Why is age a problem?

Bertman knew that if Michigan came calling then Les was gone, that is why he had a bigger buyout for Michigan. No waySkip expecting Miles to be hear long term. A long term coach does provide your program with stability which is always a good thing. Why not get a good coach who can be the face of the program for years to come

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Why do we even concern ourselves about a coaches age? The avg coaching span for an LSU coach is what 5 years? I know you all say we want a long term guy but when has that happend?

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Well you're right and you're wrong.

We hired an old guy and it didn't last (Arnsparger). Then we hired a very young guy (and with no HC experience), and it didn't work very long. (Archer). Then we hired a guy at the young end of the "ideal range", who won at a smaller, non-SEC school (Curley), and it work at all, really not at all. Then we hired another guy at the young end of the "ideal range", who had lost at an SEC school, but lost with style, and it didn't work very long. (Dinardo) Then we hired another guy at the younger end of the ideal range, and it didn't last, but not for the reasons you'd think. But I digress.

This aversion to hiring an older guy (and I mean that 57 is not too old to stay your coach, but it may be a little to old to get hired to coach at a new place, for my tastes) is that it can't work out, long-term. If you hire, let's say a 41-year old Greg Schiano in 1997 - and he starts winning games - assuming the Rantards don't run him off for not winning a BCS-CG every other year and the SEC every year, you might keep a guy like that 30 years. If you hire a crotchity 63 year old Steve "By G-d" Spurrier, then 4, 5, 6 years he'll either develop health problems, get fatigues, age really quickly, whatever, the shelf life is, by definition, much shorter as you get a coach approaching 60 and into his 60s, than a coach who is under 53 years old.

I want the best coach available, but I would really enjoy the possibility of having a coach that stays for 10, 12, 15 years and Spurrier realistically isn't that guy.

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I would really enjoy the possibility of having a coach that stays for 10, 12, 15 years

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I think we all would, but I think those days are quickly disappearing.