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Les Miles Considered
Les Miles Considered
Sometimes you almost have to feel sorry for Les Miles. Miles, head coach of the Louisiana State Tigers, endures more abuse daily than most people do in a year, and not just for wearing that cheap looking hat. Miles, whose team is the defending national champions, is constantly compared to his predecessor, Nick Saban, and to someone that was in a similar coaching situation, Larry Coker.
Coker was the head coach at the University of Miami when they won the national championship in 2001 and a controversial runner up in 2002. Where the supposed similarity to Miles comes in is in the fact that Coker inherited a team that was loaded, won with them, and went steadily downhill from there. Butch Davis, currently the head coach at North Carolina, was largely responsible for cleaning up the corrupt Hurricane football program. Despite a one year postseason ban and a loss of 31 scholarships,within 6 years Davis had returned Miami to national power status. His last team, the 2000 squad, finished 11-1 and was ranked #2 in the final polls. Davis then took an opportunity to head up the NFL's Cleveland Browns.
Coker, promoted from the offensive coordinator spot, would lead the team that Davis built to the previously mentioned title games. Gradually, the win totals dwindled, and Coker's program became less intimidating. The Hurricanes began losing games they should win, and the program became as disorganized as it had been previous to the Davis era. Coker and Miles would coach against each other in the 2005 Peach Bowl; the 40-3 loss was the worst bowl loss in school history. The two teams would scuffle with each other in the tunnel leaving the Georgia Dome. It wasn't the last time that discipline on the field would be a problem for Coker. Following a much bally-hooed brawl against Florida International in October of 2006, it was apparent the end was near. Miami lost 6 games that year; Coker was fired at season's end.
How does Les Miles fit into this equation? He also inherited a national power from a coach destined for a brief stint in the NFL. Saban's LSU squads gradually improved under his leadership, peaking with a national championship in 2003. The following year, the Tigers lost only 2 regular season games, one a 10-9 defeat at the hands of Auburn. Another loss to conference foe Georgia would send LSU to the Capital One Bowl, where a Hail Mary on the last play of the game gave Iowa a 30-25 win. The next fall, though, Saban would be coaching for the Miami Dolphins and Miles would be in Baton Rouge.
Miles would lose only two games in each of his 3 seasons, and the 2007 squad was undefeated in regulation. (The losses were both in multiple overtime games vs. Kentucky and Arkansas, respectively.) Yet, even as a national champion, the nagging questions remain? Is Miles only winning with the players Saban left him? Will Miles be another washout like Coker? Of course only time will tell. Despite the goofy headgear, Miles has a commanding presence on the sideline. He's gutsy, aggressive, and outspoken. That sounds an awful lot like Nick Saban. Where Saban took the opportunity to seek greener pastures, though, Miles has taken great pains to stay in Baton Rouge. It says a lot that he basically turned down the Michigan job, considering the much easier trip a Big 10 team would have to a national title. While not the recruiter that Saban has proven himself to be, LSU has not exactly fallen on hard times. While he may be winning with Saban's teams, he is taking the steps to make the program his own.
Unlike Coker, Miles is making a name for himself and doing things his way. He will be remembered, where as Coker will forever be known as "that guy that came after Butch Davis". Miles, however similar the circumstances, is head and shoulders above Coker. Where Coker lacked discipline, Miles is an enforcer, as is proven with the Ryan Perrilloux situation earlier this summer. As crazy as it may be to say about a national champion, the jury is still out on Les Miles. His attitude, demeanor, and drive would lead one to believe that he'll end up his career much differently than Larry Coker.
The upcoming season will go a long way toward either dampening or fueling those fires. One wonders if the gutsy playcalling will result in magic again this year, or if the brutal SEC schedule will finally get the best of LSU. If the Bayou Bengals can somehow deliver another 10 win season, Miles will finally be out from under the Saban umbrella and far away from any more comparisons to Larry Coker. Come up short, and cheap LSU trucker hats will be a dime a dozen on ebay.
Justin F. Cannon
Jcannon66@gmail.com
