re: How critical is this season for Miles?

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because Saban built the program back ...woild Miles have had the same success coming in after DiNardo? ...meh

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Not buying Saban as Bob-The-Builder. He somehow managed to lose to UAB with 13 NFL Draft picks on the roster along with many Free Agents.

Yes, Miles managed to win at Okie State.

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so was Larry Coker

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I have nothing against Coker. He won 80% of his games. Was firedbecauseof FIU fight & Player issues.

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well, he did finish second to Saban the last two years. But I agree with you

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Um No. LINK

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he already wanted it but the strong word is they mutually agreed he and Michigan weren't going to work... Michigan wasn't as interested in the end as many believe

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They are still very interested. You haven't read many Michigan boards, or heard many talk shows oaway from your Gainesville, FL. home do you Derby? Guess your drive to Ocala is well..lacking.

Some of u guys are fricking spoiled brats. Les is a good coach& a great recruiter . I guess you all pine for the days of curley hallman.

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with less talent ...and Tubby won more than once against LSU ..was a miracle away from beating us again in '07

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Peaches & Derb, who recruits talent? A miracle away? What game were you & your Dad watching in 2007?

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But with a vintage recruiting year in Louisiana next year, how critical is it Les shows he can rebound strong and match strides with Saban, Urban, etc. in the SEC now with his own system and players?

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Urban is the legit question. Miles has pretty much zero to prove vis a vis Saban. Saban, on the other hand, is the one with everything to prove. He has a top 10 program now, and anything short of a top 10 season will be a backslide (just like he did at LSU in 2002). Up til now, he has gotten a pass from almost everyone (including a bunch of LSU fans) for virtually everything that has ever happened under his watch. No matter what you bring up (8-5 season after winning the SEC and finishing in the top 10, or 9-3 after winning the National Championship and signing 3 top 5 classes in the previous 4 years, taking over a Tide program that "horribly underachieved" by going 6-6 under Shula, adding an impressive recruiting class, then going 6-6 again, etc.), many people will go to extreme lengths to make excuses for him. If he keeps having landmine games and seasons, that will eventually run out. He has used up a bunch of "free passes" in his career already; now he is being paid 4 or 5 million a year to win championships and has a team that went 12-0 before blowing it and dropping its last two games. Another 8-5 type season for the fans in Tuscaloosa with their level of expectations and his level of compensation . . . he could very easily end up on a much hotter seat than even Miles would with a repeat of '08.

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How many wins does he HAVE TO HAVE this year? ..how many does he have to have to keep the recruiting strong and not get the image of Larry Coker?

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The image of Larry Coker will be attached to Les Miles forever by the clueless who weren't paying attention and have no idea what the image of Larry Coker really was. After his first season, every Coker team for the rest of his career did worse than the year before it, except for one season where they finished with the same record but ranked lower than the year before. Miles started out 11-2, stayed 11-2, improved to 12-2, and THEN had his first droppoff. The worst possible hypothesis for Miles would be that he can coach great talent, but can't recruit it. Coker could not even coach the great talent he had successfully, as evidenced by the immediate decline under his watch despite having two to three more years of talent from the previous regime left over.

Miles only needs a successful season to keep the momentum going, including recruiting. Successful will depend on how the rest of the conference does. If Florida steamrolls the way many expect them to, then a loss to them would not hurt much because it wouldn't really change perceptions much from what they already are. A loss to Bama would only really hurt if Bama also has a very successful season. The one that could most easily hurt Miles situation would be another loss to Ole Miss. Unless they have a horrible collapse, that would likely elevate Nutt to a more serious challenge on the recruiting trail.

In terms of win-loss numbers, I don't think anything above 8 wins would hurt Les much just by virtue of the number of wins, though who we beat and who beats us could easily make it bad.

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How critical is this season for Miles?

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Very!! For all the talent he has around him, But he won't lose his job if he has another 4 loss season, But NEXT YEAR, he better be 11-1!!!

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But NEXT YEAR, he better be 11-1!!!

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What if we win 10 games?

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A miracle away?

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so Byrd's last second over the shoulder catch on a prayer of a throw by Flynn that went in between Power's arms wasn't a miracle to you?

and if you watched that game you would know that Auburn came out and punched us in the nose and had control of that game for 3 quarters ...we lucked out in the end

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It certainly wasn't Big Gerry the Italian Stallion leading us to a SEC title victory in Atlanta over the Vols and Chavis in 2001

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Betta watch yourself. EGG & SlowFloPro are incredible Ethno-phobes.

No Gerry didn't coach in 2001 or 2004 at LSU. Why would you bring up Big Gerry?

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And losing 6 games in his final seasons didn't help. Losing to the likes Ga. Tech, Virginia, and Maryland when you are the boss of Miami football is a way to weaken your job security, Sandwich.

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That wasn't the reason for Coker's dismissal. Sure he had 1 mediocre/poor season, but on the whole, he had much better coaching career than Butch Davis & Randy Shannon had there. Coker went 60-15 at Miami, more than acceptable at any College in the US.

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Won't be good enough!!!

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You think we'd terminate a coach for winning ten games? I am under the impression you were saying that if he didn't win 11 games, we'd cut him loose.

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get real

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Here ya go Peaches: LINK

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I am not convinced Michigan really wanted him...the way it all went down suggests they did not and everyone saved face in the end. Why would he have not taken the job after Carr left if that was always his "dream job"? ...you don't just wave opportunities like that bye-bye... I don't think Michigan wanted less in the end

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We'll see what happens..