2007 LSU vs FL, the day I became a Miles believer

That's when I became fully aware that Miles was a special breed of coach. A coach with true courage, character and one who put his team above all else.

It's been all too easily forgotten, by those who even noticed what they were watching that night, how he set himself apart and how admired he was after that night.

Plaudits came in from all over the country after that night, applauding the bravery of our players and the character of our coaching staff. It was a refreshing display of football playing that showed that country that an aggressive ball coach could inspire his players to new heights.

Our final drive is the one where he did something I see very few coaches do, he potentially put his career on the line to do the RIGHT thing, instead of doing it "by the book".

A coach, when faced with a difficult end of game decision, (like going for it on 4th down instead of kicking a field goal) can save himself a lot of criticism if he just does what most people think he OUGHT to do.

In my opinion, too many coaches take the easy way out when a tough choice has to be made. Miles could have taken the field goal on the last drive and then hoped our "D" could have kept Tebow out of field goal range. That was the "by the book" choice, the choice that most coaches would take and the choice that doesn't leave them open to criticism the next day.

I didn't have much faith that our defense could keep Tebow and company on their side of the 50 after a FG and I agreed with the choice to go for it on 4th, but "I" didn't have anything to lose, Miles did! He obviously felt that the best chance for LSU to win was to make FL have to score a TD on their last drive. This was his TEAM's best chance to win, he didn't care that he would be criticized after the game if he went for it and didn't make it. If Hester hadn't made it, its the kind of play that can get a coach fired because the general public and the admin thinks we should play it safe and just blame it on the "D" if they don't hold them afterwards.

To make a choice like that, knowing you are putting your career on the line, but doing it for the right reasons, to give your guys what you think is their best chance at victory, this is true courage.

Miles, to me, has always seemed to be his own man when it comes to how he coaches. He doesn't appear to let anyone outside his team and his coaches influence his decision making process. That is how is should be, but in today's CFB world often is not. Too many coaches make decisions based on what is most beneficial to their future career instead of what most benefits their team. To me guys like Mack Brown and Nick Saban have always been in that group that cares a little too much about themselves and not enough about there team and its players. Just my opinion of course, and perhaps an overly biased one, but I do my best to try and maintain some perspective, a trait that has little company on this board I fear.