It’s Time for LSU to Fire Les Miles

When Les Miles was named the Head Coach of the LSU Tigers on January 2, 2005 the reaction of many Tigers fans was, “Les who?”

At that point Miles was a fairly unknown commodity with very little head coaching experience. He had initially won plaudits as the Head Coach at Oklahoma State but his last year in that program resulted in a 7-5 record. Worse, the Cowboys went 4-4 in conference play and finished second to last in the Big XII South.

It wasn’t the kind of record that screamed hot coaching, but Miles had some big game magic some recruiting success and a long track record as a Power 5 Conference assistant starting under legendary coach Bo Schembechler at Michigan.

Miles was an unmitigated success at LSU. A brilliant hire by then LSU AD and coaching legend Skip Bertman, a man who knew coaching talent and saw just the right combination of factors in Les Miles.

Miles rewarded Bertman’s faith by keeping the program at the high level established by departed Head Coach Nick Saban. In his first three years as LSU Head Coach the Tigers went 34-6 and won a National Championship. Under Miles the Tigers have had double digit wins seven times in eleven years.

Jan 7, 2008; New Orleans, LA, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Les Miles hold up the National Championship trophy crystal ball after defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Allstate Sugar Bowl BCS National Championship Game at the Louisiana Superdome. The Tigers defeated the Buckeyes 38-24. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The Tigers success under Miles on the field has translated to unparalleled recruiting success as well, leaving LSU as the undisputed top producer of NFL talent in the country.

All of that great talent has not always translated to wins though. Under Miles the Tigers have been inconsistent, sprinkling disappointing four and five loss seasons in among the double digit win totals.

That is forgivable. Understandable, even. More frustrating is the series of losses to bitter rival Alabama and perpetual second place (or worse) finishes in the SEC West.

Since that BCS Championship Game win over the Jim Tressel coached Ohio State Buckeyes Les Miles career has looked a lot like the coach Tressel was hired to replace: John Cooper.

More from Big Easy Believer

• New Orleans Saints: Three biggest questions heading into the offseason
• New Orleans Saints: Three positives to take from playoff loss
• New Orleans Pelicans: Betting guide vs. Sacramento Kings
• New Orleans Saints: Bold predictions for Wild Card Round vs. Vikings
• New Orleans Pelicans: Betting guide in Los Angeles Lakers rematch

John Cooper was the Buckeyes Head Coach between 1988 and 2000. His career there was marked by three main trends. Under Cooper the Buckeyes won a lot of games, including winning ten or more five times between 1993 and 1998.

Cooper was able to turn the Buckeyes into an NFL Draft Pick machine. 63 Buckeyes were drafted under Cooper, a number that included big time stars like Shawn Springs and Eddie George. Cooper didn’t leave the cupboard dry either, another 33 Ohio State players were drafted the four years after he was fired.

Most schools won’t fire a head coach whose term is defined by characteristics like winning a lot of games and placing an incredible amount of players in the NFL. Coopers time at OSU was marked by a third characteristic.

Under him the Buckeyes developed a reputation as a team that could not win the big game. Cooper’s arch rival Michigan also fielded great teams in the 90’s.

Like Cooper’s Buckeye teams they won a lot of games and produced a lot of NFL talent. Unlike Cooper’s Buckeye teams they had talent at QB and a legit passing attack.

During Cooper’s impressive run at Ohio State the best quarterback he put in the NFL was career journeyman Kent Graham. During that same period Michigan put Elvis Grbac, Todd Collins, Brian Griese Drew Henson and Tom Brady in the NFL.

Coopers string of star running backs, linemen, defensive players, and even wide receivers and tight ends resulted in a lot of success and a lot of frustrating big game losses where his run heavy offenses lack of diversity caught up to them.

Les Miles and Cam Cameron both coached in the Big 10 during Coopers tenure at Ohio State. In spite of that cautionary tale they are overseeing a monster program at LSU that looks remarkably like Cooper’s big game bust NFL finishing school Buckeyes.

LSU fans will point to many reasons for removing Miles as the Tigers Head Coach.

Dec 30, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Les Miles during the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at LP Field. Notre Dame won 31-28. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

His well publicized struggles with clock management late in games. His habit of drafting players with burgeoning drug habits which has burned the team more than once.

The combination of a complete failure to recruit and groom talent at the quarterback position and a series of annual humiliations at the hands of Nick Saban’s more disciplined, more prepared and better quarterbacked Crimson Tide teams has reached a head.

LSU is 13-9 in the SEC over the last three seasons.

The Team is coming off an 8-5 record and a sloppy defeat to Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl.

The record is better this year at 7-2 but in those two losses the team has clearly been in a state of freefall.

Even more ominously the Tigers played in front of a virtually empty Tiger Stadium for the entire fourth quarter of the Arkansas game.

More from Editorials

• Pelicans PG Jrue Holiday Poised For Career-Defining Season
• GRADES: Pelicans Make their Mark on 2016 Draft
• Different Year, Same Questions for QB Harris and LSU
• How Danny Ferry Can Reverse Course on the Pelicans’ Future
• Saints Need to Avoid Being “Sucker Punched” in 2016

There are no official statistics but there can’t have been over 10,000 fans left in the stands during the waning minutes of that ugly loss. The fans have clearly stopped believing the Tigers can win when pressed to come from behind and score points in the air.

Les Miles has been a great coach for LSU. He has been as entertaining as he has been productive. He is a colorful character in a state that practically demands eccentricities from it’s celebrities. And he has won, a lot, while fielding teams loaded with star players.

His failure to field an offense that looks different from the offense he played in himself during the 1970’s and LSU’s now regular implosions in big games when his archaic offenses and weak quarterbacks shut down has gone on far enough.

It is time to fire Les Miles.

Oct 10, 2015; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Les Miles against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the second half of a game at Tiger Stadium. LSU defeated South Carolina 45-24. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

It’s tough to make that call on a Coach who has been as successful and well liked as Miles, but this is a decision that has to be made.

It is a decision that is full of risk. LSU has another slate of top recruits ready to sign and could be in line for the number one class in the country. That class could collapse like a house of cards very quickly.

Firing a head coach does not always improve a program. When Tennessee fired Phillip Fulmer pundits were quick to wonder if the move might be a mistake.

It was, Tennessee has regressed since that move and not come close to threatening for an SEC Crown since Fulmer was dismissed form the program.

Gunning for championships is a risky endeavor. If the goal is to win more games than you lose and put players in the NFL Les Miles is the man. If the goal is to get over the hump it’s clear that merely replacing offensive coordinators as Miles has done so often will just not be enough.

LSU isn’t going to get over the hump with a coach who can’t figure out the quarterback position. That coach is not Les Miles. It’s time for the search to begin.

We will take some time between looking forward to the Ole Miss game, to prepare a short list of possible candidates for the Tigers Head Coaching Position in the Post Les Miles era.

LSU AD Joe Aleeva would be wise to do the same……….