re: Jimbo is the crazy crossroads of completely settling while paying the highest salary

Maybe. I think Riley or Tucker.

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Name me the list of active college coaches with 12 years of Power 5 experience, 115 wins, and a national title?

1. Saban
2. Swinney
3. Jimbo

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Other than the title, why do we care about the oddly specific cutoffs of 12 years and 115 wins?

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I melted in 05 when we didn’t just promote him

Melted in 15 when Jindal and F King interfered

Then melted in 16 when it wasn’t him or Herman

Now if it is him I don’t really feel anything. Growing up sucks

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This is perfect



I will say this, as confused and annoyed as I was when I first accepted that this was a possibility, I’m coming around to the idea.

I’m a “need an offense guru” guy for sure, so Riley is still my top candidate, and yes I’d even prefer Lane because goddamn if it wouldn’t be fun if nothing else. I also think he is being undersold as a long term solution that will undoubtedly keep our QB recruiting and production at an elite level and I just want to see what that would look like in Baton Rouge.


But while Jimbo admittedly needs to revamp his offense, I do think he is unquestionably very good working with quarterbacks and is also still an elite recruiter, both of players and assistant coaches. I don’t think any of that is debatable.


I think there has definitely appeared to be a sort of lethargy in Jimbo’s approach since he was left twisting in the wind by Alleva after 2015, but who doesn’t feel just a little less enthusiastic about life after running in with that dicknose??


I truly do think Jimbo was excited to come back to BR back then, and everything after hasn’t really been his best effort. And while he’s older now I still think the idea of ending his career here would be rejuvenating for him.


But most of all, when judging him against the other likely hires if Riley can’t be dragged out of Norman, it isn’t even close and I would do backflips to land Jimbo instead of Napier, Tucker, or Aranda.

Seriously, if those are the options I really don’t even see it as a competition.

While Tucker and Aranda are both lacking on resume imo, even if they weren’t the old school “hire a defensive coach to teach fundamentals” is just so outdated imo. Seriously, being completely dependent on OC hires to keep up with the evolution of CFB would just be so counterproductive to what we’ve seen LSU can do with an elite QB in a modern offense.


And Napier is some sort of mirage that people are trying to turn into Saban’s protege and I simply find that absurd. The guy was never even a coordinator under Saban for a reason, and while his results at UL certainly justify a bigger job, I honestly don’t think he’s done enough in the Sun Belt to prove he’s ready for an elite SEC program. Certainly not when being measured against Jimbo.

If he had turned UL into a perennial undefeated Sun Belt champ that was running through their conference and beating P5s while being talked about as a dark horse playoff contender the way Boise or Utah was back in the day, maybe I’d believe we have the next great coach in our backyard. But as of now I see nothing that says this is anything more than just a solid coach that has had a couple of solid recruiting classes. If Napier hadn’t spent a few years at Alabama, long after they were already a machine dynasty, he wouldn’t even be in this discussion.


So while I won’t be as ecstatic as I would have been on the last go round if Jimbo is the guy, I’d certainly be impressed by the commitment the powers that be would be making to get him here, and would welcome a true QB developer and proven winner at the highest level, and be ecstatic that we aren’t relying on a defensive minded coach to hire the right person to run the offense for him.

Simple. It’s Jimbo’s current accomplishments as a baseline.

Only 2 have a better resume. He’s the next best candidate by resume.

Longevity matters.

And Jesus man. He’s only been at A&M for 3 full seasons and has finished 2nd in the SEC West 2x already. When is the last time they were even relevant as a program?

And they finished Top 5 last year. And just beat Bama with a back up QB.

The other silly argument against Jimbo makes me laugh too. He only won because he had an elite QB in Winston. I guess Dabo’s 2 Natties with Watson and Lawrence are also void. Throw in O’s with Burrow too I guess.

Note to self…apparently it helps to have talented players. Good to know.

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Jesus man. He’s only been at A&M for 3 full seasons and has finished 2nd in the SEC West 2x already.

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Hell yeah we're Ole Miss now.

PRINT THE BANNERS.

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And they finished Top 5 last year.

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No playoffs. No SEC title. Highest paid CFB coach.

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And just beat Bama with a back up QB.

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They also lost to Moo State, a team LSU beat this year. They already have 2 losses and may lose 2 more.

We're about to make Jimbo the highest paid coach in CFB with a contract with an insurmountable buyout and he's going to be hired after a 3-5 loss season. I mean just think about that sales pitch to the fanbse.

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I laid out his resume. You can’t find a better one dude.

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I'm not arguing this.

Does Jimbo have the resume to be the HIGHEST PAID coach in CFB? No.

Does Jimbo have the resume to lock us in in perpetuity until his retirement? No.

