LSU’s Mythical Mad Hatter: Separating Facts From Fiction For Les Miles
by SouthernMan on Mar 15, 2010 7:43 AM CDT
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Print(This will be part I in a weekly series on the biggest criticisms of LSU’s Head Coach – We’ll answer the question; are the criticisms justified in reality or by Wonderland fantasy?)
Perception is reality, or so they say.
For LSU head coach Les Miles—the School’s most successful coach by winning percentage—reality is truly in the eye of the beholder.
In fact, some LSU fans read the previous sentence and immediately transposed the word successful with dismal.
If one were to spend a day on Tiggerdroppings.com or other internet forums chronicling the fighting Tigers from the Bayou State he or she might determine that Les Miles is the second coming of Curley Hallman—the School’s worst coach by winning percentage.
One poster at andthevalleyshook.com commented that Les Miles was to blame for his bad health and that his wife would no longer allow him to watch his Alma Mater’s football team.
He explained “I was in School during the Hallman days when watching football was fun and I never got upset and angry.”
Some readers may not remember the ‘interception game’ or ‘welcoming’ Arkansas to the SEC by allowing them to ‘hog wild’ in Fayetteville, or losing 28 games in four years, but most Tiger fans did not consider it more fun!
Nevertheless, Miles may be the most hated LSU coach since Hallman, or at least that is the ‘impression’ you might get from a contingent of LSU fans.
It begs the question; why?
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My triumphant return to posting will include a long, reasonably well-thought out discussion of Les Miles
and his standing with me personally and with fans of the program. In short, I am very disappointed with his performance in the last two years, but he can win me back with a successful 2010. This is a year we can win the division, and frankly it looks like it might be a down year overall in the conference and the title is up for grabs. Miles can return to the upper echelons of college coaching by grasping this opportunity, but we need to see dramatic improvements in several areas, especially in how the offense operates.
Father. Husband. Lawyer. Nerd.
by Richard Pittman on Mar 16, 2010 4:35 PM CDT reply actions
I agree with this.
Although admittedly, I’m sorta drinking the kool-aid by the gallon already. The confidence is back and I see good things happening this upcoming season.
What's up Ryan? ARGHHHHHH!!! oops. ~ Patrick Chewing
I'd like to think there's 10 wins and a West title out there somewhere...
"Tiger Stadium is by far the worst place to play for a visiting team. It's like being inside a drum." - Paul "Bear" Bryant
by Chinese Bandit on Mar 16, 2010 10:46 PM CDT up reply actions
Yeah..
That’s where I’m coming from man. Win the west and get a BCS bid. GRAVY.
What's up Ryan? ARGHHHHHH!!! oops. ~ Patrick Chewing
I mean, I feel like that's pretty realistic
As long as the offense is better than last year (which isn’t asking a whole hell of alot) and the coaching staff keeps the dumbassery to a minimum. I’m feeling pretty optimistic about this season.
"Tiger Stadium is by far the worst place to play for a visiting team. It's like being inside a drum." - Paul "Bear" Bryant
by Chinese Bandit on Mar 17, 2010 6:39 PM CDT up reply actions
Complete Support for Les Miles and the LSU Tiger Football Team
Personally, I believe that Coach Les Miles is the best head football coach to ever coach at LSU. His record at LSU would be the envy of any college football team. And, his accomplishments are his alone done without any help from anyone including Nick Saban. Coach Miles is recognized as one of the best recruiters in the country, and much of the staff he has hired is similarly recognized in this aspect of the college game.
I read a comment somewhere by some guy, who claimed that watching LSU football under Curly Hallman was “fun”, while he was apparently disgusted watching LSU football under Coach Miles. That line of thought escapes me as how can one have fun watching their football team lose year-after-year, while apparently being disgusted watching their team win Southeastern Conference Championships and a National Championship. Something is seriously wrong with that line of thought.
I wonder at times what Coach Miles must think of LSU fans, when he reads some of the comments posted on the Internet for the whole world to see. I’m sure he’s not thrilled by them, but just think of the hurt it must cause him, and his wife, to know that at least some of this stuff will be thrown in their children’s faces at school, etc. Put yourself in Coach Miles’ place and see if you can feel what he must feel. Yes, I know about the money he’s paid, but if he continues to be criticized no matter what he does, it wouldn’t surprise me if he would look elsewhere. And, if Coach Miles left, I believe LSU fans would once again learn the true meaning of “mediocrity”.
I wonder at times what Coach Miles must think of LSU fans, when he reads some of the comments posted on the Internet for the whole world to see.
