It is interesting to hear all the Miles news that seems to crop up every year at about this time. It's also interesting to contrast that news from season to season. Being a fan by definition means that you are rarely able to have an unbiased opinion. Being a College Football fan increases the level of difficulty significantly. So when the rumor mill got fired up last year during a run to a National Championship the majority of the base was holding it's collective breath and vocally supportive of Miles. This year, on the tail end of a season that has missed expectations, records and players are being examined, coaching styles and approaches are under the microscope and doubt has started to sneak into the room. As difficult as it is, it is important that you see the entire field and not just inside the 20. You can look at records and compare past performances. You can talk about players that the coach did or did not recruit. You can tear into piles of numbers, highlight some and ignore others to support your case. Although there are 50 angles on any of these discussions, everyone has the same root. They love this team, they are disappointed by the season's events and they want things to get better. It should be a healthy discussion and debate. My simple take on it is this. I am looking for a coach that has good character first and foremost. I want a coach that cares for his players as much as he does the University. I want a coach that is concerned about his players as people first and athletes second. I want a coach that expects and develops good qualities in the young men he leads. I want a coach who inspires leaders and pulls a team together. I want to win but I want to win with a highly respectable program. Sometimes this means that you are going to lose a few people and that you are going to have to make unpopular decisions because your foundational principle is not winning first. To me, the coach that has done this better than most is Les Miles. I would have loved to return to the SEC and National Championship again this year as much as anyone but that's just not possible every year. Every program goes through the cycle. That's just the way it goes. This team has been hit with a number of significant challenges this year and has had to work through difficult situations. As much as you experience in life you still cannot be prepared for everything that is going to hit you. This staff was challenged this year. They did very well in some cases and struggled with others. If success is your ability to leverage and act upon your collection of experiences then this team and staff should be better prepared for the future. I think this year was a challenge to do what's best for the players (especially Jefferson and Lee), adjust to the changing conditions and try to put a winner on the field each week. That's a significant body of work. We as arm chair coaches and QB's have the luxury of being able to sit back, evaluate and compare and formulate our opinions without the added pressures of a responsibility to players, boosters, Alumni, fans and everyone else that has a stake. These are the times when you learn a lot about yourself, your team and those around you (including us as fans). Personally, I am going to wait and see what happens this off season. There are some difficult decisions to make and a lot of reflection that needs to be done. If you have faith that we have the right guy then you should be confident that the right moves will be made. If I look back over the last few years and consider the challenges that have been faced and overcome then I am delivered a great sense of confidence that it's all going to be just fine. Think about how Miles' career began in 2005. Not many have had to face those circumstances and deliver a winner. Also think about the genuine devotion this coach has to the players, the university, the fans and the state. Finally, take a moment to look across the landscape and realize that in spite of the wins and losses this year we are in a great place. We have a damn fine football program a damn fine coach and damn fine University. A lot of folks would love to be where we are now. Have a great day! Happy Thanksgiving :geaux:
I could NOT agree more. Great post! I would like to add a few things though: First, let's all keep in mind what happens after you win a championship. Every team you play that next year has you circled on their schedule. Until Jan 8, 2009, we are the Champs! Every team we've played this season has given us their absolute best shot, because we are the Champs! Secondly, we've played the whole year with injuries and inexperience at QB. Remember, the guy who was supposed to be our starting QB this year really didn't want it, and was kicked off the team. We will be better off without him. Third, the Co-DC thing hasn't worked, and I have faith that Miles will make the necessary adjustments in the offseason. Lastly, we had another hurricane which messed up the start of our season, and our bye weeks. :crystal::geaux::crystal::geaux::crystal:
Two very good posts! Miles has done a great job his first 3 years, and a so-so job this year. Last January, everyone loved him after winning the championship and staying at LSU instead of accepting the HC job at his alma mater. Everyone thought he was good for us AND LOYAL, which is something his predecessor lacked. I'm disappointed in the fans that are forgetting all the good things they said about Miles less than a year ago. Folks are forgetting all the good things Miles has done the last 3 years. He has recruited well for us (at least according to the Scout/Rivals ratings, we'll see how those kids develop in the SEC). We want the coach to be loyal to the school, and Miles has DONE THAT. Now we fans need to be loyal to Miles. He's made a mistake or two, let's see if he fixes it. I hope and suspect he will. We wanted him at the end of last season, and we should still want him at LSU. So far, we had an off season, not unexpected after all the NFL talent we lost last year. In two years if the program is clearly headed in the wrong direction, and Miles has had a fair chance to correct this years problems, I'll feel differently. Right now, IT'S GEAUX LES!
