re: Transition game: LSU’s move from Saban to Miles

quote:

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Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer were Bertman’s top choices, he admits, but they were taken.

Spurrier had just returned to the college game at South Carolina, and Meyer had recently been hired at Florida. LSU was starting its search late.

“Nick put us in a tough spot,” Weems said.

If LSU got into the mix before South Carolina, “We could have had Spurrier,” one committee member said.

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This is how I remember that as well. After the shock resided that Saban was finally going to leave after flirting with the NFL every winter, the reality that Spurrier had been hired by South Carolina after having been turned down by Florida who had gone with Urban. rumor was that Florida's AD essentially hated Spurrier and wanted The Ole Ball Coach to come in and interview for a job he had become a legend at, and he told him to go frick himself. Had Saban left a bit earlier, The Visor would have broken his ankles running to Baton Rouge to stick it to Florida yearly. Instead, Nick lingered and South Carolina became the place Spurrier landed.

I also remember fearing the LSU AD would take Saban's not so secretive advice and hire Houston Nutt.

As it turns out, given who was available, it may well go down as the most important hire at LSU. LSU hadn't been back long enough to have made a shitty hire and go back in the tank there. Without the solid hire that Miles has turned out to be, all the work Saban had put in may have been for naught.