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Saban ain’t coming, Dabo is a long shot, and I don’t see Riley jumping either.

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Cool. Those would be worth making the highest paid CFB coach.

There is no law that requires LSU to make our next hire the highest paid CFB coach. We can hire a coach with normal contract/salary expectations giving us the flexibility to move on if necessary. With Jimbo, we're stuck with him for forever. And his contract will require him to win a title within 2-3 years and make the playoffs by year 2.

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When was his last real success story? He hasn't done this at TAMU at the least. Mond was a prize recruit and mediocre on the field.

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While he certainly wasn’t a winner of big games by any stretch, his numbers were good enough and at least showed solid QB coaching imo based on his performance from 2017 to 2018 when Jimbo took over.

I think Jimbo actually used him pretty effectively and might have even wisely limited what he was willing to do in the offense because of a lack of faith in his Mond’s ability to function at an elite level.

Now why wasn’t there another QB ready behind Mond is a valid question, but I wouldn’t hold Mond as a mark against him honestly.

And Francois in 2016 was again more than good enough imo to show Jimbo’s ability to get QBs ready.


Calzada hasn’t been elite, but he has improved and obviously played well enough to get some big wins. I’d say he’s done well considering he wasn’t supposed to be the starter.

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Why I compared him to a better version of O in the OP.

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I just don’t think the two are even remotely comparable. In any way

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I understand this if we're just looking at them as coaches and avoiding the pitfalls of a bad hire, but you must consider the contractual ramifications. We hire Jimbo and he's our guy until he retires. Woodward isn't making a normal HC hire for LSU if he hires Jimbo and if Jimbo isn't elite, we're 3-5 losses in perpetuity with no way to improve.

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One could argue that is also making a hire to avoid pitfalls. You make the hire based on what you think he can achieve, not how easy it is to get out if he doesn’t imo.

I just don’t think that’s how this hire should be made.

I think this hire points to the future of the program and which direction we are going. I think offense has to be the focal point of the program going forward because I think that’s the direction of CFB in general.

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Good OCs are easier to find than good DCs.

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I’m not sure I agree with this. I’d think they are pretty much equal in their success rates but not claiming any numbers to back that up.

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Aranda has already shown he understands the need for a top OC and is being paid major dividends this year for the analysis.

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It has proven to be a great hire, but it was based on their previous relationship at LSU.

It isn’t like when Miles went out and identified Aranda as a total unknown. He’s yet to prove that kind of vision, which he will need going forward once Grimes moves on, which he inevitably will.

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Again, Aranda is BY FAR the smartest and best tactician of any potential HC on our list.

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We all agree Jimbo’s offense is outdated, but he’s certainly smart and a great tactician that will be responsible for one side of the ball.

That said, I absolutely agree that Aranda is also elite in that sense, and would bump him over Napier due to that expertise even though offense is my top priority. I just don’t think Napier is actually a guy that can run his own offense in the SEC. That’s another mirage imo. He was a failure in his only stint as an OC at the P5 level.

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Jimbo refuses to hire a good OC or give up the reigns. Again, if we hire him, we're stuck with Jimbo's offense, too. You think a re-energized Jimbo that is more powerful than he's ever been is going to listen to outsiders tell him he needs to finally fix his offense? After he's refused to give up play calling duties his entire time at HC?

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This is where Woodward has to be trusted to make the call that will define his tenure.

Again I think Jimbo was kind of lethargic going to College Station. Why bother to change his approach when he knew he could do well enough as is.

Coming back to BR is going to provide him the energy and enthusiasm to put an exclamation point on his career. Ending it winning a title at the same place he won his first and reimagining the entire program in the process I think will have him ready to evolve.

His understanding of the game isn’t in question. But his motivation to evolve with it has been for sure.


It’s a leap, but one I’d be willing to accept and see unfold, again, if the clear elite QB gurus are off the table.

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Does Jimbo have the resume to lock us in in perpetuity until his retirement? No.

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Honestly…yes. Yes he does. It’s not a stretch at all to offer the coach with the 3rd best active resume in college football that kind of deal to jump schools.

Paying O what he was paid with that buyout was the ludicrous one.

And we have no idea what the length of the contract would be. Assumptions are being made it will be 10 years. I don’t know what it would be.

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Honestly…yes. Yes he does. It’s not a stretch at all to offer the coach with the 3rd best active resume in college football that kind of deal to jump schools.

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Jimbo hasn't done shite in 7 years and is about to come off a 3-4 loss season just prior to being hired.

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And we have no idea what the length of the contract would be. Assumptions are being made it will be 10 years. I don’t know what it would be.

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Why do you think Jimbo is going to cut his contract down at all to come to LSU?