True, to a point. But we don't just want one of the 'plenty-of-coaches' crowd. We only want the best that can do everything Les does, but also beat Nick 50/50. Lets say Les pulls a Spurrier after the bowl game. We want to hire an elite coach for an elite program and elite coaches have choices. This years choice of elite jobs would be between LSU and USC (No, not the Cocks, the thing that fits over a cock). Both schools have facilities, are located in hot recruiting areas and passionate fan bases. If you're that coach you're smart enough to know the fan base wants a trophy NOW. First you have to win your division. Would you rather play Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Mississippi, Miss. State, and Texas A&M. Then if you beat them you get Florida or a team that can beat them. OR, you can play Arizona, Arizona St, Colorado, Utah, and UCLA. Then the winner of Stanford/Oregon. If Urban Meyer had waited until this year to get back in coaching, OR if Saban were just returning tucked tail from the NFL they both would pick USC over LSU. The condoms would be the smart play. In years past it would have been the Horns, Irish, or the Buckeyes because at each of those schools its much easier to go undefeated and make the playoffs. So in a year like this we would be looking at the 2nd best coach.
When the day comes that Miles rides off into the sunset with his winning percentage and a sack full of 2nd place in the west awards there will be a lot of shocked people when they name his replacement. It is going to be funny.
He's 62, and he does not strike me as the Bowden, Paterno, Bear type that will not be able to hang it up before he needs to be on a geriatric ward.
Lol classic, I'm just going off of the model. Dinardo was probably a bigger name at the time of his hiring than Saban was. Of course it didn't turn out that way. Then miles. I just don't see them hiring a big name, it will be some up and comer at a mid tier school with a decent record. Just like the previous two were. And he will succeed
That's probably what I'd do, but I'd cast a wide net. It's about more than X & O at a school like LSU, you have to be able to manage people (including prima donnas), manage the limelight, manage admin and boosters, be grounded so you aren't engaging in hijinx, recruit at a high level, handle adversity, and compete against the best in the biz. Miles is good at a lot of that. You do your research (preferably have a vetted list already that you regularly update) and make the best hire that you can. The pumper's trope, "Well, WHO would you hire to replace him," is fairly empty. This is a message board so it would be an interesting topic to discuss, but I don't have the time to research it. I'd look at mid-major coaches, coordinators, nfl folks. But if Miles' players and coaches (or should I say Miles and only Miles since he is only responsible for the good) mess around and back into the playoff, the climate for this conversation goes real tepid. And it should, that's football and you have to credit success. It would feel good (and a little empty) to represent the SEC in the playoff while Bama stays home (I guess that's much more likely than getting a rematch). That would definitely exceed my expectations (I expect Bama wins out and we lose 1 or 2 more, though of the two I think Bama winning out is less likely as they probably aren't as good as we made them look). If Miles can win with Steel and BDP and our elementary offensive scheme, that's pretty impressive.
