re: Why da Mad Hatter?

Patterson likes TCU alot and going to a new conference and a new challenge keeps him there

I've never weighed in on one of these threads before, but I might as well since there is a chance this could be his last day.

I disliked him when he first came. But he grew on me during the Katrina season - his first year. I loved the the occasional trick plays and the gutsy calls that strangely just worked. No LSU coach before him had shown a willingness to add such flair to the game.

One of the things I always hated about football coaches was the notion that you had to scream at and abuse players to get them to perform. So I always favored coaches that simply preached confidence and commitment while demonstrating respect for people. Professionalism over drama. Les Miles always seemed to be that kind of coach.

Now that his sample size has grown to 6 seasons, he's earned the highest winning percentage than any LSU coach we've ever had who coached for more than 2 seasons. It no longer seems valuable to nit-pick when the results are better than anything our underdog State could hope to achieve.

We don't worry about recruiting violations anymore. No coach can be in total control of an operation with so many folks involved. When Les learns of an issue he corrects it and our program sanctions itself while waiting for the NCAA to endorse the action taken.

Every now and then I cringe at some statements and decisions. But I do that with many of my best friends and most trusted coworkers too. When I listen to other coaches speak and watch questionable play calling - even in the NFL, I know that Les's downside is an acceptable trade-off. Many highly successful coaches struggle in interviews. That clearly counts for nothing in the win/loss column. A successful coach merely needs to speak the language of the players. The NFL playoffs never end without a series of questionable coaching decisions and neither does the college bowl season. Brain surgeons and rocket scientists do not become football coaches. Football coaches tend to be the guys that struggle to teach civics classes in high school. They are not very good at the things that don't matter in the won/loss column and we should not expect them to be.

We always wanted a long time coach who becomes a football legend. But there will never be another Bo Schembechler, Joe Paterno, a Bobby Bowden, or a Bear Bryant. Every coach shapes a different identity with their successes. It's hard to find coaches like that. In fact, it takes pure luck. Among all the great coaches who eventually retired or left the program, their successors struggled. I doubt Miles will ever be mentioned in the same breath with those guys. It's highly unlikely. But it's highly unlikely with any coach because becoming a coaching legend is an improbable event. Though LSU may never have an upper tier coaching legend, Les Miles appears on track to have a better coaching career at LSU than our own coaching legend Charlie McClendon had. With a national championship, he's already achieved something Cholly Mac never did.

Despite his trade-offs, I love this guy. I want him on my team for as long as he's willing to put up with us.

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Willie Stroker

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I've never weighed in on one of these threads before, but I might as well since there is a chance this could be his last day.

I disliked him when he first came. But he grew on me during the Katrina season - his first year. I loved the the occasional trick plays and the gutsy calls that strangely just worked. No LSU coach before him had shown a willingness to add such flair to the game.

One of the things I always hated about football coaches was the notion that you had to scream at and abuse players to get them to perform. So I always favored coaches that simply preached confidence and commitment while demonstrating respect for people. Professionalism over drama. Les Miles always seemed to be that kind of coach.

Now that his sample size has grown to 6 seasons, he's earned the highest winning percentage than any LSU coach we've ever had who coached for more than 2 seasons. It no longer seems valuable to nit-pick when the results are better than anything our underdog State could hope to achieve.

We don't worry about recruiting violations anymore. No coach can be in total control of an operation with so many folks involved. When Les learns of an issue he corrects it and our program sanctions itself while waiting for the NCAA to endorse the action taken.

Every now and then I cringe at some statements and decisions. But I do that with many of my best friends and most trusted coworkers too. When I listen to other coaches speak and watch questionable play calling - even in the NFL, I know that Les's downside is an acceptable trade-off. Many highly successful coaches struggle in interviews. That clearly counts for nothing in the win/loss column. A successful coach merely needs to speak the language of the players. The NFL playoffs never end without a series of questionable coaching decisions and neither does the college bowl season. Brain surgeons and rocket scientists do not become football coaches. Football coaches tend to be the guys that struggle to teach civics classes in high school. They are not very good at the things that don't matter in the won/loss column and we should not expect them to be.

We always wanted a long time coach who becomes a football legend. But there will never be another Bo Schembechler, Joe Paterno, a Bobby Bowden, or a Bear Bryant. Every coach shapes a different identity with their successes. It's hard to find coaches like that. In fact, it takes pure luck. Among all the great coaches who eventually retired or left the program, their successors struggled. I doubt Miles will ever be mentioned in the same breath with those guys. It's highly unlikely. But it's highly unlikely with any coach because becoming a coaching legend is an improbable event. Though LSU may never have an upper tier coaching legend, Les Miles appears on track to have a better coaching career at LSU than our own coaching legend Charlie McClendon had. With a national championship, he's already achieved something Cholly Mac never did.

Despite his trade-offs, I love this guy. I want him on my team for as long as he's willing to put up with us.

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not bad....