Fansided

5 reasons Les Miles should take the Ole Miss job

By Brad Berreman

BATON ROUGE, LA - NOVEMBER 28: Head coach Les Miles of the LSU Tigers look on during the game against the Texas A
BATON ROUGE, LA - NOVEMBER 28: Head coach Les Miles of the LSU Tigers look on during the game against the Texas A /
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Mandatory Credit: Wesley Hitt-Getty Images
Mandatory Credit: Wesley Hitt-Getty Images /

3. Declining Expectations

A 2-2 start last season got Miles fired at LSU, despite winning at least eight games in each of the previous 11 seasons. A 2007 national title was a long time ago, so winning 77 percent of his games (114-34 record) overall and almost 69 percent in the SEC (62-28 record) wasn’t good enough anymore.

At Ole Miss, Freeze is leaving behind a big mess for the next permanent coach. Scholarship reductions and a multi-year postseason ban, beyond what’s already been self-imposed, are sure to come when the NCAA hammer finally falls on the athletic department.

Miles may welcome the challenge of trying to succeed in a difficult situation, and his presence may help prevent players from transferring in bunches on the heels of NCAA sanctions. In any case, the pressure to win in Oxford will be lowered in the wake of what looks to be wide-ranging scandal.

A proverbial rebuild of a football program may not appeal to Miles at this point. But winning enough games to be theoretically bowl-eligible for a few years should be good enough at Ole Miss, and Miles should at least like that compared to the unrealistic expectations LSU had.

At its best under Freeze, even with a couple wins over Alabama, Ole Miss was a  second-tier SEC football program. Miles can play a part in bringing that level back, and then some, after NCAA penalties and a bit off the radar.

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