Les Is No More

It's over folks. Les Miles is no longer LSU's head football coach. He finishes with a 114-34 record at LSU, three SEC West Titles, two SEC Titles, two National Title game appearances and one National Title in 2007. He is on LSU Football's Mount Rushmore along side Nick Saban, Charles McClendon and Paul Dietzel.

A number of factors led to Miles' dismissal. But first and foremost was his inability to evolve on the offensive side of the ball. In an age of high flying prolific spread offenses, Miles was stuck trying to play football in a phone booth. LSU's scheme and play calling were predictable and unimaginative. The Tigers were able to generally overcome such obstacles because of the amount of talent that came through Tiger Stadium. But Miles' inability to recruit or develop a serviceable quarterback magnified the problems with the offensive philosophy. Since 2009, LSU has finished 94^th or worse in passing yards per game 6 times. LSU is well on its way to continue that trend after four games in 2016. Miles' style of play and refusal to adapt to the changing nature of college football were ultimately his undoing.

When I look back at his tenure, there are numerous great moments. But I will also carry the memory when he lost me as a fan. On October 1, 2011, LSU faced Kentucky in Tiger Stadium. At that point, Jarrett Lee led the SEC in QB efficiency. He was 56 of 87 (64.3%) for 644 yards 7 TD's and 1 INT after four games. Lee had been fantastic thus far that season. In the first quarter of that game, Lee had driven LSU deep into Kentucky territory and was poised to score. But Miles ran Jordan Jefferson out on the field to a cascade of boos. Jefferson ran the ball in to score but the move obviously affected Lee as he only completed 38% of his passes on that day. Miles eventually replaced Lee for good after the Alabama “Game of the Century”. In the last two games of the season, the SEC Title game and the National Title game, Jefferson ran or passed the ball a combined 50 times. In those 50 plays, he generated a grand total of 93 yards, a whopping 1.8 yards per play. His QB rating of 80.9 for those two games was abysmal. No need to rehash the National Title game disaster.

After the 21-0 beating and Miles' refusal to pull Jefferson I was done sticking up for Les.

Miles had a chance at redemption in 2012. Alabama visited LSU as the Tigers played their hearts out that November evening. But Miles went super conservative late in the game and allowed Alabama to stick around and eventually win. Zach Mettenberger was on fire going 24 of 35 for 298 yards and a TD. But on two late drives, Miles went into a shell and took the ball out of his hands. Two promising drives that could have killed the game resulted in zero points. Alabama then scored with 51 seconds left to win and continue on to another National Title.

Since then, LSU has steadily regressed despite continuing to put numerous players in the NFL. It was time for a change. I encourage everyone to support our players and cheer on the Tigers to better days. There are eight games left and plenty of opportunities to make LSU football fun again.

Keep the faith and Geaux Tigers.