Some Unsolicited Advice from Me to Bill Martin (or His Successor)

Posted by Iroquois Plisken

Well, I wish I could keep it a secret, but I'm afraid the metaphorical jungle cat is out of the bag. To whom the post is entitled: heed my advice. Take it down on some paper, print out this article, carve it in hieroglyphics, whatever. Record it in some form. Not only record it, but heed it. Pay attention to what is on the screen. Are you ready? Good.

Les Miles cannot coach. There, it's in the open.

In case you haven't seen it today, Less Wiles once again demonstrated his artful clock management with a 17 second burn in the 4th quarter. A little while ago, while Miles was winning the National Championship in 2007, everyone in Baton Rouge was willing to overlook his considerable list of boneheaded plays, citing that Miles was just a "risk taker" with "brass balls". Not all of his bad decisions resulted in losses, though, which is why he looked like a genius.

It's pretty easy to posit that the only reason that LSU won the 2007 BCS title was in spite, and not because, of The Hat. Nick Saban was (still is) a fantastic recruiter. Most of the key players on the LSU title team were Saban recruits: QB Matt Flynn, RB Jacob Hester, WR Early Doucet, DT Glenn Dorsey, LB Ali Highsmith, K Colt David. Miles also comes from a fertile recruiting area; he simply has to have a pulse and can pull the top Deep South talent and siphon some from TX and FL as well. Even his fanbase/radio announcers are turning on him, and when you lose your PBP guys, you know you've messed up.

Further, Miles was aided by an able staff of assistants. Jimbo Fisher, while not great, was at least adequate. Bo Pelini has proven to be a good and improving coach in Nebraska. He's made some (in my opinion) great hires in Gary Crowton and John Chavis. So, you really can't blame the underlings.

So AD Bill Martin (or whoever you hire to replace him, maybe this guy): If you want balls of steel, brains of mush, go ahead and hire Les Miles. He's probably lost his fan base and, from the disgruntled look of the normally cool Jordan Jefferson, perhaps his team too. If he isn't outright fired, I'm sure LSU fans will be more than willing to pay for his bus fare to any interview that he is granted/wants to take.

It's a shame, too. I really liked having it be a secret that Miles isn't a great coach.