Les Miles - Hot Seat?

Was checking www.coachingsearch.com ticker to see if there was any other leakage on our situation, and saw this nugget about Les Miles:

LSU: Scott Rabalais of The Advocate writes that there are "strong indications" Les Miles could be coaching for his job against Ole Miss and Texas A&M in the next two weeks, with Rabalais adding, "25 years of covering LSU, cultivating a variety of knowledgeable sources, have led this writer to believe that there is a serious threat to Miles' tenure here." LSU was ranked No. 2 10 days ago.

If this were the case, it would mean that Les Miles would be available out there for grabs. Just a thought.

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Comments

No thank you.

None of the LSU fans I talk to like Les that much. 1 SEC West title in the last 7 (going on 8) years seems to be unacceptable to them, as they think they have much more talent than that.

I don't actually think he'd ever get fired, but I think he's on hot seat in the way Mark Richt and Bob Stoops are always 'on the hot seat'....where the fanbase is just perpetually tired of him.

His seat appears to be hotter than I thought it was.

Coaching is a tough job to maintain. I have always looked at LSU as just a step under Alabama but that is the thing. If you don't win your conference championship year and year out then you could be in trouble.

-Semper Primus

I saw this earlier as well, not sure if I take much stock in it at the moment. LSU was just in the driver's seat for the playoffs, it would be wild to say his seat is hot so soon. (Granted it is the SEC west)

That would really change things up coaching search wise though, seeing as how desirable a place like LSU is.

Also, anyone else read the reports about Charlie strong being interested in Texas job?

Maybe he knows something about his future with Texas that wee don't.

Edit: Charlie strong interested in Miami

Charlie strong being interested in Texas job

No way he gets the Texas job, I mean that's just crazy. I mean who would Louisville hire, a coach who was fired for wrecking a motorcycle with his mistrees?

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

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The way he has coached them makes me wonder how interested he is in Texas.

Alright wise guys, I meant Miami Lol

LSU's field is the only field in the country to label every 5 yard line.

To help the fans keep up.

LSU fans are dumb if they want to get rid of Les. Wouldn't surprise me.

Onward and upward

Would immediately be the top candidate available. He would tear things up in the Coastal

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

Coaches just can't stay at one place that long anymore. The fanbases have too many opportunities to be vocal and communicate their displeasure. It's too easy to organize against a guy. This isn't letters to the sports editor printed in the Roanoke Times once a week like it was in 1989. Richt should have left 4 years ago. Miles should move on now because if he stays, he will just be run out of town in a few years.

8 years is the perfect tenure. 5 isn't bad, by 10 years you are starting to wear thin. Miles is on year 11.

By the way, LSU fans suck at initial coach lists. You aren't getting Saban, you don't want Kiffin or Petrino or Muschamp or Nutt. Randy Edsall? C'mon, LSU.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This piece is entirely satirical and just for fun, in case you couldn't tell.

I have no idea why my username is VT_Warthog.

Arkansas blew a 24-0 lead in the Belk Bowl.

Oh, didn't see that. Makes me feel better about their fanbase.

Agreed. This is why I would applaud Strong if he bailed on Texas (the guy who hired him is gone and he'll soon enough be proven a not-good head coach) for Miami.
I loved when Oliver Purnell did it in hoops years ago. He left Clemson after a good run but before the seat got hot.

If Miles is terminated without cause before Jan. 1, he would be owed $15 million, payable over eight years (twice the time remaining on his current contract). His assistants would have to be paid roughly an additional $2 million for six months salary (thanks to the "Les Miles clause" in their contracts) for a total buyout of $17 million.

Sure, LSU has money, but that's a lot of it.

That is a lot of money, but isn't it pretty standard for a coach's buyout to be offset by his future earnings if he takes another coaching job? Assuming he ends up coaching somewhere, which seems like a reasonable assumption, the buyout won't be quite so onerous.

“You got one guy going boom, one guy going whack, and one guy not getting in the endzone.”
― John Madden (describing VT's offense?)

$17 million would be a big deal. My point was that they would, in all likelihood, have to pay far less, once Les and his assistants find coaching jobs elsewhere.

“You got one guy going boom, one guy going whack, and one guy not getting in the endzone.”
― John Madden (describing VT's offense?)

I wouldn't want Les Miles as the Head Coach at VT. He would eat all the turf in the lunch pail.

"Exit light..."

I hope it happens. I want Grimes back

West Virginian by birth, Hokie by choice

From what we have seen this year, Searels looks every bit a capable as Grimes. OL play is much improved.

Plan for the worst and hope for the best, not the other way around.

Agree to disagree. Grimes is the run game coordinator for a team that had Fournette as the lead dog for the Heisman the first half of the season.

It was a catch

They also have Fournette.

Being 6'1", 230 lbs and 4.35 forty, he'd make a lot of run game coordinators look good.

Similar to how Tyrod was the reason Stiney was a OC for so long. As soon as Tyrod left, it took 1 year before Frank had to replace him

Sure, but you could also say that well executed blocking is necessary for a back (even one as good as Fournette) to reach their potential.

