Your top LSU Football Coaches during your lifetime

For those in my lifetime OBVIOUS HINT I am nearly 50:).

1 A) Saban - pure coaching ability. As a person the worst on the list except for Curley who was a terrible coach and an awful person.

1 B) Miles as far as combo of coach and person. I refuse to give the crimson devil the top spot alone so....

2) Choly Mac. In his early days considered defensive genius and decent recruiter. Got old and stale just like Miles did. I first remember LSU football past '76 or '77 season so I have vague memories of the Charles Alexander, James Britt, Carlos Carson, David Woodley, Ensminger etc.days when we struggled to win 7 total games and got the annual arse whooping to the Bear. I am including McClendon's earlier days of glory in 60's and early 70's to counterbalance the flat line years of late 70's.

3) Arnsparger - Defensive genius and architect of the No Names of Dolphins lore under Shula. Recruited for two years and then was lame duck after that. This is based on pure coaching. Him advising knucklehead Joe Dean to hire Archer puts a big not positive asterisk by his name.

4) O - legendary recruiter and so far a good organizer of a program. Does not bring much as far as Xs and Os which requires him to be very astute at hiring associates. There is potential for this ranking to move up..

5) Jerry Stovall - incredible recruiter who along with Sam Nader put LSU into the modern world of CFB recruiting post Cholly Mac. Our program in the early 80's could have set us up to end like what Ole Miss has been since '63 if it was not for changes in how we recruited compared to pre 1980 (and would not turned us into a sleeping giant just waiting for a game changer in the future at HC ie Saban). He set up the classes for Arnsparger and one year under Archer that were the leaders of the '84-'87 teams that averaged 8-9 wins and in competition for SEC championships every year. But..awful HC as far as Xs and Os and how to manage a program. Great Tiger and terrific person but just not cut out to be a HC for an SEC program.

6. DiNardo - very good recruiter and a good offensive mind. Terrible judge of character and too loyal to assistants and one particular coordinator who cost him his job essentially. When things got rough he clammed up and choked under pressure.

7. Archer - had to go back and edit because I literally forgot about him LOL! Decent DC, mediocre bench coach, worst recruiter we ever had. I mean Prop 48 hurt us and LSU as a program has itself to blame for not being prepared for it. But Mike could not sell a program to recruits so it was all a double whammy. His staff were average to mediocre coaches and none of them premier recruiters. Joe Dean hired a guy who put together a staff that was deserving of the Sun Belt or lower level ACC school. I was there as a student to see the disintegration of our program first hand.

8. Hallman..... I am not even......

The great Skip Bertman tops all coaches in LSU history. Man those were the days.

Les Miles
Paul Dietzel
Cholly Mac
Ed O
Jerry Stovall
Bill Arnsparger

Saban, then Miles.

Saban put us back on the map and primed the program for success. Miles took the foundation and built a hell of a program on it, sustained success is not a given. Just ask VT, FSU, or Tennessee.

1 Saban (by a mile)
2 Arnsparger (He did not take over a champion, as Miles did)
3 Miles (I have Miles and Arnsparger practically even)
4 Charlie Mac (Huge gap between #’2/3 and #4)
5 There is no 5. Everyone else sucked going back to the 60’s.

If I was a little older I would have Pepsident Paul Dietzel as number 2.

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Him advising knucklehead Joe Dean to hire Archer puts a big not positive asterisk by his name.

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The knucklehead was indeed Dean. Why would you take advice from a guy who is going to Florida and would profit by LSU’s demise? Dean was a rare idiot. And his incompetence was in stark relief to his arrogance. That guy selected three football coaches, and every one of them was a horrendous loser.

He took over an athletic program in which Brodhead had built championship teams in almost every sport. He hired Curly and Dinardo - both busts - but what’s forgotten is that he had a deal with some knucklehead coach of one of the piss-arse Texas teams. That deal fell through, so he hired Dinardo. The other coach got fired a couple of years later by the Texas school.

Oh, and before someone posts it, he did NOT select Saban. Mark Emmert picked Saban because he was not going to let a three time loser like Dean select another coach.

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1 Saban (by a mile)

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not even close:
9-4, 9-4, 13-1, 9-4
ONE great year only.

Mac and Arnsparger and The Hat

Miles
Saban, while at LSU only had 1 season without 3 losses, plus the way he quit us..
Mac
Stovall took over a horrible situation with bo rein dying took us to the orange bowl, was national coach of the year, then in true LSU fashion fired the next season.
Dinardo
Archer - orange bowl
Arnsbarger - quit us, poor recruiter
Curley - fk you Joe Dean and LSU BOS, fk you!

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1. Les Miles- Dude was a co distant winner who had LSU in the conversation as a co tender every single year. Yeah, he dropped off near the end but the dude maintained something that was unique.

2. Nick Saban- took over Dinardo and built LSU I to a winner. Won the first national championship during my lifetime and I wish he had stayed

3. Ed O- dude is taking over a rough situation and has performed admirably so far. His first season as coach was rough but he seems to have corrected those issues.

4. Gerry Dinardo- brought back the magic even though it wasn't always easy he gave us a victory over #1 Florida which I will never forget, I don't care that we lost to Ole Miss after

5. Curly Hallman- lol at least

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Nick Saban
Bill Arnsparger
Ed Orgeron (Still early, but he had to rebuild)
Charles McClendon
Jerry Stovall
Gerry DiNardo
Mike Archer
Curley Hallman
Les Miles

Fixed it for ya.