Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE
Going into the 2012 BCS Championship game, Les Miles was riding high. His LSU Tigers were playing for their second national title, and a second win in one season over Alabama would have him surpassing Nick Saban as the undisputed top coach in college football.
21 – 0.
The first cracks in the LSU armor appeared immediately after the game, when former Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert used a post game press conference to take Miles to task for his coaching decisions. Hebert later doubled down when asked about his comments, and expressed that he felt a change at quarterback was in order, and that Jarrett Lee should have come into the game when Jordan Jefferson proved ineffective.
For his part, Jefferson blamed not a position switch, but the play calling itself. He also questioned the lack of halftime adjustments for what the Tide was doing defensively. “We talked about making the adjustment and the adjustment that we made wasn’t the adjustment that we needed to make to get the momentum and the rhythm going,” Jefferson told ESPN.
In a month, Miles has gone from mad genius to scapegoat. This is what happens when your support is a miles wide (pun intended) and an inch deep. Miles has been on the verge of being run out of town on a rail in the past, before reeling off great seasons. There was even talk of his heading to Michigan a few years ago.
The situation is reminiscent of Tommy Tuberville at Auburn some years back. Tuberville compiled a stellar record against Alabama, and was brilliant at his ability to work both the media and his own fan base. But when the titles didn’t come and the terrain shifted with the hiring of Nick Saban, Tuberville found his support was illusory. He was almost replaced in a coup, then left town ahead of the growing lynch mob.
LSU is predicted to start next season ranked No. 1 in the country. They’ll be loaded with talent, and have Alabama at home. But the quiet rumblings of discontent will grow louder if the Tigers stumble. And like Tommy Tuberville at Auburn, Miles may find the people who were glad-handing him before, suddenly can’t quite remember his name.
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Tags: Alabama, Crimson Tide, Featured, football, lsu, popular
Alabama native, lifelong Tide fan and barbeque evangelist, Tony is the author of The Hater's Guide to Auburn, and the occasional short story, if you know where to look.
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Absolutely, positively, no team has ever played a more complete game on O and D with everything on the line than Bama in this year’s BCS NC game. Gripe and moan all you want to, naysayers, but this year’s Crimson Tide would not be denied.
@Rogue Elephant While I wish we’d gotten into the endzone more, it really was a total domination. Alabama played the option brilliantly, and Jordan Jefferson was begging to be benched by the 4th quarter.
I don’t see why people keep saying they should have put JL in. IMO putting him in would have changed the pace but not the outcome, lets don’t forget his name when playing BAMA is Jarrett “pick six” Lee. I do think that Miles was playing not to lose the game rather than playing to win it. But with that said lets not kid ourselves here there was nothing Miles, honey badger, JL. or anyone in Baton Rouge could do to stop our D that night. They played lights out all night. To all LSU fans quit your bitching an take the ass whipping we gave y’all like a man.
@TideinOklahoma Lee would not have been an improvement at all; but the Tide had Jefferson so rattled, his psyche was kaput. What’s interesting about all of this is how much quarreling we’re seeing. Next season will be very interesting if LSU drops one they should win easily.
@TonyOrlando I totally agree with you, if they drop one that they should win Baton Rouge is going to implode on its self. You think Miles ends up on the “hot seat” for the L?
@TideinOklahoma I’d say it depends. Eating grass, running to the wrong sideline and saying goofy things says ‘eccentric’ when you’re 13-0, but when you lose game you should win it just becomes ‘crazy.’
Frankly, I think the issue is less whether his superiors are on his side, and more that he could lose the team if they underperform. And if that happens, how warm his seat is becomes irrelevant.
4 more bball players suspended. WTF
@TideinOklahoma Yep, covering it in the top story; try to keep updates as we get them. Grant making a point, apparently.