Step back and take a breath...and say a prayer of thanksgiving! LSU's program has been unbelievably blessed lately.The end of the Saban era and the beginning of the Miles one is truly a time that all of us will be telling our grandchildren and great grandchildren about.I think that you hit the nail on the head when you alluded to 2005 as being a milestone.Les Miles won my admiration and loyalty that year.I can't begin to describe how much it meant to me as someone whose life had just changed in an instant.I evacuated to Birmingham Sunday morning before Katrina and didn't know where my family and close friends were.I didn't know that my uncle drowned in Bay St. Louis.I was literally a stranger in a strange land.We were all OK though because spiritual things became suddenly much more important than worldly stuff. Les Miles had to deal with that kind of reality because the lives of most his players were not that much different from mine. In that context, to finish that high in the final BCS poll and follow up with a top 5 recruiting class despite not knowing where two thirds of the recruits had evacuated to was a coaching effort that may never be duplicated! It was right after the Tennessee loss that I saw on TV with my new found univ. of Ala. brothers (who were all rooting hard for "dear ole LSU") that I realized that at that same time,all over the United States there were thousands and thousands of Louisianans that were experiencing the same pride in LSU that I was feeling.You can talk about "raider nation" and such but there is only one brotherhood called the TIGER NATION !!!!! THANKS coaches Miles and Saban for helping develop that brotherhood. Thanks for everything!:tigereye:
CLM = Commitment! Loyalty! Morality! I am extremely proud to call Les Miles our coach. Accordingly, I am extremely proud to see this thread. When a certain quarterback decided that other things were more important than his position as a Tiger, our Coach showed his commitment and loyalty by trying to work with this young man. When it failed, he showed his morality by doing right thing, even though he, and most of us, knew it could result in losses this season. I supported that action then, and I support that position now. On a certain December Saturday in Atlanta, in an uplanned news conference, our coach showed his commitment, loyalty and morality by stating that he would be the coach of LSU this season. This was putting the team and the university first although he was giving up the possible opportunity to return to his Alma Mater as head coach. He knew that the team needed to know where he stood before they went out to play in the SEC Championship game. The HAT has brought excitement to LSU football throughhis unorthadox style. He has shown total loyalty to his team and a commitment to the young men on the team by supporting them even when they have made a mistake. A wise baseball coach told me one time that "you coach during practice, you manage during the game. During the game is not the time to get on you players like Woody Hayes, but you encourage your players to perform." I see that in CLM. (The Woody Hayes comment should tell you how old he was). I support Coach Miles. I think he knows what needs to be done in the off-season and I expect him to do what is right. :geaux:
I'll tell you what, that is one of the best written and poignant posts I have read on TF. I also agree with the follow-up responses above. I think you guys have all got it right on. Thinking back about that immediately post-Katrina time period, it was all so surreal, and to think about what the team and coaches had to also deal with - WOW! And to reflect on the Les Miles era so far, I, too, am very proud and happy he is our football coach. It takes a time like Thanksgiving to really give it appropriate reflection, I suppose. Well done!
As a Saints and Tiger fan, I would love to see either team gobble up Greg Robinson as defensive coordinator. How can we start a campaign to make that happen?
It's refreshing to hear from fans who understand the big picture and realize that it's not about them.