It was a catch

I honestly thought Grimes was a good coach and was upset when he left. I also think Searels is a good coach. Since I think both are level and Searels is the guy currently at VT, then I like Searels better.

Regardless, the only thing we know for certain is that both are better than Curt Newsome.

If he hasnt been able to produce a respectable offense with the talent they can get at LSU, how would he fare in Blacksburg?

If he hasnt been able to produce a respectable offense with the talent they can get at LSU

that's hilarious

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

Love the pic. With Fournette they rank 51 in total O this year. The six years prior they ranked 80/36/87/86/86/112 in total O. How is that even possible with the 5 star talent they get year in and year out.

Remember that crude/aggregate metrics don't always tell the whole story. FEI rankings have the LSU offense ranked 12 this year, VT is 101. S&P+ has LSU offense 14, VT 81.

"Exit light..."

True this year and their rankings may have been better than the aggregate the last 5, but look at the OL, RB and WR talent in the NFL from LSU. Maybe they just missed on QB a few too many times.

I am not anti-Miles, rather just providing potential reasons he may be on the hot seat. Bottom line is that he has to go toe to toe with Lil Nicky every year and if the LSU 'swinging richards' think they should be equal to Bama, they have not been successful - whether fair or not.

No, this is hilarious. Fournette is the only offense LSU has had at all this year. The kid is a beast. To use him as an example of Miles' offensive coaching ability is truly laughable.

If you play it, they will win.

"How the ass pocket will be used, I do not know. Alls I know is, the ass pocket will be used." -The BoD

At least he would fill the awkward coach dance left behind by Beamer.....

via GIPHY

"Welcome to the Terror Dome." -- Corey Moore

We've got a seriously delusional and intellectually questionable fan base if we're balking at Les Miles.

Let's Go...

It really is becoming clear that people are going to bitch and moan regardless of who we hire.

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

Haha just screwing around. I made it a purpose to counter act the puckerbutt attitudes around here with constant attempts at humor.

"Welcome to the Terror Dome." -- Corey Moore

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

1000% Agree, weve had too much time pick a favorite and choose sides.

People went from being excited about PJ Fleck (who honestly, I agree with Joe, he's a serious name to watch here in the next few years) to people disgusted at the idea of Les Miles/Mark Richt/JOHN HARBAUGH/MIKE TOMLIN!!!

COME ON!

people disgusted at the idea of Les Miles/Mark Richt/JOHN HARBAUGH/MIKE TOMLIN!!!

COME ON!

interesting that you didn't include RichRod in there...

Onward and upward

True, but Id say the RR hate has more to do with off the field issues much like warrented hate if Bret Bielema (Seriously, Who gloats like that after a win), Rex Ryan, Lane Kiffin were up for the job.

As a balker allow me to explain.

I think miles is a great motivator and recruiter. He's a fine head coach who enjoys great success because he's in a position where he can basically just be himself and stockpile talent. I balk because I think he'd have to work a lot harder at VT and wouldn't enjoy some of the advantages he's made such great use of in Louisiana.

I also think VT really needs great QB play in order to be successful. I haven't seen a decent QB at LSU since Matt Flynn.

Are LSU fans crazy? Absolutely, but not just for wanting to get rid of him. Is he right for VT? I'm not so sure.

Les, like Richt, I think would be a pretty good hire. I still want a younger guy with less miles though

Onward and upward

What you did there...I see it.

"Exit light..."

*cough*fewer*cough*...dammit

Warning: this post occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)..

fool me once...

Onward and upward

"Welcome to the Terror Dome." -- Corey Moore

I agree. Mark wouldn't exactly move the needle on the Richter scale for me. We need better recruits. Morr is always better than Les. The coach at Houston may be interested, but his wife may want Her Man to be somewhere else. Whoever it is, I hope Whit can name the coach Justin time to do some recruiting. Coaching searches are so complicated, it's hard to set any ground Rhules on who we're looking for.

Warning: this post occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)..

That's Rich

Onward and upward

I hear what you are saying Bud, Fostering a clean, hard working and quality program may be the most important criterion. It's a Shane that some ADs (not Whit) will look past this and make the choice based on solely how Rich the new coach can make the program. I know Whit is working on this search with some Pep in his step.

Some think we could strike it Rich with the coach at AZ, but I fear he may just Rod-rig us on offense before it all falls apart. I hope we name someone before the Hollidays. I pray Whit doesn't take the time out of his schedule to visit London looking for a coach. Besides, they don't really care much about football over there anyway.

If Miles became available, he would be a strong candidate at USC'w (he used to coach at Colorado under Coach Mac and recruited SoCal) or Texas.

Les Miles would be a slam dunk

Bleeding burnt orange and chicago maroon

Les Miles strikes me as an older Rich Rod... but without an offense.

LSU's successes seem to come at the hands of their defense keeping the opponents' score low (sounds familiar?). I could be wrong.