I think you give too much credit to internet idiots. I am not sure if CLM even reads that crap, but if he does it’s probably just for shits and giggles. Everyone knows the internet is filled with morons.
Gregatron is not responsible for any of the crap he just wrote.
St. Louis vegetarian blog
It cuts both ways
The fans that make it a pressure-cooker and who have unrealistic expectations and are overly critical are the same ones who make it one of the highest paying jobs in the country. Simply put, you don’t go to an LSU or a Texas or an Ohio State or any other place like that if you’re not willing to put up with very high expectations. I’m not defending idiots, but they come with the territory of coaching a top 10 program.
Father. Husband. Lawyer. Nerd.
by Richard Pittman on Mar 19, 2010 8:03 AM CDT up reply actions
I agree to an extent
- Coaches do and should have to deal with high expectations but we have a growing number of idiots that are infecting the whole fan experience at LSU for no good reason.
LSU used to be known to have the most proud and loyal fans in the country, now we are the most delusional. Its sad when the gumps are more rational than we are.
We were the crowd that would move the earth for the Tigers with narry a championship in sight. Now, we have a half empty stadium in a close SEC game when we are still in the hunt for everything because its raining or because we’re not beating the other guys by enough or whatever.
It’s pathetic and makes me sad.
GEAUX TIGERS!!!
Les Miles has more important things to do than worry about what we think.
And that’s probably his best asset as a coach. He’ll do what he thinks needs to be done.
Things improve under Les Miles, and I have every feeling that the offense will get better.
In 2007, our special teams sucked. We hired Joe Robinson, and now special teams are amongst the best in the nation.
In 2008, our defense was bad. We fixed it.
My only worry is that something will be compensated. This year, we overcorrected the turnover problem we had in 2008 with an offense that looked scared in 2009. Let’s hope improvements are for the better this year.
Les might not be the best coach in the world, but I can’t help but think he has the most potential. He’s a five-star coach prospect, and a four-star coach, if that makes sense.
Jrlz rhymes with Charles.
Makes sense to me.
I’m calling this year ‘balance’
2008 was Yen (Too loose, many interceptions – bad medicine!)
2009 was Yang (Too tight, many sacks – bad medicine!)
2010 = Right in the middle – good medicine!
GEAUX TIGERS!!!
Alright, I am a few paragraphs in
and yes….Nick Saban did take over in the year 2000. However, LSU won the SECCG in 2001, not 2000.
"Dude, I'm tellin' ya it's jobs. We gotta get jobs. Then we get the khakis. Then we get the chicks." - BASEketball
The way it reads, it is implied that it was 2000
Maybe, because I was scimming through it kind of quickly. With as much stuff as you write, I figured you knew.
I should have worded my response a little better.
I truly hope your support of Les Miles pays off and you can gloat that you were right all along. But, I have lost all confidence in him as a football coach.
He might have the best winning pct. right now of any LSU head coach. But, when it is all said done, if he continues along this path, that will not be the case.
"Dude, I'm tellin' ya it's jobs. We gotta get jobs. Then we get the khakis. Then we get the chicks." - BASEketball
Support the program, but not the coach
I’ve been very disappointed by Les Miles in his unwillingness to learn from his mistakes. The LSU team we saw on the field last season was supposedly one of the most talented in the SEC, but the product did not show on the field. We can arrive at a few conclusions here.
1) Talent is good, but coaching is bad. I’ve seen some examples on the field that support this view, but it’s not uniform. Les Miles certain recruited his share of good talent, but also his share of rotten talent. That’s not new in the world of college sports. But Miles certainly did no favors out there by allowing a predictable offense to take the field. You can’t win if you can’t score.
2) Talent is bad, coaching is good. Say the Tigers football team has bad talent overall (a hoot!) and Les Miles is supposedly this genius. Are you done laughing yet?
3) Nick Saban recruited better players than Les Miles. I have no problem accepting this conclusion.
The one thing that Miles had going for him is that his teams at LSU didn’t lose bowl games. But after the microcosm of the season was seen on national television against Penn State, Les doesn’t even have that going for him anymore. Some of the wins during the season (vs. La Tech, etc) didn’t even feel like wins. As long as Miles keeps having winning seasons, he’s going to stick around. I’d love to see Miles gone, but that’s not going to happen yet.
And the eighth and final rule: if this is your first time at Fight Club, you have to fight.
All will be revealed in due time.
Let the doubters doubt, let the haters hate.
None of that matters right now. What will happen will happen.
But in the meantime, if someone has a problem, then that’s their problem, not yours or mine.
It’s the off-season, people. Give it a rest. The game is played on a football field, not on a message board.
Jrlz rhymes with Charles.
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