Les Miles thread (merged)

[vols1707]

Les Miles is a little younger than Saben.
You figure Saben has 8-10 years left

So you figure Les Miles has 9-12 years left

Even at the bottom end of 9 years that's still amazing and you know that the program will be left stocked with SEC level talent and players that are developed.

To me this is the case for Les Miles

Zero risk, proven winner

Then when he is gone Tennessee could actually draw away coaches from other successful schools

Something Tennessee cannot do right now

 

[vols1707]

Great minds JMsqb

 

[jakez4ut]

If Les Miles wound up at Tennessee next year, it would be his last big job. I could see him being here for atleast 8 years minimum. What if Les won a natty or got to the playoff here multiple times? What job would that elevate him for? If he had his way, he would have been a lifer coach at LSU. Could easily see him at Tennessee for atleast 8-10 years as long as he wins, which in the East would be easier than coaching in the West.

Les Miles is a little younger than Saben.
You figure Saben has 8-10 years left

So you figure Les Miles has 9-12 years left

Even at the bottom end of 9 years that's still amazing and you know that the program will be left stocked with SEC level talent and players that are developed.

To me this is the case for Les Miles

Zero risk, proven winner

Then when he is gone Tennessee could actually draw away coaches from other successful schools

Something Tennessee cannot do right now

agree to disagree. i think Miles' best years are behind him, as far as running a program at a high/elite level long term. and i think he was the benefactor of a great situation at LSU at the time he took over.

i think over the last 3-4 years, he experienced something similar to what Fulmer experienced his last 3-4 years. i mean, really, if Miles is your guy, why not just bring Fulmer back?

i get why anyone would thro Miles in the ring as a candidate. i really do. i just don't see him as "the answer". and i say that probably knowing that he could probably make an immediate improvement. just not sold that you're going to get another decade of greatness out of him. i'm not sure he was even considered for any of the p5 jobs that came open last year....and he was available...early. and there were some very doable opportunities.

 

[jakez4ut]

Then you can't credit Saban with winning that Natty when they lucked into a Natty Berth.

Which is a crazy assumption. Les didn't luck into a national title. He did what he had to do that season and won.

Had LSU gotten Oklahoma State, Les has a second ring.

i believe that team is still the only team to play for and win a national title with 2 losses in the last 25+ some odd years. in fact, i don't know the last time a national champion had more than 1 loss.

it's at least an outlier......

 

[JMSqb11]

agree to disagree. i think Miles' best years are behind him, as far as running a program at a high/elite level long term. and i think he was the benefactor of a great situation at LSU at the time he took over.

i think over the last 3-4 years, he experienced something similar to what Fulmer experienced his last 3-4 years. i mean, really, if Miles is your guy, why not just bring Fulmer back?

i get why anyone would thro Miles in the ring as a candidate. i really do. i just don't see him as "the answer". and i say that probably knowing that he could probably make an immediate improvement. just not sold that you're going to get another decade of greatness out of him. i'm not sure he was even considered for any of the p5 jobs that came open last year....and he was available...early. and there were some very doable opportunities.

Had Fulmer not taken a chance on Clawson, we likely don't go 5-7 in 2008 and Fulmer doesn't get fired.

Fulmer lost his job because he made a bad hire. He had a great class coming in so its not like he forgot how to recruit.

Miles is a proven winner. Saban is the only reason he didn't get more SEC Titles.

The issue with Les is his history of OC hires. Make him hire a talented OC and he will be fine.

 

[JMSqb11]

i believe that team is still the only team to play for and win a national title with 2 losses in the last 25+ some odd years. in fact, i don't know the last time a national champion had more than 1 loss.

it's at least an outlier......

And whens the last time a team won a natty without winning their conference? Les doesn't have a second natty ring because of Saban. That is literally the case for every single coach out there.

I don't have Les in my top 3 but he would definitely be in my top 5. His name ID and recruiting Prowess alone makes him better than any coach at a Mid Major program or someone like Brohm that everyone is peddling on here.

Also, he is worth the financial investment because he doesn't require a buyout.

 

[82_VOL_83]

This. There are better choices, but there are A LOT worse choices. Good article from 2 years ago on Miles success at LSU:

9 – Let’s begin with what Miles has accomplished on the recruiting trail. Miles has reeled in nine recruiting classes that were ranked in the top 10 in his 11 seasons at LSU, according to 247Sports. Three of those classes were ranked in the top 2 in the country. The three classes that “didn’t pan out” were in 2005 (Miles first season), 2008 and 2012. Those classes were ranked 13th, 12th and 14th, respectively. In other words, Miles has put together a top-15 recruiting class or better in every season at the helm.

