Maineri or Bianco?

I believe he was spoken to about it, but do we really know if Skip offered it to him?

ETA: Over half of the ranters on here were bashing the Mainieri pick for almost 2 years saying we should have gotten Bianco. Not so much anymore.

i think bianco is a good coach, but i don't think bianco/ole miss will ever attract the players that LSU does. i'm extremely pleased with the job maineri has done, and wouldn't want anyone else (yet)

PM left a program that he had built into a winner. He raised expectations at Notre Dame, and was very happy there. That sounds very similar to Bianco’s situation. The difference was that Mainieri wanted to be the best. He wanted to go where he could compete for National Championships on a regular basis. Maybe Bianco thanks that he can do at Ole Miss what Skip did here, and he would get all of the credit. I’m not criticizing Bianco for staying in Oxford, but perhaps it does say something about the two men.

quote:

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and is fiery in the dugout.

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I was with you til right here.....

Is that the explanation of Smoke's attempt?

Sort of:

FYI While at ULM, Laval posted a record of 241-159, a winning pecentage of .603, and led the Indians (Now Warhawks) to 3 NCAA regional appearances.

Everyone knew the expectations were lofty for Laval when he accepted the job as head coach at LSU. Replacing a legend is never easy, but Laval appeared to be up for the challenge. In his first year, Laval led the Tigers to a 44-22 record overall. The Tigers hosted a regional in Baton Rouge, which they won, and moved on to the Houston Super-Regional to face Rice, where their season ended. His first year at the helm raised expectations even more after he experienced great success.

In 2003 and 2004, Laval would lead the Tigers to 45-22-1 and 46-19 overall record respectively. LSU would earn the #2 national seed in the 2003 tournament, and would host a super regional both years, meaning the road to Omaha went through Baton Rouge. LSU was able to get Omaha both years, but disappointed both years posting an 0-2 each year. The Tigers were not used to losing in Omaha, so questions about Laval's leadership and ability to continue the success of program began to arise. Laval would have to prove himself the following year.

In 2005, LSU struggled during the regular season despite the fact they finished with a 40-22 record overall. The Tigers lost 12 Southeastern Conference games, as well as, losing to Southern for only the second time in 41 tries. Rice would go on to defeat the Tigers in the Baton Rouge Regional Finals. The 2006 season would put even more pressure on Laval, and would eventually be his last.

I think PM was a great choice for LSU. Bianco doesn't like Bertman for what ever reason ,so I never thought he would be a good fit with the Tigers. Pm can not only recruit top talent but he gets them to actually play here rather than go pro. This is what Laval had trouble doing and it cost him his job. I like the way PM teaches,motivates and makes moves to find players who can play multiple positions at clutch times in games. PM is a much better choice for LSU than Bianco.

Bianco would have done just fine at LSU. It is far more difficult to recruit a player to Oxford than it is to Baton Rouge.