I have been told by my source in Stillwater, they contract for Miles has been worked on the past 24 hours. This was before Petrino pulled his name out. Miles was the target and he will be your next head coach. Can't say how I feel about it at this point. He has pushed our program back into the circle of winning NCAA programs, but there were times players had problems with the staff... fans didn't like the defensive system... offensive calls, etc. Anyway, this is being talked about on my board, www.o-state.com the past 2-3 days. Probably a huge reason the team didn't show for the Alamo Bowl. Good luck with Les. He's really a good guy IMO. I had the chance to play 18 holes with him at Karsten Creek and been out to eat with the guy shortly after he was hired in Stillwater. If anyone has questions, ask'em. -Ryno www.o-state.com
Well, as you can tell its about 50-50 around here on him. Since we are pretty sure about all the negatives, Can you tell us about his recruiting, graduation rates and elaborate on the player problems...
You know, it's kind of odd...we've had several Okie State fans posting here telling us about what a great guy and great coach Miles is, yet none of them seem to be all that broken up about the possibility of losing this guy...almost the way Arkansas fans were about Nutt earlier this week. A sharp contrast with the way Louisville fans were screaming about possibly losing Petrino.
Under Miles, we've had our best recruiting classes in HISTORY. In 2003, we probably hit our best class with two of the top 5 DL in the country. Last year, 2004, we signed the #1 run/pass QB in high school, Robby Reid. He can recruit. There is no question. The grad rates are also as high as ever, but that's thanks to the Academic Advisor, Marilyn Middlebrook. Finally, as for the problems. We've had our rumors of team 'in-fighting' this year and years past. Miles is hard. He's a hard coach that pushes his players BIG TIME. Some don't like his methods. But as for players doing stupid things... no. That really hasn't been an issue unlike our cousins in Norman.
I think they are probably excited about their OC, Mike Gundy, becoming the new Cowboy head coach. I know that I would if I was a Cowboy fan.
Thanks Ryno for the insight.... Our players are no strangers to a tough coach as the Miami Dolphins coach who used to be here was a pretty tough person as well... Well its far from a done deal.... Although I like winning, I also like what the Miami Dolphins coach who used to be here did with our facilities, our recruiting and the type of kids he recruited. We had NO problems with players since he got here and thats a good thing. I hope whowever we get can continue of running our program with class.
thx for the info, Ryno Is Miles more of an administrator/caretaker of a program, or does he have any particular Xs and O's expertise? What type of offense does he run? Defense? Is he likely to bring any current OKS asst coaches w/ him to LSU? Is he a motivator? My initial take on the guy (and based on nothing in particular other than gut instinct) is that LSU picked Miles as a "safe" pick ... probably not as much "upside" as Petrino, but more mature and experienced in running a program. Do you see Miles faring well in coaching battles w/ the likes of Urban Meyer? Steve Spurrier? Mark Richt? Tommy Tuberville? How do you think Miles will fit in in South Louisiana? What type of recruiter is he? How well does he interact w/ the media? With fans?
Lot of the questions I've been wondering. Saban seemed like a fish out of water when he first got here. Remember the turtle neck at this spring game when it was about 90 degrees and humid? South Louisiana is a great culture but definitely unique and the passion for LSU football is over the top. Following Saban won't be easy, possibly similar to the Zook situation. Saban was effective with the "hands-on" approach of coaching, especially with the secondary. Does Miles work with the offensive line a lot, with day to day techniques and stuff or is he more of a CEO like Tuberville? Also interested in the opinions of whether he'd bring staff with him.
Lots of questions there! Miles is a X & O's coach. He was the OC at OSU when we had our highest scoring team since 1988 (Mid-90s). In 1997, his team went to the Alamo Bowl and averaged about 38 points a game. He likes run/pass QB's more than drop back. We had a guy like that during his OC years with Tony Lindsay (great player before he blew out both knees) and this year with Donovan Woods. His highest recruit was the #1 run/pass QB in HS last year, Robbie Reid. Now, he WILL use the drop back QB pro-style system. We had this the past 2/3 years with Josh Fields (now the the White Sox), Rashaun Woods (SF 49ers) and Tatum Bell (Denver Broncos). The past three years (before 2004) he was a 50-50 run/pass coach. This year it's been 80% run and 20% pass (actual stat). The defensive system has been his major flaw IMO. His DC is Bill Clay, who is from Arkansas. He was the DC at Arkansas State before OSU. He also coached at Tampa Bay (NFL), UTEP, UVA, VT, SMU, SC, and USM. Clay's system is terrible IMO, the 4-2-5. We just don't have the players to run it. We've always been a team that has given up 3rd downs and made QB's look like Heisman cand. Again, he is a solid recruiter. He has started to make connections in Louisiana and actually lost and beat you guys on some players the past 2-3 years. I don't know who he would bring from the current staff. I know Gundy would stay (he's from OSU).
OSU fans are just happy to see him go. They are going 7-4 and know with Miles as head coach they will never be anything more then the second best football team in the state.
