Stevan Ridley and Richard Murphy are the veteran returnees, but also keep an eye on two highly recruited backs who redshirted this past season — Michael Ford and Drayton Calhoun.
With standout defenders in cornerback Patrick Peterson, linebacker Kelvin Sheppard and defensive tackle Drake Nevis, along with an offense primed to improve, shouldn’t we expect Miles to lead the Tigers to a bounce back season?
Because of his polarizing coaching philosophy, Tigers fans either love Miles or they would prefer to see him replace Rodriguez next season in Ann Arbor. There are those who appreciate his aggressive nature — like gambling on five fourth-downs in a single game against Florida — and there are those who will never embrace his style of coaching.
We’ve seen both camps come together and embrace their head coach once before, however. Winning will do that. The question is whether the two sides will ever be celebrating the Miles era one more time or if Alleva will eventually see enough and decide to enact change in Baton Rouge.
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Can't entirely blame Les we don't have anyone worthy of being a first string quarterback, The SEC is too competitive to win without one.
As a Michigan fan I can say I would be more than happy to have him on our sideline next year.
We are supporting Les Miles -- we ran into him last Wednesday after taking the grandkids to see Mike the Tiger -- all family are LSU alums..... GEUX TIGERS!
LSU fans must be lawyers ... they peak one thing in public ... another when no one can identify who the writer of poison letters really is
I think Les Miles is a good coach.. The fans at LSU are always in a hurry to get rid of a coach..
Levi, please come and get him ASAP. The man is inarticulate, thinks that he is an offensive guru and is really a fool that embarrasses us all.
I have heard this written about Les before. But let's be honest; he is not a top tier coach. He won a championship on Nick Saban's recruits and now that those recriuts have gone bye-bye, he's not nearly the coach that was expected of him.
He was the same way at the last school he came from also. I have no dog in this fight; I'm from Texas. But I've watched college ball enough to know who has the goods as far as elite coaching ability. Right now, it's Saban and Urban Meyer. They can recruit and coach. Mack brown can recriut but he's not the best with the Xs and Os. But at least he tries to get good assistant coaches.
It's ridiculous that Miles is on any kind of a hot seat . LSU should appreciate him , if they are too stupid to realize that I'm sure he'll have no problem finding employment elsewhere !!
I would be happy if we were able to compete for the SEC championship. Compete is the important part. LSU's offense has resembled something from the 1960's. Last year the fans were leaving in droves at halftime, because of the offense. If there's no change, the seats are going to be vacant when the game starts about mid-season. The only thing good about paying 3 or 4 million dollars for a coach is nobody's going to watch if it's continually inept. We'll see what happens.
I have read many times that Les won with "Saban's" recruits. Thats a great concempt; the players were able to go out without any coaching or planning and win a national championship. If thats the case, why do we even employ coaches, just tell the players to get out there and get with it. DUHHH. Wow, and since in his last year at LSU, Saban had an almost identical record as Miles( down to playing in the Capitol One Bowl), that must mean that Saban also lost with his own recruits.
I have been an LSU fan for almost 50 years and can remember the good old days and the bad old days and the good old days again. There is a very vocal minority out there who like to run their mouths without engaging their brains and who think just because they have a computer and "may" have attended a game once, they are experts on coaching and football. NOT!
I always wonder who these critics are that bemoan Coach Miles' lack of success. I would love to have a microscopic view of their lives and find out what great and note-worthy contributions they are making for society. To lead a multi-million dollar department while performing simultaneous duties of CEO, father figure, recruiter, public relations expert, disciplinarian, etc. takes incredible intellect, drive, composure, and faith. I only hope that Coach Miles surrounds himself with people and staff who love him, subscribe to his work ethic, and have honor. That will make all LSU fans proud. If we don't always win, we need to learn to lose with grace and strive to do better; not see it as total failure!
are you guys nuts?
this is how national football post and dave miller is gonna get readers.
being the nega-tiger???
nega-tigers are hated by lsu fans.
the bleacher report hardly has any lsu fans b/c they let bamer homers write this kinda story.
btw, nfp and dm......gfy.
Les knows how to get it done in the SEC. The real question is will he surround himself with detail people in order to make it happen? He did well with his defensive coach hire, Chavis, who has proven he can defend against the SEC offensive plays. And since JimBo has been calling the shots somewhere else, he will need to find that offensive coach who loves the game and knows how to roll against SEC defenses. If he can surround himself with those detail people, Les will be more this year.