2 – LSU has won two SEC Championships under Miles, which may not seem like many until comparing it to other storied coaches. Mark Richt has only two SEC titles in 15 seasons at UGA. Ohio State’s Urban Meyer won only two SEC titles in six seasons at Florida and Nick Saban only won two SEC Championships during his five-year stint in the Bayou. Believe it or not, Saban only has three SEC titles under his belt in eight seasons with Alabama, but could pick up his fourth title in a couple of weeks.

7 – Miles has seven 10-win seasons during his 11-year tenure with the Tigers. No other coach in LSU history has more than two 10-win campaigns. Miles has won at least 10 games four times since 2010 after rattling off three-consecutive 10-win seasons from 2005-07. For comparison’s sake, UGA’s Mark Richt has nine 10-win seasons in 15 years in Athens, Ga. Former Florida and South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier had 12 10-win seasons in 23 years, which means Miles would be on pace to exceed Spurrier.

10 – LSU has played in 10 bowl games under Miles and will play in an 11th this season. Only Charles McClendon has coached the Tigers in more bowl games. He coached in 13 bowl games during his 18-year tenure and went 7-6 in those contests. Miles is 6-4 in his bowl appearances with a 2-1 record in New Year’s Six bowl games. He could match McClendon for the most bowl victories in program history with a win this year. Miles actually has one more bowl victory during his tenure at LSU than Saban has at Alabama.

69 – Miles has won 69 percent of his conference games with a 60-27 record. That number is far more impressive when considering Miles’ longevity with the program. His winning percentage matches Richt in four fewer seasons and is not far behind Spurrier’s 72 percent. Miles’ conference winning percentage doesn’t measure up to Meyer or Saban, however. Meyer won 75 percent of his conference games at Florida, while Saban has won 82 percent of his games at Alabama and has won 78 percent of his SEC games at both LSU and Bama.

77 – Miles has won 77 percent of his games at LSU. That is a better win percentage as an SEC coach than Spurrier, Richt, Meyer and Saban during his stint with LSU. Miles is one of the most successful coaches in SEC history, according to Saturday Down South.

48 – Les Miles has gone 48-15 in five seasons from 2011 to the present. Nick Saban went 48-16 in his five years at LSU. A win on Saturday would ensure Miles a better record over the last five seasons than Saban had during his entire LSU tenure.

14 – This may be the number that everyone cares about and one of the biggest reasons why Miles is on the hot seat. Miles has gone just 35-14 since the 2011 season, when LSU lost 21-0 to Alabama in the BCS Championship Game. That game might have marked the beginning of Miles’ downfall. Alabama has gone 46-6 during that same time period and has beaten LSU five times in a row.

Miles downfall was hiring crappy coordinators. Make sure we steal the best guys available and rebuild the program. If you want someone who can beat Saban, there's a tight circle of guys who have beaten him since he's been at Bama:

Dabo Swinney (2016) UNAVAILABLE
Gus Malzahn (2013) PASS
Kevin Sumlin (2012) PASS
Hugh Freeze (2014, 2015) SUPER PASS
Urban Meyer (2008, 2014) UNAVAILABLE
Les Miles (2007, 2010, 2011) AVAILABLE
Steve Spurrier (2010) RETIRED
Kyle Whittingham (2008) MAYBE AVAILABLE
Gene Chizik (2010) PASS
Bob Stoops (2013) RETIRED

Everyone else you bring only has a theoretical chance of beating Bama.

/thread

and for those saying that Miles can't beat Saban, please check again....Looks like he is 3-5 regular season and 0-1 Natty against him. Losing record but better than any other coach we have had against Saban. He isn't afraid of Nicky!

 

[82_VOL_83]

Les miles got canned at LSU. If we are going to get him might as well just hire Phil back.

Phil couldn't beat Saban

If the standard is "better than Butch" then bring him on over. Heck, my dog Walter is a candidate too, it that is the criteria. If we want to beat Bama and win championships, we'd better look elsewhere.

Miles beat Saban and actually won an SECC by beating them.

Tennessee is not going to be able to hire Nick Saben away..... Chip Kelly would be nice. But how would his lack of recruiting hold up?

Why not hire the guy that gave Alabama and Saben their best challenges outside of a Cam Newton Auburn?

This. He CAN BEAT ALABAMA AND SABAN!

 

[jakez4ut]

And whens the last time a team won a natty without winning their conference? Les doesn't have a second natty ring because of Saban. That is literally the case for every single coach out there.

I don't have Les in my top 3 but he would definitely be in my top 5. His name ID and recruiting Prowess alone makes him better than any coach at a Mid Major program or someone like Brohm that everyone is peddling on here.

Also, he is worth the financial investment because he doesn't require a buyout.

like i said, agree to disagree. i'm not sure i'd be upset if we hired Les Miles. it'd at least tell me what i need to know about this administration.

