re: Who wins the award of best NegaTiger/negaMiles of the year?

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You're making a point that is WAY more polarized than it should be. Miles was handed a golden platter, true. He did not, however, nearly destroy it. He won a national championship in 2007. He had a down year in 2008 due to the departure of the entire defense, two quarterbacks and a DC. He had a solid (if unspectacular) year in 2009 in the rebuilding phase. Now he's set to have a very good (2005-2007 good) year in 2010.

I'll agree that he's not a great coach from a strategic standpoint. It's pretty obvious that he makes calls that no other coach in America would make. Tom Osbourne went for 2 in the national championship game instead of kicking the XP and playing for overtime. Miles makes calls like that on a weekly basis.

But he has coached his team to a 10-1 regular season record admist a hurricane. He won a national championship, he's reached a 10-win season with two games left to play while coaching around his quarterbacks for the first 8 games of the season. He pulls in recruits like nobody's business.

No, Les Miles is not the stone-faced disciplinarian or the tactical general that people feel he should be. If that is your expectation, then I can see why you believe that he should be gone sooner rather than later.

But he runs a clean program, his players love to play for him. He has a very impressive win/loss record both overall and in conference. If you're a process-oriented fan, Miles annoys the shite out of you because he seldom follows conventional wisdom. But he is unconventional and it works for him.

I've argued this point with you for so long that you can recognize that my position is nothing new. Miles remained in my good graces by a single thread after the Tennessee game. But now I have found that my faith was rewarded.

Miles is not the virus to LSU football. He is a very good coach who knows the strengths and weaknesses of the entire team, himself included. He does what he does because he has the faith in his team that they will do this. That speaks volumes to me.

I will not say that Miles' future is secured. He could very well falter down the line and lose his job. But at a time when 2008 and 2009 can now be recognized as the natural ebb and flow of conference powers, I think he has secured his place for the next few years.

So suffer if you must while Miles continues to post wins in closer than they should be games, while at the same time making insane calls that produce amazing results to win the big ones. Your position will never change... I will alter mine on a case-by-case basis.

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