I like Les because he does not dog the players like Saban did an does, he uplifts them. If winning comes at the price of being Sabanized, you can have it. I know it is football folks, but these young men have to move on to productive lives in 4-6 years and a coach should do more than show you how to win on the football field. A coach should show you how to win on a football field in a way that translates to much more than the hash marks and inches. Les does a great job of that. I beleive that is one of the big differences between the SEC (win at all costs) and the programs up north like Ann Arbor. They rely on tradition and circumstance and are more forgiving of losing seasons because the tradition alone is enough sometimes.
I have mixed emotions about Les. I really like the man personally and I think the players really like him also. His big problem is J. Jefferson as the QB has been going backwards instead of forward and Les is depending on him to return the Tigers to Greatness again. But really, I think the main problem is Gary Crowton as the OC as he cannot seem to work with Jefferson and I think he has helped discourage and confuse Jefferson as he tried to put too much on him.
If Les can get new Assistants Billy Gonzales and Frank Wilson more involved in the game preparations and plans, then maybe they can give LSU more of a direction for themselves.
I think LSU is just one QB away from being an awesome team in the SEC.
hop says the same ole tired stuff that being spewed by negative Tiger fans and SEC wannabes for 3 years now. Miles won with Saban recruits. So what? Saban won with Shula recruits.. Meyer won with Zook recruits. He had a "Bad" year last year (9-4) and had to play the Capitol One Bowl on a field not fit for cows. I wonder how many schools would like to finish 9-4. Maybe Notre Dame,Clemson, Oklahoma, Auburn, Georgia, Florida State, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi State, South Carolina, UCLA, Cal, Arizona, Arizona Statee, Missouri, Colorado, Texas A&M, Michigan State, Michigan, Illinois, etc, etc.....Anyone that thinks Miles can't coach is basing it on one thing - the Ole Miss debacle.
LSU fans and the administration would make the biggest blunder in LSU Football history, if they did anything that would make Coach Miles want to leave. I've been an LSU fan since birth, and I've never been happier with LSU football. So what if the team had a couple of less than perfect seasons. Does any team have perfect seasons every season. NO !. So, if we don't want to find LSU slipping into mediocrity as was the case for so many years, than we had better support Coach Miles and his efforts to bring us great teams. Otherwise, we can forget about an NC for many, many years.
We here in Louisiana have become spoiled. There is no such thing as perfection. Miles does not hold back. I like that. You have to gamble a little if you want to win it all. A quarterback however would help.
I wish Les Miles was married to Mel Gibson.
Miles is one of the top 2 0r 3 in the nation. Since he has been there he has fought through a Saban hangover from ignorant fans whose memory stopped at Saban's championship year. In 2004 tricky Nicky's team finished 9-3. Miles comes in & has 3 11 win seasons for the first time in the history of LSU, caps it off with a Championship and fools are still wiping the tears from their eyes & wiping the tears from their eyes when they hear Saban's name. like a heartbroken 14 year old girl!.
LESTER MILES IE THE BEST COACH THE LSU TIGERS HAVE EVER HAD! Let me say that again for the Saban worshipers. LESTER MILES IE THE BEST COACH THE LSU TIGERS HAVE EVER HAD! He stuck by the Tigers through thick & thin, has been as loyal and tenacious as a pit bull and deserves better treatment than this.
Maybe a lot of LSU fans can't remember the days of mediocrity & the lies of Saban and the mindset of the team in his last year, but I do. If LSU runs off Les Miles they will deserve what they get. And that will be something much less than what they have!
Just remember this - LSU needs continuity to accomplish anything in this league. Les has been with us long enough to have seen everything - a hurricane running his boys first home game of the season to another stadium three states over, a two loss National Championship, a Thursday night game for the ages on national televsion against Florida where we put their dicks in the dirt (there was some gambling for you but who remembers anything else?), a BSC championship literally at home in the Dome, a bitter loss to Saban last year when we should have had the call go our way with a picked off pass, but the refs were not going to have it. He has been with us Fools all the way. Lift Les up and don't sell him short. He deserves our loyalty and so do the Tiger players. These wipes who leave ths stadium at half time are not true fans. I don't know why they even come if they are going to leave at half time. If I lived in BR, I would make every game, instead I have to watch on a television. Les is a quality man with clear goals, and Aleva better know that if he pushes him out, very few people of quality would want to to come and coach knowing that two seasons of two or three losses and you are "washed up" at LSU. How sad is that People?!
I moved to Tennessee in 1987 but I coached Little League Baseball for several years and OUR team was the Purple & Gold TIGERS. Winning is not just about the scoreboard, it is also about in the class room and in LIFE in general. GEAUX TIGERS & Coach Myles. I am behind coach Myles a 100%. GOD BLESS!!!!!!!!!
Miles is running the LSU football program into the ground. I would give almost anything for him to head to Michigan after this season. My junior high school football coach could win 9 games with all the talent he has on the team. He is the king of underutilizing the talent he has. I'm thankful for the title he brought us, but unless I see a huge improvement this year ...its time he heads north
Miles is running the LSU football program into the ground. I would give almost anything for him to head to Michigan after this season. My junior high school football coach could win 9 games with all the talent he has on the team. He is the king of underutilizing the talent he has. I'm thankful for the title he brought us, but unless I see a huge improvement this year ...its time he heads north
Peachie Moore,
are you serious? lets see who were the past few coaches? nick saban, who left on his own to coach in the nfl and gerry dinardo, who was horrible, barely had above a .500 win percentage. now please tell me how were always ranting to get rid of coaches?
I apologize for all the nega tigers fans, tho if they were real fans they would build up the program not tear it down. As for as the nega media, who the hell cares! I had rather lose with a great man for a coach. Than be proud of some jerk that wins. We've had that before in B.R.
Les puts tough teams on the field. I'd say that four of LSU's games last year were decided by the refs. Alabama, Florida, Penn State and Georgia, a game which we won. At least in the Georgia game the refs made up for the bad call by penalizing Charles Scott for thanking God. Whether or not LSU would have won those games, we will never know. My email to Mike Slive was, just tell us whose going to win, so I want have to watch the game.
Never forget Dick Burleson, (n alabama homer in the replay booth. But because he went to Georgia Tech, he can do any SEC game. Hummmmmmmm!
I betcha some other coaches would love to see Les leave LSU.
Les Miles is one heck of a good coach and will survive the stupidity of a lot of his fans. The media is all over Les because they need controversy to increase their # of listeners. But where these same media when Saban due to his ego allowed Matt Mauch to be injured and lost for the season, when LSU was the overwhelming favorite to win the SECW, had at least an equal shot at the SEC Title and a BCS Bowl, and who knows even the NCG. But Saban wanted to hang 31 on FL in Gainesville so he Mauck running the keeper with the score 24-7 in favor of LSU, only a few minutes on the clock and a 1st down inside the Gator 10 yard line. Even the ESPN guys were saying, "What the hell is he doing. This the best looking team we have seen in the SEC this year and it is because of Mauch. Why doesn't he just kneel or hand the ball off?".The next play Mauck was injured on a keeper play. Saban had a great answer. "It could have happened in the first quarter." Huh?
This was probably the greatest gaffe by a head coach in LSU history. Yet Saban hardly received any criticism. Ruin an entire season because of ego. Aw, that's okay. .Not call a time out in time and lose a game and it is a heinous crime.
It's humiliating how LSU and Tiger fans act towards a coach who's been so successful. However we shouldn't be suprised considering a large section of our fan base was very anti-Les from day one after Saban's departure. I hope the coach sticks around.
Les Miles is a great coach and should stay at LSU forever. Tigers Fans need to relax bad seasons will happen. Geaux Tigers
i admire Les Miles's courage and grit. he is not good at clock management nor is he a strategic mastermind like Saban or Meyer. However, he does NOT call his own plays, the off-co does, maybe he needs replacing. Miles is a leader and a motivator, I'd much rather have a coach like that than one who "Sabanizes" his players. Thats all you need from a head coach. i agree with txtiger's post on winning with Saban's recruits, Bullsh**. Most college prospects try to fin there best shot at getting into the NFL and wich coach can help him do that. If i were a DB, I'd play for Saban. We need to upgrade our assistants, playbook, and our recruiting, not our coach. As long as he can learn how to manage a game clock.
GEAUX TIGERS
Here's the deal from an LSU alum and true fan: Miles is a joke. I hope he has a bad season. One more even marginal season will be enough to string him along and it is only a matter of time before he is gone.
He won on the back of Saban and will never again replicate that. It has already been proven: LSU (the school, name and tradition; not the coach) continues to recruit top talent that he continues to run into the ground.
Ever notice how guys busted for weed are busted for possession? It's never "driving while high" or "beating his wife while high" or "breaking into Krispy Kreme while high". Just possession. Meanwhile, star QBs are routinely accused of sexual assault and violent crimes, often involving alcohol.
Velocity and throws to the left...
Who makes up this talented small-school...
A look at the most impressive...
From SEC stud to small-school...
Says N.Y. needs to keep line together
Jul 12, 2010
11:49 AM
He's too damned good for the conference to let him go. If LSU is sick of him, then the Vols probably would not mind making Miles the man in charge.