 

[jakez4ut]

Phil couldn't beat Saban



Miles beat Saban and actually won an SECC by beating them.



This. He CAN BEAT ALABAMA AND SABAN!

he could, until he couldn't.
Bama and Saban got better, Miles and LSU stayed the same.

bringing Miles here doesn't = beating Bama. and really, that's not the reason we'd be firing Butch, nor is it the sole reason we'd be bringing someone in.

 

[OakRidgeVol]

I will just say this about Miles:

Miles floor is 9 games and he instantly becomes the best coach in the SEC East. Maybe he did win early on with some of Sabans recruits, but that only proves he can take talented players and keep them playing at a championship level. Butch has brought in talent, Les can bring them to the next level. Maybe he didn’t beat Bama all the time, but they never went in as more than a 10 point underdog, when’s the last time UT was less than a 14 point dog? We won’t find the next Saban in this coaching class, so we might as well get the best experienced HC available. We deserve more than someone who MIGHT end up being good, we deserve someone who has already shown he’s good.

 

[Bluetic]

Miles is, as someone pointed out earlier, undone by his choice of coordinators. Miles was a very good collage football coach, and I've always liked his "mad hatter" ways. He is a consummate "team" guy and puts a lot of faith and confidence in his players, which I think breeds positive team spirit. I would be all for it...if we can see his list of coordinators first.

 

[vols1707]

Miles is, as someone pointed out earlier, undone by his choice of coordinators. Miles was a very good collage football coach, and I've always liked his "mad hatter" ways. He is a consummate "team" guy and puts a lot of faith and confidence in his players, which I think breeds positive team spirit. I would be all for it...if we can see his list of coordinators first.

I have zero doubt if Les Miles gets the job he knows exactly what he did wrong. And he will come in with everything that made him the second best coach in this league for the last 10 years.

And the FIRE in his belly and the chip on his shoulder to make dang sure he hires the right OC.

 

[Dougie_D]

Les is the PERFECT fit. Everybody pins him because he got FIRED.. Well, who else got fired? Will Muschamp. He seems like he's a pretty darn good coach at South Carolina.

And lets be honest... if anything Les got PUSHED out.

If Tennessee picks Kelly over Les, we'll be doomed. Chip Kelly is an NFL guy. Les is a pure college guy. Even more an SEC guy.

 

[OrangeTsar]

Sorry if this has been discussed already and I missed it. What remaining buyout might TN be responsible for if we hired Les?

 

[vols1707]

Sorry if this has been discussed already and I missed it. What remaining buyout might TN be responsible for if we hired Les?

It would be a big ZERO on Tennessee's end.👍
Him and Chip Kelly would have zero buyout for Tennessee to be on the hook for.

 

[GVF]

I remember why Les Miles was fired. He was fired for: (11seasons):

2 National Championships
.770 winning percentage at LSU
5 Coach of the Year awards at LSU
A 7-4 Bowl record at LSU (Never missed post season)
5 top 10 rankings (7 top 15)
Won 1/3 of games against Nick Saban. (3-6)
In the 6 seasons prior to being fired for starting 2-2 his records were 11-2, 13-1, 10-3, 10-3, 8-5, 9-3.

He did all this with his "antiquated" offense and stubborness, no elite QB, lack of player development, gobs of NFL draftees, and old fashion tough guys playing smash mouth football.

He's not qualified. Doesn't meet VN standards for a splash hire.


LSU will miss him in the long run.


And so will we if we are too dumb to interview and hire.

 

[GAVol]

The man is 64 years old.

 

[GVF]

Oh. Wait. We have candidates lined up clamoring for this job. All with superior resumes to Miles. NOT.

 

[GVF]

The man is 64 years old.

And will still out coach any likely hire we end up with.


Saban is 66. And still winning. Point?

 

[Smokeytom]

If Les could get some VFLs on the staff I think most people would be pretty excited about that. Bring Tee in as OC/AHC and set us up for the long term.

Problem is the most lasting memory of Les most of us have here is him not beating Saban for, what, 5 years in a row? Idk about you but I want to beat Bama and while they still have Saban!

 

[GAVol]

Saban is 66. And still winning. Point?

tons of negative recruiting and in 3-4 years, we're guaranteed firing up another coaching search and I'm modding more Gruden threads. None of us need that.

I like Les, but he should just collect his buyout and have a good time.

 

[alaVOL]

Having VFL's doesn't guarantee success at all. We need a very good coach, period.

 

[Volz4lif3]

Mods please move to the “old” Les Miles thread, merge please..lol

 

[pcolavol2]

By far the most accomplished coach in the country that is available. Period. Like it or not. Good recruiter too. Period. Don't love him,but fact is..records don't lie.