Coach Saban won more than 9 games only 2 of 5 years. A lot of you will say he had less to work with. I'll say one of those two years was his second year, and his 3rd year was a big disappointment. He then answered it with a :crystal:, and all of his faults were forgotten/forgiven. He didn't muster 10 wins the next year, didn't win the SEC, and bolted like a thief in the night. Yet some still revere the weasel. I bet if he had stayed here, we MIGHT have won another :crystal:, but there would've been off years as well. I also bet people would be bichin about it. 'Fans' is short for something else. I'm not saying Miles is faultless, or shouldn't be criticized for some things. Not at all. But to even consider him on a hot seat is ludicrous. Absolutely ridiculous. And quite frankly, embarassing.
Then let's revisit a question I posed last year that few people gave a direct answer to without flaming: What would have to happen in your (general you) mind to legitimately put him on the hot seat? Just how much of a safety net does 2005-2007 give him? For example, I could certainly see a scenario where LSU averages 8-9 wins a season over the next 3-4 years but still loses to Bama, Florida and Ole Miss every single year. Does that 10-win average over his first 3 years give him a permanent "do-over" if he gets 8-9 wins over mid-majors, SEC bottom-feeders and FCS schools, but continues to stay winless over rivals and powerhouse programs? At a $4M/year salary?
I think most of yall misunderstand me. I am not for firing Miles as I believe he will have things corrected this season. I am simply saying that with the way things have been going, if the trend continues, I see no reason he is kept as head coach. It is just my opinion. I am very likely to be wrong. I am under the belief that SEC football is a business and a big one at that. From a business stand point, the 2008 and 2009 LSU team looked like a team just getting by with an average C when we all know they are A+ capable. Also, I know what I said about the 10 win season and I truly feel that if he comes short this next season and our O is at the bottom of all charts again and we struggle vs. teams like La Tech each week, Miles will be gone after his contract. Don’t misinterpret this for something like I am a fan who wants Miles fired because I am not. I think LSU is extremely lucky to have Miles as a coach because his qualities are second to none in the NCAA. Though this is a business and I am almost certain he was not hired to be average in the SEC, again this is just my opinion of the past 2 years. No, he is not an average coach; however there are some missing pieces on the team atm and it is HIS JOB to fix it. I really do not want to be labeled as one of those fans who spit Miles hate crap or Miles should be fired because that is not what I am for. I am all for Miles setting this ship back on the right path and I always wear my Purple and Gold glasses.!!! :geaux:
No, he doesn't get a permanent pass, nobody would. But at the same time, 2 or even 3 off seasons with 8 or 9 wins per season isn't as terrible as people like to think, considering the past. There's nothing wrong with wanting the best for your team, but the way people turn on a guy after two 'terrible' sub-10 win seasons is pretty ridiculous. That's all I'm meant. Miles has a long way to go before he outlives his welcome here if the worst he does is 8 wins. I do agree that it will be increasingly difficult for him if he keeps losing to the same teams every year. People tend to notice that type of thing. He will not be fired before his contract is up though. I didn't assume anything or misunderstand you. All I did is commented on your own thoughts you typed. To me that statement seemed pretty direct and to the point. Either way, it matters not to me what anyone's opinion of Miles is. If you say you like the guy, cool. If you say you don't, right on. I was just offering my perspective. :tigereye:
In my mind for Miles to be on the hot seat after this season, you have to look at what happened first. Now keep in mind i think Miles is a bonehead at times, but here you go. A peach bowl thrashing of Miami, a BCS win over Notre Dame, a National Championship win over Ohio State. All seasons bringing 11 wins. After 07 we lost damned near every leader we had with the exception of maybe Charles Scott. Que the redshirt freshman quarterback because of the "you know whoalleaux", and the defensive co-coaching catastrophe. LSU gets smoked in 2 games, and isn't mentally tough enough to pull out the other 3 Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia. So Les, that was a crappy job but you know what, improve and all is forgiven. Well this team improved especially on defense, the offense got stuck in the mud. 3 injuries to running backs, a quarterback who did little to zero in terms of development, and LSU does improve. However, I honestly think that if not for the Ole Miss debacle we wouldn't be having this conversation. But we are, so what i think Les has to do to keep his job is improve from last season. Ole Miss must go down, and either Florida or Alabama must get beat also, and if not, 2011 will be the make it or break it season for Les Miles in my opinion.
:lol::lol::lol::lol: I agree, a lot of this discussion on the hinges on the coaching debacle to end the Ole Miss game. And to that end, Les shouldn't have even been put in the situation to have to spike the ball. GC should have run it three times up the gut, call the time out, and kick the FG. Someone earlier in the thread said we were lucky to win 9 games last year. Well, maybe so, and we were also unlucky not to win 11. And lucky to get into the 2007 BCSCG, and lucky to get into the 2003 BCSCG, and lucky to get into the 2001 SECCG, unlucky to have Matt Mauck go down against Florida, lucky to win the Bluegrass Miracle.... Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, but the fact remains, we were good enough to win every game we were in, with the possible exception of Florida and Penn St. I see no reason why we won't continue to improve over last year, so I think we will still be good enough to win every game we play. No, Miles is not on the hot seat.
I agree. Also, as others have mentioned, we fired one winning coach (Coach Mac) and look what happened to the program. No one is going to win it all year end, year out. Just because you don't win the SEC and MNC every year or even every other year does not mean you don't have a very good program - there is just a lot of parity among the top teams. I think some UT fans probably have had second thoughts about the wisdom of pushing Fulmer out even if most of the SEC and a lot of UT fans disliked him. As far as LSU's record against Arkansas and Old Miss, remember Houston Nutt has always given LSU fits - even when Saban was our coach. Now on the flamming issue - Is TC just Coach Oh No in disguise? :wink: ldskule:
He'll also ask whether LSU can afford a 16 million dollar buyout. And he'll consider who he is going to get that is guaranteed to do better than 10 wins a season and a national championship. Because if he fires Miles and hires someone that does worse, . . . then he's finished himself. As far as getting a return on investment . . . LSU fills its stadium and makes good money. Thats the bottom line for the AD . . . not making unrealistic fans happy.
