re: Which LSU football coach left us the greatest legacy?

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Saban set what the standard should be.

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Put us on the modern day ncaa map and we are going to be here awhile

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the depths people will sink to not give Ed any credit whatsoever is astounding

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Agree. Without O there would have been no Burrow, Chase, and so many other stars. Hell, we still have, maybe the best QB on the team, that O signed. History is still being written.
How many of you guys shitting on O were doing the same to Saban his last season here and until he started winning NCs at Alabama.
I remember.

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I might be in the minority, but you can add Dinardo.

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I think this becomes more of a semantic question of what the OP means by "legacy". DiNardo definitely did not leave the program in better shape than many others did, so in that sense his "legacy" is not as great as those. On the other hand, where he left the program compared to where he found it or -- more importantly, imo -- where it could have been left is almost certainly the biggest positive of any coach in our history. So in that sense of the term "legacy" (as in, lasting impact), he is hands down the winner.

In terms of where they left the program, I feel like it has to be between Saban and Miles, depending on whether you think reaching the pinnacle is a bigger accomplishment than sustaining excellence. Miles get bagged on a lot (mostly valid for off-the-field reasons), but the reality is that he sustained a level of excellence for over a decade that LSU football had never seen sustained like that before (or since). So Saban left the legacy of LSU reaching the pinnacle of college football, and Miles left the legacy that it could (and should) be sustained. This is further evidenced by the fact that he became a victim of his own legacy when he was fired after winning a National Championship and two SEC Championships and amassing a 77.5% win percentage (pre-vacating) without ever dipping below 8-5. That's damn good in anybody's book, but -- thanks to the standard set over the course of his and Saban's tenures -- not good enough for LSU football. That's Miles' legacy, on the field.

Now of course, the head football coach of a major SEC program is more than "just" a football coach, so the off-the-field issues matter. And with the hits Miles has taken for off the field issues, I don't think his actual legacy compares with Saban's.

So depending on how you define "legacy", imo the answer is either Saban or DiNardo.

Frankly, I just prefer to enjoy the positive parts of every coach's legacy, which works pretty well for every coach except Curley. That "pigs could fly" game was amazing, but that was one lone candle in a six year gulf of darkness.

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So depending on how you define "legacy", imo the answer is either Saban or DiNardo.

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I have trouble giving DiNardo too much credit considering he went 6 and 15 during the 98 and 99 seasons. However, living through the abyss that was end-Archer and Hallman years, 95-97 were fun times.

I think it has to be Saban, not only because first NC in 45 years, but he came in with the mindset to change the culture and end the deer in headlights and brook trout look mentality that pervaded our fanbase. Without that shift, neither Miles nor O follow up that success with success of their own IMO.

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end the deer in headlights and brook trout look mentality that pervaded our fanbase.

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To be fair, that really hadn't pervaded the fanbase as a whole. Pre-Archer decline, that wasn't really a thing. During the Dark Ages, many fans became shell-shocked. And many new fans brought in during that era did indeed exhibit that "brook trout" attitude having never experienced successful LSU football before. But when DiNardo "brought back the magic", most of the older fans got over the shell-shock (enough to be pissed about losing again in '98-'99), and a lot of the newer fans learned to have things like expectations and confidence in LSU football.

The vast majority of Saban's legacy is behind the scenes. I say behind the scenes rather than off the field because it definitely showed up on the field. But it was the culture and attitude around the program. The practices, the recruiting, the administration; everything seemed to have a much more organized and professional approach to it. Other coaches had enjoyed success here (though only Dietzel to the level Saban had reached), but no one else had brought systemic change to the program as successfully as Saban had. Even had the BCS screwed us out of that '03 Championship, his legacy would likely have been profound through those systemic changes (though we casual fans may never have appreciated the impact).

As I mentioned before, though, there is a difference between achieving success and sustaining it. What has happened in Tuscaloosa pretty much conclusively proves that Saban can sustain excellence, but the fact remains that he 100% absolutely did not sustain it at LSU. Miles did sustain it (though obviously not at the level it appears Saban likely could have). So if the question is strictly limited to on the field legacy, Miles would remain a viable candidate.

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That was Burrow's team, not O's. He was just along to FBGM.

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Burrow. Brady/Ensminger. Aranda. Chase. Bill Busch responsible for getting Burrow to Baton Rouge.

"Shrimpy" was nothing but a glorified hand clapping cheerleader on the sidelines......

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To be fair, that really hadn't pervaded the fanbase as a whole.

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We’ll have to disagree here. I believe it was very widespread from my own interactions and Saban made mention of it many times, including his initial press conference. That’s why the UGA game in 2003 was so satisfying. Anyone that was there knows exactly what I mean.

I agree with the systemic changes you mentioned, that was all part of the process that we greatly needed to achieve and sustain success. It was widespread lore that LSU was a coaching graveyard prior to Saban. That’s the biggest change of all, that LSU is now a destination job.

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Without O there would have been no Burrow,

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without aranda there wouldn’t have been bill Busch. Without Busch you wouldn’t have gotten burrow. Aranda left and the ship sank. Not a coincidence. O was a fricking idiot Les gave him aranda and ensminger. Without them 2019 never happens.

Saban.

He built us into the machine we are today. Les did a pretty good job keeping that machine going, Orgeron had a great year then flew us straight into the Sun, now Kelly has rebuilt the framework and is a couple years away from having his own monster.

Cholly Mac and John Furguson are the height of LSU football. Saban deserted the ship.