Before the internet I used to buy one of those mags in the airport when traveling. Now they are terrible.
I'm surprised that many magazines are still in business. I subscribed to Sports Illustrated for years and I always looked forward to reading it, especially during football season. Now I already know every story in the mag a week before it comes out. Same with newspapers. I look at the Advocate online or with the app late at night and every story that will be in the morning paper is there. I still buy a paper most days only because I still like to read a physical newspaper. Its not as weird as sitting on the toilet with a phone or a laptop
Bleacher Report has LSU losing 2 games this year, I'm sure you can guess to whom, and by a combined 4 points. LSU will NOT lose a 4th straight game to Alabama. It ain't happening, fuggetahabahtit.
A couple more books are out, athlons, which has LSU ranked 19th. Yep, ranked ahead of LSU, old mrs, tx, wisconsin, usce and w, nd, etc. The other book is Lindy's, they have us ranked 11th. Quick question, athlons ranks the top 25 active college coaches, want to guess where Les falls in this top 25? A little hint, ranked ahead of Les is stoops, richt, motorbike bobby, cutcliffe, brian kelly, franklin, just to name a few. As for coaching staffs, LSU wasn't in the top 10 in the nation.........go figure.
On the Les rating, most of the people I know like and respect Les in what he has done at LSU. You can't dispute his record and the players he and the staff have developed over the years. The guys in the NFL will tell you that LSU players are more NFL ready than most. I know this, a few of the coaches I know, when an opening comes up at LSU, they apply. An most have very good jobs. But would move to LSU at the drop of a hat. I always talk job security, look no further the BD Peveto, back at LSU. I know one coach said that a Les interview was the most in-depth he had ever been involved in.
Les will never be known as a football genius and probably will not be in most peoples list of greatest coaches ever. However there is a list of some very very important things that Les does extremely well that makes him a damn good football coach. He is definitely a coach that players like to play for and coaches like to coach with. He does a very good job of recruiting both players and coaches. He runs a clean program and isn't a lying sleazeball like the midget in Tuscaloosa. He and his staff have shown a good ability to scout and evaluate players without relying on outside recruiting services. He retains staff that he wants and replaces staff he doesn't with better coaches. Many thought and openly stated that when Sabans players were gone he would fail. That has definitely not happened! His winning percentage in the SEC, hands down the NCAA's toughest, speaks for itself. Does he have his faults? Without a doubt he does. Name one coach in college ball that doesn't. Do I want to see more wins and national championships? Absolutely! But those that say Les isn't a really really good coach are clueless. Yes clock management and gameplan SUCK at times, but that's only one small fraction of the entire picture and doesn't tell the entire story. That also doesn't mean that I'm not going to rip his ass when he tells the QB to spike the ball as time runs out in a 4th quarter loss. Les is a coach that you love 95% of the time and makes you want to go to the mall and go postal the other 5%.
Good one TT, remember, its just a Magazine, at the end of the year few people will look back, I do. Many like what Les does. You've heard the saying, "He's comfortable in his own skin." This one fits Les to a tee. When you sit down and talk with the guy, you know where he's coming from, no BS. One thing, he cares about his Family, Players and Staff, really cares. Many times its not about him, its about someone else.
