5 possible long-term replacements for Les Miles at LSU
Now that LSU and head coach Les Miles have officially parted ways (to put it politely), here are five potential long-term replacements the Tigers could pursue:
LSU head coach Les Miles was nearly fired as the 2015 season wound down, but a win over Texas A&M and a bowl win over Texas Tech cooled off the hot seat — for a while, anyway.
A season-opening loss to Wisconsin turned things up again, with offensive coordinator Cam Cameron also taking criticism for the Tigers’ lack of offensive firepower and quarterback development.
A pair of wins (over Jacksonville State and Mississippi State, respectively) bought Miles a bit more time. But after a controversial loss to the Auburn Tigers Saturday afternoon — wherein a last-second LSU score was called back after it was determined the ball hadn’t been snapped in time — it seems the Baton Rouge brass has finally had enough:
BREAKING: Multiple sources confirm to The Advocate that #LSU has fired football coach Les Miles and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) September 25, 2016
Miles departs LSU with a 148-114 record over 12 seasons, a run punctuated by a National Championship in 2007.
But after a string of disappointing seasons, made all the worse by the always-brutal regular-season gauntlet that is the SEC, the time was nigh for a parting of ways.
Still, LSU is nothing if not a top-tier program — one that many a coach would be thrilled to helm. With that, here are five candidates who could potentially fill the position long-term.
5. Dave Aranda
Aranda served as defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach at Wisconsin from 2013-2015. During his final season in Madison, the Badgers finished top-10 in the country in scoring (13.7 points per game; first), passing (173.2 yards per game; seventh), rushing (95.4 yards per game; fourth) and total defense (268.6 yards per game; second) last season.
Based on that showing, it’s not surprising Miles wanted Aranda to take over his defense in Baton Rouge. Through three games this season, outside of Saturday night’s fourth quarter breakdown, defense has clearly not been the problem for LSU.
Aranda is not yet 40 years old (Sept. 29) , but his first season as a defensive coordinator was in 2005 at Cal Lutheran and he became defensive coordinator at Hawaii in 2010. Over his six seasons as an FBS-level coordinator, Aranda’s defenses have never finished worse than fourth in their conference in total defense.
Aranda may be the best internal, in-season candidate to replace Miles. Even if Miles is dismissed after the season, Aranda still seems likely to get an interview.