Ultimately the head coach is in charge of the gameplan. Plus he could override the calls. So its all on Miles. Besides I really dont think Crowton would be making a lot of these calls. He isnt this ultra conservative. Even when he had a green Dixon at Oregan he wasnt this conservative. Crowton coaches more to his talent and would use more spread formations if it were up to him. He is far less predictable in his play calling. What LSU is doing is classic, old school Big 10 ball.
I'm pretty sure I saw Les Miles on the sideline with one of those playcall sheets. Sure, he could've been reading along, but I can't help but think he's getting his hands in this. I agree with everyone else that this is not the same offense we've seen the past three years. Miles has admitted that running the ball up the gut is a fundamental he does not want to give up. At some point, though, you have to be flexible and see what isn't working.
this is one of the best thread ideas ever b/c herein lies the problem of everyone complaining about the offense and no one knowing exactly who to blame b/c we don't know who the man behind the curtain is. however i do find it a little eerie that we were probably having the same conversation about jimbo when miles was here and jimbo when saban was here. at first i really was in the camp of "crowton is a genius, miles is holding him back" but now i think i've jumped ship a little and put more of the blame on crowton. granted everyone is right who says ultimately it falls on miles but maybe there is something to this "crowton is a 2 yr guy". edit: although i find it hard to believe the guy who called the VT game and killed OSU with that offset formation was miles. so did crowton forget how to coach? is miles really meddling? and at some point if he was, couldn't he see that this offense isn't working. hell even saban just hit his coaching prime at the worst possible time for us. he's doing stuff/letting the OC do stuff at bama he never would've done while here. he was so conservative. he is finally learning from all his past mistakes and is really clicking right now. his offense and defense are killing teams. i hope miles can learn from this season's offensive performance so far.
This is why the distinction matters: 1. If Crowton is basically calling all the shots with minimal input from Miles, then the solution is simple: hire a new OC in the offseason. Since Les cleaned house last year with the defensive coaching staff, it's unlikely he'd have a problem doing this. 2. If Miles is overruling Crowton with the playcalling and refuses to change that, then we have a MUCH bigger problem on our hands. We're stuck in limbo with a coach that uses his talent just enough to post a winning record every year, possibly in SEC play too, but will not be a serious championship contender with the quality of coaching the league now has. So now the AD has a big decision to make. Do I fire my technically winning coach with a NC under his belt in the hopes that we find someone better? Knowing that there's a strong possibility of scaring those high-profile recruits away from LSU and not getting a top-quality coach? Right or wrong, our fans are not going to tolerate years of 8-5 records or worse and no championships for the amount of money Miles is making and the level of talent we have, and for the resulting amount of money it costs them in ticket prices.
It doesn't matter, fellers. Miles and Crowton are a team and they are making the calls. There will be no changes during the season. If Miles is unhappy in January, Crowton is gone. If Crowton is unhappy in January, Crowton is gone. If LSU is 11-2 with a bowl win and ranked in the top-10 and both coaches are happy, not one damn thing will change, nor should it.
If we keep playing this bad on offense I strongly suspect we'll have more than 1 or 2 losses. But if it happens I think Miles' job is safe.
miles' job is safe no matter if we lose the rest of our games this year. (actually worst we can do right now imo is 7-5 which would still get us to a bowl albeit it probably shreveport) it's next year that miles would officially be on the hot seat and i think he'd still make it through 2011 before being fired. miles isn't going anywhere anytime relatively soon unless miles decides he wants to.
other than Oregon and BYU fans having the exact same complaints about their offense under Crowton as we have about ours now under Crowton. They predicted almost this exact situation as we're in now. unable to develop a QB run the same unsuccessful plays over and over failure to put the ball in playmakers hands offensive numbers going DOWN from the previous year predictable play calling one more for you average ranking of scoring offense since '01 Crowton (BYU, Oregon, LSU) = 43rd Miles (Okie St, LSU) = 27th excluding '07-present (years they were together) Crowton (BYU, Oregon) = 50th Miles (Okie St, LSU) = 30th Without Crowton, Miles' offenses averaged being in the top 30 in the country in scoring. Without Miles, Crowton's offenses finished in the top 30 exactly 2 times. go ahead and convince yourself otherwise if you'd like. looking more and more like Miles isn't getting involved enough in the offense.
Come on, that's good game planning right there. Les studies the play sheet and the assistant next to him has the watch to keep track of the time. Wow, I'd forgotten I started this thread.
