re: Is McMahon the worst HC in LSU sports history?

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I don't need any help. If you cats can't comprehend the outsized impact on the entire athletic department with a Curley Hallman-led football program and a Whateverhisnameis current BB coach having a bad run, I just don't know what else to tell you.

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The question was is he the worst HC in LSU sports history. It has nothing to do with the "importance" of the sport to the athletic department. I'm telling you there are objective grounds to argue McMahon's performance has been worse.

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Basketball could go under .200 for several years and the casual fan would barely notice.

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I'm saying, in order of importance to the athletic department, winning in football is a 10 out of 10, baseball is a 7 out of 10 and MBB is 4 or 5.

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I like baseball. But the reality is on a national scope winning in baseball is the equivalent to a tree falling in the woods with no one around to hear it. A great basketball program can make significantly more money for the athletic department. It's one of the two sports (the other being football) that drives the huge TV contracts. Every other sport is just a low price add-on in those deals. LSU baseball generated just over $4M in revenue in their national championship season of 2023. Auburn basketball generated $19M in revenue last year.

The point is LSU baseball is at the top of the food chain in terms of support/interest and can only generate $4M in revenue in one of the best seasons in program history. That's GREAT for the LSU athletic department. Few, if any, baseball programs bring in that much money. But it doesn't mean you ignore the basketball program which, if really good, could generate 2x - 3x the amount of revenue.

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Is McMahon the worst HC in LSU sports history?

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McMahon: 43-45 (.494 win percentage)

Just doing the big sports with coaches with a number of seasons. But here's a few. 

Basketball:

Jay McCreary (1957-1965) 82-115 (.416 win percentage)
Press Maravich (1966-1972) 76-86 (.469 win percentage)

Football

Curley Hallman (1991-1994) 16-28 (.323 win percentage)

Baseball:

Jim Smith (1966-1978) 238-251 (.487 win percentage)

I'm not even going too much deeper. Not too coaches many with a several seasons at LSU have below a .500 win percentage.

And for anyone saying Ed O or Smoke...get out of here:

Ed O (2016-2021) 51-20 (.738 win percentage)
Smoke (2001-2005) 210-109-1 (.658 win percentage)

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Curley Hallman

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The numbers bear it out. McMahon has been bad at this point no doubt. But Curley is another level.

ETA: I just hate we always get threads...this is the best or worst in LSU sports history. To start this thread, the OP must not realize how bad Hallman was.

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Is McMahon the worst HC in LSU sports history?

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Great guy and last year's success in conference play set the table for us to make a big jump this year but we just aren't a good SEC team and our weaknesses are getting exposed rapidly. We were fun to watch in the non-conference but our schedule did not adequately prepare us for SEC play unfortunately; however, to play like we did on Saturday night the night we honor the 2000 team with Bob Pettit in attendance was inexcusable and a cardinal sin, that effort and our style of play reflects on the coach. McMahon won't be able to recover from that, last straw.

He’s not the best

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I like baseball. But the reality is on a national scope winning in baseball is the equivalent to a tree falling in the woods with no one around to hear it.

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I think we must maintain perspective. What you're saying it true, generally, but not at LSU. Because of that sustained run of success in baseball, the resources that it brought, the prestige it has regionally, nationally, etc., that changed all that - for LSU.

On the other hand, LSU has never had a, even fleeting, dominant BB team. Good? Sure, at times. Legendary players? Absolutely. Pete and Shaq are 2 of the easiest to recall college basketball legends, even for casual fans of other schools. I would say, something similar to Stanford - Stanford would likely be far more upset with a disastrous baseball team than basketball. Possibly true at Texas and Florida State for example. Even Michigan, although their BB team is a source of pride as well.

But regardless, for none of these schools is either BB or baseball in the same galaxy as football. That's going to be true for most P5 teams, possibly excepting the giant basketball schools, Kentucky, Duke, UNC, NC State and a few others.