The Most Divided Fan Base in the SEC: Is it Time for a Coaching Change in The Red Stick?

Let me begin by saying that this post will be fairly lengthy. So, if you don’t care to read long posts, allow me to give you the cliff notes:

1.) The LSU fan base is seriously divided in its support of Les Miles. Fans who have supported Miles for the majority of his tenure are beginning to “pull the plug of support” on him.

2.) Les Miles has done GREAT things for LSU- his love for the school and football program are unprecedented. Every LSU fan should be grateful for his passion and energy poured into the program.

3.) With the direction of the SEC, it’s simply time for a coaching change in Baton Rouge. Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and Auburn are all teams that will likely be ahead of LSU in the future in the SEC West alone. Along with a divided fan base, LSU is losing its dominance as a top tier SEC football program.

What does it mean to be a divided fan base? To be a divided fan base, you need to have fans who fall into one of three categories: 1.) Fans who love the coach, no matter what. Win or lose, your loyalty is unwavering; 2.) Fans who are on the fence- these are the people who simply just don’t know what to think- at times they love the coach, and at times they just can’t stand the decisions a coach makes, thus losing some loyalty; 3.) Fans who believe the coach is the biggest problem, and needs to go because their team would be winning if it weren’t for the coach.

If you look at the horizon of teams in the SEC, there can only be one team that could POSSIBLY have a more divided fan base right now in regards to its coach, and that would be Florida. I do not think they are as divided as LSU fans, but certainly there remains to be seen what Will Muschamp’s Florida legacy will be. I say LSU is also more divided simply because Les has been a head coach for a much longer time than Muschamp has been.

If I had to choose which group of fans LSU consists mostly of, I would probably say group two. I fall into this category because I think many of our debacles have been a result of Les’ coaching decisions (he even admitted as much in this year’s Ole Miss game). There is simply no excuse for some of the losses we have had in his tenure, not to mention the close wins we’ve had in his tenure that shouldn’t have even been close games. Is a win a win? Absolutely. But good programs dominate teams they are supposed to dominate (who can forget the Tennessee game at home in 2010).

I am a fan of Les Miles because I am a fan of LSU. I want LSU to be one of the best programs in the country because of the talent the great state of Louisiana has at the high school level. Who doesn’t like some of the things Les Miles has said in his press conferences? But what matters to me is how you are leading your football team on the field. Speaking of leadership, when is the last time LSU had a really SOLID leader? My opinion is Jacob Hester and Glenn Dorsey and maybe Patrick Petersen. What makes a GREAT coach is someone who develops their players to be great leaders on and off the field, and Les Miles does not have that coaching trait whatsoever. Part of the reason I’ve been so unbelievably frustrated as an LSU fan is because we have no leadership on the field, and that falls on the coach. This is EXACTLY why Nick Saban is the best coach in football- he gets players on all sides of the ball to be leaders. LSU needs this in its coach, and we don’t have it in Miles.

As for the rest of the SEC west, their coaches are moving their programs forward and will eventually become better programs than LSU. Ole Miss will be a powerhouse over the next 5 years, along with Alabama, Auburn, and TX A&M (if Sumlin doesn’t bolt for USC). They are recruiting well, and will continue to recruit well because of the quality of their coaches. Gus Malzahn has proven to be an absolutely outstanding coach, and will do incredible things at Auburn. If you don’t believe that, go listen to a Saban press conference and then listen to a Malzahn conference immediately afterwards. They sound almost identical in their philosophies of coaching. Both of them have a better knack at developing leaders in their players than Miles does (Nick Marshall has grown leaps and bounds since losing to us in Tiger Stadium).

Les Miles has been a good coach at LSU, and I have loved what he has done for us. He has kept LSU playing at a high level, but we are losing our luster as a top program in the country.

Therefore, it is time for a coaching change in Baton Rouge. There are plenty of candidates out there, but I think Charlie Strong is the best fit (don’t think David Shaw will leave Stanford for LSU, and I think he’s headed to the NFL)