and as long as the a.d. will let clm run his program and not try to micro-manage. miles has made some mistakes, but he learns and corrects. :thumb:
Between Tigercliff's up beat post :thumb: and winning by two touchdowns everyweek I have been able to put down the Malox bottle. Being a lifelong Tiger fan, this year has been very enjoyable far sure. When it comes to Tiger sports, CajinKid and I watch everything from football to three legged sack races. We really enjoy going to LSU on the weekends and watching sports.:lsup:
This is it in a nutshell. Get the wrong coach who does some illegal things, gets us on probation or doesn't recruit well or is inept at coaching, and we're back to being mediocre. Hard to think that could happen with the way things are now, but the possibility is very real but would take so many wrong decisions to get to that point.
I'm generally optimistic and have always fully supported Miles with no doubts whatsoever until.......Tennessee last year. Fans were complaining about the UNC & WV games but I honestly couldn't understand the negativity. The 10% negatigers seemingly had grown to about 25% even though we were undefeated. Then, the Tennessee game happened and that 25% of fans grew to the majority. As the seconds ticked off the clock, it was the most helpless feeling as a fan. Even though we ended up winning (thankfully Miles called the final play), players (Ridley?) took subtle jabs at the coaching staff. Fans were rightfully embarrassed. At the time, I remember thinking that the D was in good hands with Chavis and only an upgrade at OC was needed. However, I wasn't sure if the fanbase would allow Miles the opportunity to fix things on that side of the ball like he did for the D. With the players also showing signs of lacking confidence in the coaches, I started to wonder if Miles could dig himself out of the hole that our overly passionate fans had put him in. Now that we're a year later and the program has done a 180, I'm enjoying every minute of it and the few remaining negatigers don't bother me a bit. One 'friend' on FB whined about the lack of a passing game against the Gaytors and said he had lost faith in Miles. Really? Now? If you can't enjoy this success, it's time to find another hobby.
Things are great right now, and going to all of the games in the late 80s through the 90s makes it even sweeter! Things will not always be this great, to say that they will would be ignorant and arrogant. I do not see us sliding back so far that we cannot recover. LSU will be relevant for a very long time just based on what has been built over the last decade. My hope is that if we do slip a bit the fan base will continue to be just as dedicated and crazy as ever. THIS is one of the things that makes our football atmoshphere so great. Yeah, other programs' fans go through the motion of tailgating and cheering on their team, but LSU's campus on gameday has a feel to it that is 2nd to none. That spirit is what draws coaches, players, and fans to Death Valley. Long live the Tigers!!!
Look what has happened to the mighty Ohio state. Bad decisions by assistant coaches, misdeeds by a foolish player of stupidity by a booster can cause the NCAA to blast us. We have a clean coach. Still he is only one man. If miles doesn't keep his assistants and players clean then we too can be one of the fallen. I trust miles on this. If he leaves we must get a quality coach to replace him.
You guys keep bringing up programs like TX, USC, UF, tOSU, etc...like they've been wallowing in mediocrity for years or something. Truth be told, except for TX last season, none of these teams have had a losing season. Remember, in 2008, LSU was 3-5 in conference, and 7-5 overall (reg season). In '09, according to a lot on here and other sites, that was another 'down' year. We finished 9-4 overall. What I'm saying is this...I don't understand the paranoia that ensues when a program goes thru a couple of 'down' years. One or two years does not = a trend. Of course, with that said, if there are signs such as what we saw in 2008, they must be addressed quickly and decisively. Miles did so in 2008 with the co-DC debacle...yet many (maybe even most) of our fans felt it wasn't soon enough. Then after '09 & '10, when it became obvious that our offense was going nowhere with Crowton running it, he handled his business again. I'll admit even I thought he waited too long to make that move, but I'll be dammed...he sure made the right move when he got around to it. Someone said early in the thread that it could be argued that LSU is the most successful SEC program of this century, this last decade. Yeah, it wouldn't even be an argument! LSU is in fact the winningest team in the conference this century. There's no argument there, and the two BCSNCs tie for the most in the country, as well as conference. Miles won't be here forever, but I can certainly see him being here another 6-8 years at least. At that point, LSU should STILL be one of the top CFB programs in the country...maybe THE top program. Finding a replacement is always a crap shoot of sorts, but the odds go WAY up when it's an elite program that comes calling. LSU has proven it is committed to the football program with it's last two hires, and the salaries it has been willing to pay head and assistant coaches. This is not the 90s anymore, and LSU knows that it's not good enough to go to the Weed Eater bowl every couple of years. $$$ is too good with the current setup, and if as I expect, a playoff system is to come from all this expansion, the goal will continue to be #1...because the $$ will dictate it. Take that to the bank.
My biggest fear is that our fan base will not appreciate what we're currently experiencing until it's gone....or chased away. Because, increasingly, winning simply isn't good enough. Either "we're not putting up enough points", "not sacking enough QB's", " not forcing enough turnovers", "not having enough "exciting plays" on offense", and "being too vanilla", etc... I've used Nebraska as an example to explain my view point of this: Nebraska last won a national title the year before BCS came into existence (shared with Michigan in '99) but was a dominant force for most of the '90's and '80's. Then the Nebraska fanbase, it's brass, and boosters felt that 9 and 8 win seasons was FAR beneath them and they fired their coach that had a nice run maintaining what legendary coach Tom Osborne had been carrying. Then they had a HORRIBLE time landing a coach they deemed "worthy". Their program tumbled to new lows and their never satisfied fanbase got a strong dose of humble pie before getting a coach (YEARS after firing Solich) that has now started to bring back the type of team Nebraska had been known for (and it's STILL a work in progress).
Hammer, meet nail! I've used that analogy (Nebraska) in the last couple of years. Rogue boosters and desperate coaches have indeed caused their share of damage to big time programs, however, that's really not that hard to control. What IS hard to control is a rabid fanbase foaming at the mouth over a season that results in a non BCS bowl! The fact that we survived just that after '08, '09, and '10 (when we were an "atrocious" 28-11 :rolleye33: in the toughest conference in the universe) is a testament to our Head Coach's intestinal fortitude, and in fact, our Athletic Department allowing him to run his team. As much as we (me included) gripe about the AD we currently have, he's to be applauded for this to this point. As an LSU fan that started at LSU in Archer's second season, and suffered thru the Hallman years as well, I plead with Tiger fans to ENJOY THIS!! Do it for your own good! I didn't mention Dinardo's reign on purpose. See, when Dinardo was coach, it was EXCITING for those that suffered thru '90-'94. We went to BOWL GAMES!! lol. I went to the Peach Bowl PROUDLY in '96 and was ecstatic when we beat Clemson 10-7! Now when we go to bigger bowl games than we could've dreamed of in the '90s, and demolish and embarass far better teams than '96 Clemson, we STILL find things to complain about. THAT'S what will cause a mighty program to fall quicker than you can say Tom Osbourne. Soak it in, Tiger fans! THIS is the Golden Age of LSU Tiger football...and we're livin it! :geaux:
