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How good a coach is Les Miles?

Buffarino

Buffarino

Math - how does it work?
Club Member
Boulder and I started this conversation at sheepnation, but I'd rather continue it here.

How good do you folks think Les Miles is? I think he's an outstanding coach, and his record shows it.

*Before he arrived at Okie St, they averaged 4 wins a year for the previous 12 years (only 1 winning season in that 12 year span).

*After going 4-7 his first year at OSU, he proceeded to go 24-14 the following 3 years. He had a 28-21 overall record in Stillwater. Okie St. is 17-19 since he left.

*He was 2-2 vs. Stoops (the only B12 coach I can think of, other than Hawk at 1-1, that can boast a .500 or better record vs. Stoops).

*He has posted 3 straight 11-2 seasons at LSU. Yes, Saban left him with a lot to work with, but he's done very well with it. There has been no post-Saban dropoff in the bayou. In fact, he's been a more consistent winner than Saban was. Saban only had 1 season where he won 11 or more - in 2003 he was 13-1.

*LSU has played in the SEC championship game twice in Miles' 3 years as LSU's coach, and is 1-1 in the game.

Personally, I think he's one of the top coaches in college football.

Thoughts?
 
i think he can really break down an opponent and it does not matter who it is.

that being said, perhaps he focuses too much on the big game, which is what allows the little guy to come up and bite him in the ass.

that being so, everyone is guilty of it from time to time. he is a pretty solid coach.
 
I think he is a really good coach, however he is kinda nutty. I just wanted him to shut the hell up about how theynever lost in regulation. It is not like overtime is a new thing in college football.
 
Is he a great coach, or is he great at coaching the kids other coaches left behind? Its always hard to judge a great coach in the sense that they dont start off with kids they recruited, just look at Notre Dumb, everyone thought Weiss was a great coach the last 2 years but this year showed he was just great at coaching other coaches kids. Brady Quinn, Jeff Smardzjia (or however the **** you spell it) and Zbikowski were all Ty Willinghams kids. Clausen was Weisses first big recruit and he was terrible.

The same goes for Miles with a few exceptions. Flynn, J. Russel, Dorsey....etc. They were all Sabans kids, and they helped everyone see Miles was a great coach. The exception would be with the kids Miles is recruiting now. Perriloux, that kid is a stud! He can flat out play and I believe that although he was good before he came to Baton Rouge, Miles has developed that kid into what we saw against Tenn.

To go along with Buffarino, I would say Miles is a great coach. He seems to recruit all the right kids at the right times, and he can coach the hell out of those kids once they get there.
 
His resume is impressive, but I don´t like his gambling style and think he can be just plain reckless. See the Auburn game. Ok, it worked out in the end, but to come out after the game saying he thought there was more time left? Hello?

I don´t think he did a good job this season and there´s no way this LSU team should have 2 losses. They should be the clear #1 going into the NCG. He blew it and got bailed out by the BCS.
 
jjbuffs13 said:
Is he a great coach, or is he great at coaching the kids other coaches left behind? Its always hard to judge a great coach in the sense that they dont start off with kids they recruited, just look at Notre Dumb, everyone thought Weiss was a great coach the last 2 years but this year showed he was just great at coaching other coaches kids. Brady Quinn, Jeff Smardzjia (or however the **** you spell it) and Zbikowski were all Ty Willinghams kids. Clausen was Weisses first big recruit and he was terrible.

The same goes for Miles with a few exceptions. Flynn, J. Russel, Dorsey....etc. They were all Sabans kids, and they helped everyone see Miles was a great coach. The exception would be with the kids Miles is recruiting now. Perriloux, that kid is a stud! He can flat out play and I believe that although he was good before he came to Baton Rouge, Miles has developed that kid into what we saw against Tenn.

To go along with Buffarino, I would say Miles is a great coach. He seems to recruit all the right kids at the right times, and he can coach the hell out of those kids once they get there.
Click to expand...

Small point: He's done better with Saban's kids than Saban did with them, except for 2003. And after Saban's NC year, he went 9-3 his last season at LSU. He didn't have jack when he started at OSU, either.
 
Jens1893 said:
His resume is impressive, but I don´t like his gambling style and think he can be just plain reckless. See the Auburn game. Ok, it worked out in the end, but to come out after the game saying he thought there was more time left? Hello?QUOTE]

I can agree with that. Its the same thing that happens with Hawk. You convert a huge 4th down and then you get the mindset that you can convert any and all 4th downs. I think he sometime overestimates his players at times and when they miraculously bail him out sometimes (Auburn, pick 6 against Tenn saved his ass) he expects that performance from them all the time.
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jjbuffs13 said:
I can agree with that. Its the same thing that happens with Hawk. You convert a huge 4th down and then you get the mindset that you can convert any and all 4th downs. I think he sometime overestimates his players at times and when they miraculously bail him out sometimes (Auburn, pick 6 against Tenn saved his ass) he expects that performance from them all the time.
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Miles is a bit of a nutter and I didn´t like the way in which he took shots at USC before the season. See this article.
 
I freely admit that I'm coming at this from a very biased perspective as an Auburn fan, but I guess I just don't see what makes him so great. I cannot overstate how he was literally one play away from not even winning the division this year. With the talent he had on this team, that's baffling. In any other year, no two-loss team is playing for the national title.

His record at OSU looks nice, but you also have to realize that he was 16-16 in the Big 12 there. That is the definition of mediocrity. Okie Light routinely played very easy OOC schedules while he was there, so I think his record is a bit artificially inflated.

Overall, I think he's a pretty decent coach, but I would rank him about the third best in his own division.
 
Boulder Buff said:
I freely admit that I'm coming at this from a very biased perspective as an Auburn fan, but I guess I just don't see what makes him so great. I cannot overstate how he was literally one play away from not even winning the division this year. With the talent he had on this team, that's baffling. In any other year, no two-loss team is playing for the national title.

His record at OSU looks nice, but you also have to realize that he was 16-16 in the Big 12 there. That is the definition of mediocrity. Okie Light routinely played very easy OOC schedules while he was there, so I think his record is a bit artificially inflated.

Overall, I think he's a pretty decent coach, but I would rank him about the third best in his own division.
Click to expand...

Take out his first year at OSU and he was 14-10 in B12 play. Not great, but a hell of a lot better than they were before he got there (averaging 4 wins per year for the prior 12 years) or since he left (Gundy is 8-16 in B12 play and just got an extension).

He's 33 and freaking 6 at LSU. Who else can boast a record like that? Hawk at Boise is about all I can thin of. And that's in the SEC.

Who do you feel is a better coach in his division and why? IMO, his W-L record speaks for itself. 11-2 every year is INSANE.
 
Jens1893 said:
Miles is a bit of a nutter and I didn´t like the way in which he took shots at USC before the season. See this article.
Click to expand...

I don't really get that. If there is one team that SEC folks should respect it is USC. They beat the hell out of the last couple of SEC teams they played. Weird.
 
Buffarino said:
Take out his first year at OSU and he was 14-10 in B12 play. Not great, but a hell of a lot better than they were before he got there (averaging 4 wins per year for the prior 12 years) or since he left (Gundy is 8-16 in B12 play and just got an extension).

He's 33 and freaking 6 at LSU. Who else can boast a record like that? Hawk at Boise is about all I can thin of. And that's in the SEC.

Who do you feel is a better coach in his division and why? IMO, his W-L record speaks for itself. 11-2 every year is INSANE.
Click to expand...

I will give you all that. His record is hard to beat. If he continues to win at this clip, there won't be much of an argument. But I get the feeling LSU will come back to the pack now. We don't know whether Miles can sustain success or not.

I think Tuberville and Saban are better head coaches. Both basically had to rebuild programs at Auburn and LSU (LSU had finished the season ranked only two out of the previous 11 seasons before he took over).
 
Boulder Buff said:
I will give you all that. His record is hard to beat. If he continues to win at this clip, there won't be much of an argument. But I get the feeling LSU will come back to the pack now. We don't know whether Miles can sustain success or not.

I think Tuberville and Saban are better head coaches. Both basically had to rebuild programs at Auburn and LSU (LSU had finished the season ranked only two out of the previous 11 seasons before he took over).
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I dunno. Outside of 2003, Miles has done better at LSU than Saban did. And Saban didn't exactly set the world on fire at Bama this year. TT is very good, too, but I would be hard-pressed to say he's a better coach than Miles.
 
Buffarino said:
I dunno. Outside of 2003, Miles has done better at LSU than Saban did. And Saban didn't exactly set the world on fire at Bama this year. TT is very good, too, but I would be hard-pressed to say he's a better coach than Miles.
Click to expand...

I think you have to give Saban some more time to properly judge him. It´d have been unfair to judge Hawk on the 2-10 season also. Football is a sport where coaches have to be given 3 or 4 years.
 
Buffarino said:
I dunno. Outside of 2003, Miles has done better at LSU than Saban did. And Saban didn't exactly set the world on fire at Bama this year. TT is very good, too, but I would be hard-pressed to say he's a better coach than Miles.
Click to expand...

It's hard to really compare the Saban's and Miles' tenures at LSU. Saban had to build LSU back up, so it makes sense that his record would not be as good as Miles. I want to see how Miles does the next 2-3 years before I proclaim him a genius.
 
Boulder Buff said:
It's hard to really compare the Saban's and Miles' tenures at LSU. Saban had to build LSU back up, so it makes sense that his record would not be as good as Miles. I want to see how Miles does the next 2-3 years before I proclaim him a genius.
Click to expand...

True, but even in 2004, Saban did something Miles has yet to do at LSU. He lost 3 games.

Saban is a hell of a coach, don't get me wrong, but there is more going on here than Miles playing good football with Saban's guys, IMO.
 
Buffarino said:
True, but even in 2004, Saban did something Miles has yet to do at LSU. He lost 3 games.

Saban is a hell of a coach, don't get me wrong, but there is more going on here than Miles playing good football with Saban's guys, IMO.
Click to expand...

Possibly. We'll see how he does the next couple years. If he continues to win big, then I won't have much of an argument.
 
Buffarino said:
Boulder and I started this conversation at sheepnation, but I'd rather continue it here.

How good do you folks think Les Miles is? I think he's an outstanding coach, and his record shows it.

*Before he arrived at Okie St, they averaged 4 wins a year for the previous 12 years (only 1 winning season in that 12 year span).

*After going 4-7 his first year at OSU, he proceeded to go 24-14 the following 3 years. He had a 28-21 overall record in Stillwater. Okie St. is 17-19 since he left.

*He was 2-2 vs. Stoops (the only B12 coach I can think of, other than Hawk at 1-1, that can boast a .500 or better record vs. Stoops).

*He has posted 3 straight 11-2 seasons at LSU. Yes, Saban left him with a lot to work with, but he's done very well with it. There has been no post-Saban dropoff in the bayou. In fact, he's been a more consistent winner than Saban was. Saban only had 1 season where he won 11 or more - in 2003 he was 13-1.

*LSU has played in the SEC championship game twice in Miles' 3 years as LSU's coach, and is 1-1 in the game.

Personally, I think he's one of the top coaches in college football.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
I think he was good enough to coach the O-Line for Bill McCartney and does a dead-on Bo Schembechler impression without even trying.
 
Buffarino said:
*After going 4-7 his first year at OSU, he proceeded to go 24-14 the following 3 years. He had a 28-21 overall record in Stillwater. Okie St. is 17-19 since he left.

*He was 2-2 vs. Stoops (the only B12 coach I can think of, other than Hawk at 1-1, that can boast a .500 or better record vs. Stoops).

