For the old-timers...when did Cholly Mac first get on the hot seat?

Cholly Mac was always on the hot seat, as I recall. There weren't as many complainers back then, or at least you didn't hear from every one of them like you do today, thanks to TD.com (way to go, Chicken!).

I thought he did a good job. Nobody else could beat Bryant either.

1974 was supposed to have been a huge year for LSU. Some publications, including Athlon's had LSU winning the SEC over Alabama. This was "The Year of the Veer". It seemed like at that time a team either ran the wishbone or the veer.

LSU started off the season #9 and then jumped to 7th after beating Colorado soundly and Southern Cal losing. Then LSU lost at home to Texas A&M 21-14. Now, it turned out that Bellard had put his team on sound footing but losing to the Aggies sort of sent shockwaves through the fanbase.Then there was a tie at Rice and then a tie to a good Florida team. LSU did beat Tennessee for only the second time ever,but honestly that wasn't a real good UT team(they did improve,but weren't that good at the time.)

The much anticipated Alabama game that was on ABC (and remember, you could only play on TV twice at the most in that period) was a nightmare with Alabama winning 30-0. LSU wound up 5-5-1.Kentucky and Miss State beat LSU for the first time in 10+ yrs.

'75 was a indeed a losing season with good Texas A&M and Florida teams just crushing LSU at home 39-8 and 34-6.

McClendon seemed to have regained his footing after an upset in game one vs Lee Corso and Indiana in '77 climbing back to 16th, but Kentucky's best team in 25 yrs crushed LSU at home by 20 and Alabama won by 21 at Tiger Stadium.They were the best two in the SEC but LSU hardly laid a hand on them in the 4th qtr at home.

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For the old-timers

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Ouch, Chicken. Guess if the shoe fits...

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when did Cholly Mac first get on the hot seat?

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My dearly departed Dad always said that Cholly Mac was hanging himself by not replacing assistant coaches more often. Pop, pop, pop, punt was how I recall he referred to the Tigahs' offensive strategy in the 70s.

Not being able to out-cheat the Bahr was not a problem unique to Coach Mac.

I agree with much of what has been said here. He was criticized from day one. His success his first year was widely attributed to having inherited a loaded team from Pepsodent Paul. He was also doomed to compare unfavorably in the judgment of many fans with his stylish and eloquent predecessor.

Even as he won many games in the sixties, he was criticized for being too focused on defense, too predicable on offense and too loyal to certain assistants. Plus, he had real trouble beating Ole Miss during Johnny Vaught's tenure and Alabama.

After several years of losing quarterbacks to injury (or in the case of Butch Duhe, death), he felt compelled to have a two quarterback system in place. That led to Bert Jones splitting time, even when he was thought by most fans to be the most exciting QB in a generation.

So, when the run of 9 win seasons ended with the extreme disappointment of the '74 season that I59 described quite well, the critics turned quite vocal very quickly.

Lest you think I'm advancing the Miles = Mac comparison that some have drawn, I would point out that Miles already has more SEC titles than Mac ever won, that Mac never won a MNC, that Miles has been very competitive against our top opposition, and has a much better overall record. That being said, if the tough times come, I fully expect the further criticism to mount as it did back then.

My dad and uncle played for CM. The QB was an issue, plus somehow, Mac alienated northwest LA. LSU would always win one game they had no business winning, lose one they had no business losing, and go 8-3.

There have been many areas in which our society has advanced in the last 40 years. Computers. Telecommunications. Race relations. But the moronic attitude of the typical LSU fan who believes that salvation and perfection are just one coaching change (or quarterback change) away has been the same since time immemorial, except when it has gotten worse. I've been an LSU fan since the Dietzel era. McClendon, as the guy who replaced our first national championship coach, was under fire from day 1.

Yeah, Mac always had his critics. However, he junked the walking I in favor of the veer as it suited Mike Miley. Everyone was convinced that we were on our way to a NC. However, Miley then signed a pro baseball contract and was gone. He then started LSU's first black QB in Carl Otis Trimble, who might have been a good person, but wasn't worth a shite as a college QB. He could run, but could not pass. In order to pass, Billy Broussard had to come in which made us pretty predictable. A&M figured it out and jammed the middle and ends, and "dared" us to pass. Everyone else on the schedule figured it out and did the same thing. As to the two QB system, I do not remember when Mac didn't have a two QB system, other than the last year that Pat Lyons played.

My dad was telling me the other night that when he and my mom moved here, 1971, that some doctors in his group had bumper stickers that read, "Help Mac Pack."

When he was tied by Rice, 6-6, in the 2nd game of his first season as head coach.