5 reasons LSU needs to fire Les Miles
By David Rouben
1. The program is in decline
Nobody is denying that Les Miles is a great coach. His 114-33 record is outstanding, and few fans will forget the 2007 National Championship that he delivered. But college football fans are of the “what have you done for me lately” mentality, and ever since Alabama waxed them in the 2011 National Championship Game, LSU hasn’t been the same.
In Miles’ first few seasons with LSU, they were a perennial top five team. But after that 2011 loss, they’ve finished 13th, 14th, unranked, and 16th with two insignificant bowl wins. Death Valley isn’t the fortress it once was either, as they have lost games to Alabama, Mississippi State, and Arkansas in the last few years. Even in games that they end up winning, it’s clear that the opposition doesn’t fear the atmosphere like they used to.
LSU is a sinking ship, and Les Miles is going down with it like the captain he is. But they can’t go through many more seasons of futility together much longer. The best way to get the program back to an elite level is to let him go and find another high-profile coach. Lots of people will argue that you can’t find a replacement for Miles if you fire him, but coaches get fired in football prematurely all the time. After that loss to Ohio State, there’s a good chance Bob Stoops is on the market.
If they lose Miles, they’re still going to recruit well locally. They’re not going to let him go unless they can find someone who’s good enough to replace him, and when they do, that should boost the school’s national profile. LSU could fire Les Miles at the end of this season, before that, or not at all. But what we’ve seen so far has suggested that the Mad Hatter’s days are numbered.