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

One of the big reasons he left Okie Lite was he couldn't recruit there well enough to compete with the LSU, OU, and Floridas of the cfb world. I think that shows by Okie Lite 17-19 record since then. I honestly think Okie Lite has a pretty decent coaching staff but not the players it takes to win on a national scene. Also T. Boone hadnt donated the 145mil to the athletic department yet as that came the spring after he left.

He is a good coach. Coached by the seat of his pants an surrounds himself with good assistants. At time he comes off arrogant, but also his confidence in himself and his team is what makes him a good coach too. Same can be said about Spurrier, Carroll, Stoops, Meyer, Tressell and even Coach Hawkins when it comes to confidence.
 
Miles is not the reason LSU is winning. Look at LSU before Saban. They were 54-58 but everyone knows the talent in Louisiana. Per capita they have the 2nd highest rate of NFL players [MS is 1st and not far away]. Saban turned the attitude around made them a winner. Miles took a rolling train and has done a good job with W/L and recruiting. Different coaches do well in different situations. Does he make stupid calls? Does he take goofy chances? Yes. But when you have the talent he has they make some of his dumb calls look great. I read a piece that said when NFL scouts go to LSU it looks like a combine. Is Les a coach that could take yours and beat his? No way. The better your players are the better coach you appear to be. You want to know a good coach? Try Paul Johnson.
 
And let me add that half of college 'coaching' is recruiting. Why do you think so many college coaches fail in the NFL [see CNS]. They are all smart in the NFL and their rosters are more balanced than college. If Pete Carroll was so damn good why didnt he make it in the NFL? Recruiting, development, motivation, and game day coaching are all different parts of the coaching equation that different coaches excel at. I do not think Les is great at the last one.
 
So everyone except the Bammer and Barn fans think he's a very good coach, right? :thumbsup: :smile2:
 
I like Miles because he's different from the other coaches.. He's a little nutty and you scratch your head at some of the decisions he makes (Auburn game late, 4th and 1 swing pass against Arky) but I think his record speaks for itself.

Top 5 coaches in college football in my mind would be Stoops, Carroll, Meyer, Tressel and Rodriguez(before Pitt game:lol:)

I think Miles fits in with the next tier of Brown, Richt, Tuberville, Bellotti, Fulmer, Saban and Beamer.
 
Jens1893 said:
His resume is impressive, but I don´t like his gambling style and think he can be just plain reckless. See the Auburn game. Ok, it worked out in the end, but to come out after the game saying he thought there was more time left? Hello?

I don´t think he did a good job this season and there´s no way this LSU team should have 2 losses. They should be the clear #1 going into the NCG. He blew it and got bailed out by the BCS.
Click to expand...
How many programs would be delirious to have an 11-2 season and a conference championship? It isn't over yet - they are a much better and much faster team than Ohio State. So you can add a National Championship to this season. What do you want 14 - 0? What's wrong with his recruiting, he stole Perrilloux from Texas - think Mack Brown wasn't pissed off about that?
 
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JimmyBuff said:
I like Miles because he's different from the other coaches.. He's a little nutty and you scratch your head at some of the decisions he makes (Auburn game late, 4th and 1 swing pass against Arky) but I think his record speaks for itself.

Top 5 coaches in college football in my mind would be Stoops, Carroll, Meyer, Tressel and Rodriguez(before Pitt game:lol:)

I think Miles fits in with the next tier of Brown, Richt, Tuberville, Bellotti, Fulmer, Saban and Beamer.
Click to expand...

Rodriguez? Why would he fit in the top tier? The other 4 have won the MNC. Not so much for RR. He's definitely been good at WVU, but not dominant except for the past 3 years.
 
Buffarino said:
Rodriguez? Why would he fit in the top tier? The other 4 have won the MNC. Not so much for RR. He's definitely been good at WVU, but not dominant except for the past 3 years.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the fifth guy is a little interchangeable, but RR is definitely in the top 10 IMO.
 
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