Les Miles: Five potential new jobs for former LSU head coach
By John Buhler
1. Baylor Bears
Though he is an offense coach by nature, Miles’ teams at LSU have been better known for their defensive prowess. Defensive prowess is something that does not exist in the Big 12. The Air Raid offense has rendered Big 12 defenses utterly useless in the College Football Playoff era.
If there is any job that makes the most sense for Miles, wouldn’t it be Baylor? The Baylor Bears program is reviled nationally from the sexual assault scandal that ended the Art Briles era in Waco. Interim head coach Jim Grobe still has Briles’ players, but he’s nothing more than a stop-gap coach at this point.
What makes Baylor the perfect job for Miles is three-fold: 1.) It is in Texas, where Miles can further expand his recruiting reach in the state. 2.) The Big 12 doesn’t play defense. Miles can come in and show the Bears how to tackle to wreck the spread. 3.) The national perception of Baylor and Miles isn’t great in 2016. They’ll work together to bring out the best in each other.
Well, what about the offense? How is Miles going to bring offense to Waco when he couldn’t bring it to Baton Rouge? He really doesn’t have to. Miles can defer his offense to be run by the next up-and-coming Air Raid guru from the state. He would be wise to keep the Air Raid intact.
Next: Ranking The 25 Best Rivalries In College Football
Amping up the defense makes Baylor a national title contender under Miles. The Mad Hatter would be crazy enough to make it work in Waco for the Bears in 2017. He’s a man of character, something Baylor University can’t get enough of after the Briles fiasco of 2016.