re: Beginning of End or New Lease On Life

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I tend to agree that some issues are systemic. Moreover, I don't recall, excluding Mack Brown's Vince Young run, a high profile coach, at a high profile university righting the ship once it it started taking on water.

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Mack Brown was on an upward trend from his first season at Texas in 1998 through his championship in 2005. It's true titles had avoided him until that point, but they were an elite program.

A better example would be the rise and fall of Joe paterno. Penn State had 4 losing seasons from 2000-2004. It appeared as if Paterno was out of touch with the modern game and over the hill. In 2005 he went 11-1 and had several good seasons until he was fired in 2011.

I'm not saying I want Miles to go down the way JoePa did, but just because he's trending in the wrong direction doesn't mean he can't right the ship and get LSU back to elite status in a hurry. He's earned a couple of years to see if he can get it done. Remember, LSU went 8-5 in 2008 and the next 3 seasons LSU improved each year until they made the national championship.

I believe there's still some magic left under that hat.

I tend to agree that some issues are systemic. Moreover, I don't recall, excluding Mack Brown's Vince Young run, a high profile coach, at a high profile university righting the ship once it it started taking on water. I am old enough to remember the end of the Charlie Mac years. This has a similar feel, I must admit. Talented players, flawed coaching, etc. That said, I still think Miles has some magic left. Plus, our true sophomores are stupidly talented.

TL; DR below - LSU doesn't even show the pattern of mediocrity, it's actually getting better and looking like a future powerhouse, and Mac was the 70s.

Where is it taking on water though? You mean the one year in the past 5 where LSU didn't win 10 games? You do remember that Miles was a high profile coach after his first 3 years right? He went 34-6, won a national championship, 2 SEC champ appearances 1 SEC title, 2 division titles, 2 BCS bowl wins, and 3 bowl wins by at least 14 points against national and historical powerhouses in Miami (#9), Notre Dame (#11) and Ohio State (#1).

He then kicked off Perriloux, we went the ridiculous Co-coordinater route on defense, and had to start an FCS or Ivy league level QB in Hatch and redshirt and true freshmen QBs. The 2008 recruiting class was ranked outside of the top 10 and we lost 7 draft picks from 2007. The 2008 recruits that had the best careers were; Patrick Peterson, Brandon Taylor, Jordan Jefferson, Ryan Baker, and then low ranked 3 star trenches guys like DE Edwards and OL Lonergan and Hurst. Nothing WOW outside of Peterson.

We went 8-5, 9-4 and then people started talking the hot seat nonsense. In 2009, we grabbed the #1 or #2 class, depending on which service you looked on, hired a new DC, and went on to rip off 4 straight 10+ win seasons including a national championship appearance and SEC title.

Now after going 8-5 rightfully so considering we lost a squad of NFL defensive players in 2013 and then a squad of NFL offensive players in 2014. We now bring back the most starters we've had in a long time (18th in the country on the national meter), we've collected a #2 and #5 class the past 2 years with the likely #1 class next year. We FINALLY have a QB coach. Anybody that thought he was going to be a magic bullet and all you had to do is shoot him in the direction of young inexperienced high school spread system QBs that had 1) no experienced WRs and mediocre pass blocking 2) learning the pro style offense 3) playing in the SEC West, needed to face reality. This is the year when you will see the turn around, and next year, the true fruits of his labor. Upgrades at DL and LB recruiting and coaching, finally a QB coach after going from 2007-2012 without one, and a loaded roster of ridiculously talented athletes that already showed breakouts last year, and new ones that will this year. And do you see what's coming down the pipe with guys like Feleipe Franks and the defensive haul???

LSU is going on a run, a HUGE run. I'm talking dynasty mode.