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Started By
Message
re: How big of a name was Les Miles when he cam here?
Posted on 11/5/25 at 11:36 am to SmogkDeizKnutz
Posted on 11/5/25 at 11:36 am to SmogkDeizKnutz
Mid tier coach.
Appeared late on coaching candidates’ list.
Lost big in his last bowl game at Okie.
Many fans thought at the time he was a weak hire.
Really excelled with Saban’s players.
Appeared late on coaching candidates’ list.
Lost big in his last bowl game at Okie.
Many fans thought at the time he was a weak hire.
Really excelled with Saban’s players.
0
Posted on 11/5/25 at 11:37 am to SaintLSU
quote:completely false if anything he kept the train going for what Nick built and also went to the championship game with own players.
Les Miles = Larry Coker. Terrible head coach that walked into a great situation built By Nick Saban/ME and slowly deteriorated the program the longer he was there
Posted on 11/5/25 at 11:38 am to SmogkDeizKnutz
He was on a list along with Kirk Ferentz, Mike Leach and Gary Patterson.
Posted on 11/5/25 at 11:38 am to SmogkDeizKnutz
people hated the hire
Posted on 11/5/25 at 11:38 am to SmogkDeizKnutz
Anyone is a let down after Nick. Les was
Far from perfect but we could have done way worse. He kept us relevant and a lot of schools would have killed for the records he achieved. It could have been better but I’m thankful for him all in all
Far from perfect but we could have done way worse. He kept us relevant and a lot of schools would have killed for the records he achieved. It could have been better but I’m thankful for him all in all
Posted on 11/5/25 at 11:39 am to white beans
He was a Michigan man and coached TEs for the Dallas Cowboys before Ok St
This post was edited on 11/5/25 at 11:40 am
Posted on 11/5/25 at 11:42 am to SmogkDeizKnutz
quote:
How big of a name was Les Miles when he cam here?
He wasn't at all. But there were a lot of fan comparisons to his resume and Saban's when they both were hired. Similar W-L at previous school, and both had NFL experience. That's about where the similarities stopped.
Posted on 11/5/25 at 11:43 am to OU812
Les probably wins another title or 2 if Saban stayed with the Fins
Posted on 11/5/25 at 11:43 am to SmogkDeizKnutz
keep in mind he followed saban and our next hire is following BK
Posted on 11/5/25 at 11:49 am to SmogkDeizKnutz
I recall one ESPN writer asking 'Did LSU settle for Les(s)?'
Posted on 11/5/25 at 12:40 pm to SaintLSU
quote:
Les Miles = Larry Coker. Terrible head coach that walked into a great situation built By Nick Saban/ME and slowly deteriorated the program the longer he was there
Eh. Coker flamed out quick because he could not recruit for shite. Miles could recruit, except for QBs apparently.
Posted on 11/5/25 at 12:47 pm to SloaneRanger
quote:
Not a splash hire, but he had done well at OSU. Did well his first 3 years here. Of course, Saban left him a lot to work with.
My thoughts were the first time I heard him speak I was holy crap what have we done this dude can't talk!! Then his first game here the guy who held his headphones for him had to about body check him to keep him from calling a t.o. with clock stopped. I felt even worse.
Given that I really lowered my expectations and so he exceeded those, but I absolutely think he benefitted tremendously from LSU and the machine he walked into much more than the other way around and looking back years later, I still believe that.
Had the stayed at Okie or gone to Michigan in 2005 I think he'd largely be a coaching footnote.
This post was edited on 11/5/25 at 12:49 pm
Posted on 11/5/25 at 12:49 pm to 756
quote:
his teams were never as soft as BK and even in a loss it didn't look like BK teams
They just quit after the annual loss to Bama post 2011.
This post was edited on 11/5/25 at 12:50 pm
Posted on 11/5/25 at 1:03 pm to SmogkDeizKnutz
Other coaching hires that same cycle:
Florida - Urban Meyer
USCe - Steve Spurrier
Notre Dame - Charlie Weis
Ole Miss - Ed Orgeron
Oklahoma State - Mike Gundy
Pittsburgh - Dave Wannstedt
BYU - Bronco Mendenhall
Utah - Kyle Whittingham
Washington - Tyrone Willingham
Illinois - Ron Zook
Florida - Urban Meyer
USCe - Steve Spurrier
Notre Dame - Charlie Weis
Ole Miss - Ed Orgeron
Oklahoma State - Mike Gundy
Pittsburgh - Dave Wannstedt
BYU - Bronco Mendenhall
Utah - Kyle Whittingham
Washington - Tyrone Willingham
Illinois - Ron Zook
Posted on 11/5/25 at 1:23 pm to SmogkDeizKnutz
Heard the name but that's about it. Didnt really know anything about him.
Posted on 11/5/25 at 1:23 pm to BearCrocs
Mettenberger had the greatest season for a LSU QB of all time pre-Burrow
Posted on 11/5/25 at 1:30 pm to BearCrocs
quote:
Sometimes I miss the Miles days then I think back to how horrendous we were at QB play with the exception of Flynn
I see someone already mentioned JaMarcus. What about Zach Mettenberger? At the time he was on a short list of LSU QBs to pass for 3,000 yards. Without researching, I am pretty sure it was the first time in LSU history to have a 3,000 yard passer and 2 1,000 yard WRs on the same team. Throw in Jeremy Hill and that team was the first with a 3,000 QB, 2 1,000 WRs, and a 1,000 yard RB. Everyone loves to say the end of the Miles ear was 11/12 season when we lost the Natty. The few years that followed were powerful offenses. Then the line of bad QBs and the spread offense becoming the norm really began and Miles didn't adjust.
Posted on 11/5/25 at 1:58 pm to SmogkDeizKnutz
He played Oklahoma close and beat them so it was one of those we get him here with these resources we can get him to really take off with his proven track record of being able to win the big game at a lesser program.
Unfortunate hire.
Unfortunate hire.
Posted on 11/5/25 at 2:39 pm to Tiger Ugly
quote:That machine didn't help Brian Kelly much so suck it up and give Les the credit he deserves.
I absolutely think he benefitted tremendously from LSU and the machine he walked into much more than the other way around and looking back years later, I still believe that.
Posted on 11/5/25 at 2:40 pm to white beans
quote:
people hated the hire
Don’t remember it like that. It was an underwhelming hire because Les wasn’t a splash name and he wasn’t on many short lists, but Les had some cache for his work at OSU, so many seemed willing to at least have a “wait-and-see” attitude—especially since Saban was hired under similar circumstances. We were also still smarting from being left at the altar by Petrino.
This post was edited on 11/5/25 at 2:42 pm
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