At 62 years old... would it be worth the gamble?

Does pizza count as pie?!

If the Mad Hatter came to VT, would he bring Grimes back with him?

Take the shortest route to the ball and arrive in bad humor.

Below is a post on Reddit from an LSU fan explaining why they are ready for Miles to be gone.. a lot of these points sound very familiar

#1 A boring, predictable offense that is about as fun as watching paint dry. When everyone in the stadium knows what's coming just based on formation and personnel 75-80% of the time, it gets real frustrating, real fast.
#2 A passing game that, outside of 2013, has not been effective over the last SEVEN years. I really shouldn't have to explain this one. Our passing game has been abysmal for an extended period. many gave Les the benefit of the doubt for awhile, but at this point it's clear that the problem is with him, either in who he is recruiting or how his philosophy on offense doesn't allow for a quarterback to develop. Our one success in this period was with a transfer.
#3 Undisciplined play. LSU has averaged over 10 penalties a game every single year Les has been at LSU. This has lead to more game changing penalties than I can even count. It's not the referees, it's not a conspiracy against LSU. It's a head coach that does not instill proper discipline on his team and over time these unforced errors really wears you out as fan.
#4 Poor execution. Somewhat related to #3, LSU frequently makes mental mistakes on both sides of the ball that lead to missed coverages, blocks, assignments, and open receivers. This is going to happen on any college team, but to see our opponents seemingly more prepared to execute their game plan on a week in and week out basis is another very frustrating factor that has worn LSU fans out over the last 7-8 years.
#5 Declining line play. For many years under Les, LSU has had very good offensive line play and oftentimes dominant defensive line play. it has been the hallmark of our success. That is no longer the case. Over the last 3 years LSU's play on both sides of the line of scrimmage has dropped off dramatically. This has lead to a situation where Les wants to win games a certain way, but is unable to do so because he doesn't have the kind of team set up to win games that way anymore. Which leads me to #6...
#6 Refusal to adapt. When Nick Saban saw that his offensive philosophy wasn't working the way it used to, what did he do? He changed it. He hired Lane Kiffin. He started throwing the ball more on early downs. He started challenging defenses on all points of the field. Most importantly, He realized that what had worked isn't guaranteed to work going forward. Football evolves, and to continue to be successful you have to evolve with it. Les Miles either does not understand this concept, or he simply refuses to acknowledge it. This refusal has lead to:
#7 Declining results. LSU, for many years, was rarely blown out under Les Miles. When I say blown out I mean lose by 3 scores or more. Sure there is the odd big loss, Florida 2008 comes to mind, but for the most part we have always been competitive and played with toughness and pride. This is no longer the case. While we still play down to opponents as we always have, LSU has now been blown out SIX times over the last 2 years. LSU is now 13-10 in SEC play over the last 3 years. A loss to Texas A&M makes that 13-11. that's mediocre no matter how you slice it.

Seems this is a done deal as well.

Looks like he's gone:

http://tigerrag.com/football/les-miles-will-coach-his-final-game-at-lsu-...

Here's the article, since the site doesn't seem to be loading very well:

Miles indicated to members of the Gridiron Club on Friday that Saturday's matchup between LSU and Texas A&M would be his final game as the Tigers' head coach, sources at the meeting told Tiger Rag.

The coach appeared in good spirits, sources said, reiterating messages that he'd "always be a Tiger" and "thanks for a great 11 years," but informed the booster club's members, in an indirect but clear manner, that Friday's meeting would be his last with them, even explicitly saying he would not be coaching LSU's bowl game.

Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman announced yesterday Miles would be "let go as the coach of LSU" on Sunday or Monday. That would appear to open the door for former LSU offensive coordinator and current Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher to return to Baton Rouge as Miles' replacement, a scenario Football Scoop's Scott Roussel considers to be LSU's primary plan.

Miles has posted a 110-32 record at LSU, and his .775 winning percentage is the best among LSU coaches with a minimum of 25 games coached. He won two SEC championships, three SEC West titles, and the 2007 BCS National Championship, with a runner-up finish in 2011.

Miles's contract with LSU runs through 2019, and if he is in fact fired, LSU will owe him a $15 million buyout.

Time to watch the dominoes fall.

The Orange and Maroon you see, that's fighting on to victory.

Part of me hopes LSU goes the Tennessee route, and regrets this for the next decade.

All of me hopes that. Those fans have more money than sense.

The Orange and Maroon you see, that's fighting on to victory.

Well they aren't going to have as much money as they had...

I think they will. I'm not sure who they think they can get that would be a better choice.

Well if they can get Jimbo they won't be scraping the bottom of the barrel. But now that Jimbo is rumored to go to LSU, a move that I think he might make, it's time for me to go make sure my six pick chose Florida tomorrow...

I am the heartbeat of Blacksburg. A fortress built out of stone but made with champions.

The wheel goes round and round...

You know it's bad when the school has to directly address the rumors.

"Exit light..."

I really hope this is another Les Miles being crazy Les Miles.

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

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