Perspective on Chavis

Earlier in the year many (myself included) were wondering about Chief. Was he great, or was he a man who knew how to work with great talent?

Of course we all know that there is merit to the "Third and Chavis", and letting the Aggies back into the game shows why (this irrational conversion from man coverage - that was lights out - to zone coverage, is evidence of that).

On the one side, if you assume he is responsible for selecting players and developing them, how could a man known for sending many LB's into the NFL (while at UThug for the most part) not have Beckwith prepared enough to prevent us from having to watch Welter get totally "out-athlete" for the first part of the season?

On the other, he finally did adjust, and also adjusted the secondary formula, especially with Adams, and also integrated in the young and not-so-LSU-special DT's into a much-improved defense as the year progressed.

So, maybe a mix of the 2?

Once he actually prepared and played his best players, our defense got markedly better. But why the hell was he not able to develop/prepare Beckwith earlier, nor see that Jamal was THAT special from the get go? LSU has started numerous true freshman in the secondary over the years, so it is not because he was young.

His young defense ended up towards the top of the best league in the country, so that seems to settle the whole matter, even considering the poor decisions he occasionally makes. Heck, no one is perfect, and even mighty Saban has losses to the now defunct UAB and also to the mighty ULM warbirdies...so no one is perfect.


We can look at his small blunders under a microscope and make a mountain out of a mole hill, because after all, this is the Rant....but at the end of the day, Chief is solid, and we are lucky to have him.

Do you think the new coach will be able to keep him?