A fourth consecutive season of not being close to a national title might mean it’s over for Les Miles as the head coach of LSU, as there seems to be a strong movement among boosters, fans and the university heads, some of them who don’t see eye to eye with Miles, to move on in a new direction.
Miles might be the most successful head coach in the history of LSU, winning 77.46% of his games since taking over the job from Nick Saban in 2005. He was on the sidelines when the Tigers won the national championship for the 2007 season against Ohio State, and also helping them win the SEC one more time, leading them to what might be the point everything changed for him and the Tigers, the 2011 season national championship game.
LSU lost that game to Alabama, a team they beat in the regular season, 21-0. There were a lot of weird things that happened in that game, and some think LSU have never recovered from that loss. They still recruit with the best of them and churn out NFL talent like no one else, but despite all the talent at his disposal, LSU remain a very predictable, old school, primitive offense, while Miles still hasn’t found a decent quarterback, maybe since Matt Flynn left for the NFL. Losing three games in a row to SEC opponents, losing four in a row to Alabama (crushed in the most recent one) add to the growing criticism.
It seems the boosters are willing to pay the $20 million it’s going to cost the university to part ways with Miles and his coaching staff. Louisiana has made some serious cuts to higher educations recently, and paying a head coach over $15 million just to go away, especially when Miles is still very popular among a large part of the fan base, it going to be difficult to explain. That’s what boosters are for, and these boosters forgot about the days before Miles and Saban, and think each season should end with the Tigers in the vicinity of the SEC championship and the College Football Playoff.
Whether that’s realistic or not isn’t the point. Maybe no one is capable of doing this job better than Miles. However, his results over the last four seasons have been disappointing, not going to a BCS Bowl or the CFP, finishing with a 19-12 SEC record (have one more game against Texas A&M), and might be on his way to finishing outside the Top 25 of the polls for a second straight year. It’s hard to say right now who LSU have lineup up once Miles leaves, this time without Michigan waiting for him. However, the decision to let him go might have already been made.