Why Les Miles decided to stay
New York–Good morning from New York City, where we got a bunch of snow last night but this morning the sun is out and the main roads are clear. At this point of the journey it’s the little things that make you happy. Maybe I can actually get home to Atlanta tonight.
I apologize for posting this late but I want to touch on a few things as we start to wind down this week. Just to remind everyone of the schedule, I’ll spend the next few days wrapping up the 2010 season and looking ahead a little bit. Then I’ll step aside for the recruiting folks because that will dominate the conversation until signing day.
We’ll come back after signing day and start looking ahead to spring practice, 2011. It will be here quickly.
Here are just a few things I want to share before jumping out into the snow this morning:
1. Les Miles stayed because he listened to his head and not his heart: It was a very smart, very practical decision for Les Miles to stay at LSU and not go to Michigan, his alma mater. Miles has a very good team returning in 2011. LSU may be good enough to win the division and maybe more. But I thought the emotional tug of Michigan would be too hard to resist. The fact is that the next guy at Michigan, Brady Hoke, will have a lot of rebuilding to do. Miles took a hard look at Michigan and realized that it wasn’t the place where he played and coached. Life changes. He recognized that.
2. Why does the SEC win championships? It’s the big guys up front. Pat Dye, the former Auburn coach, told me a long time ago othat the biggest difference in the SEC and other football conferences is the big, fast defensive linemen who grow up and play in the South. It was clear in Monday night’s game that Oregon had not seen anybody like defensive tackle Nick Fairley. The SEC produces more of those players than any other conference. The SEC has won five straight national championships. That is not a coincidence.
3. I thought Saban and Meyer were pretty good on TV: ESPN caught some flak in some areas for putting Urban Meyer and Nick Saban on its coverage team for the BCS championship. But you are talking about two smart men who know the sport and who certainly know the SEC. Both have won multiple national championships. I heard from some Auburn people who thought Saban was stepping in on their moment. Expect to see more of Urban Meyer on TV this fall. He and I didn’t always agree on things but he knows his stuff and brings a different perspective to the games.
4. No one will break the SEC’s record of five straight BCS titles: I flew to NYC with a plane full of Auburn people trying to get home. Just about everyone I chatted with wanted to know if anybody would ever beat the SEC’s record of five straight national championships. I told them no because of two things:
It is just too hard to win one of these things. You have to be good, but you also have to have some good fortune. Auburn would be the first to say that they had the best football team in the country but that they could also go back to 4-5 bounces of the ball that could have changed everything.
The second is the SEC’s depth. The league has won five straight but it has been done by four different teams (Florida, Alabama, LSU, Auburn). No other conference has that kind of depth.
5. Could it be LSU’s turn again? In 2007 the BCS championship was in New Orleans and LSU won (beating Ohio State). In 2003 the BCS championship was in New Orleans and LSU won (beating Oklahoma). The 2011 BCS championship will be held in New Orleans. Are the Tigers primed to make it six in a row for the SEC? We’ll discuss that on Thursday as we look ahead to the SEC and ACC for 2011.
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240 comments Add your comment
SoCal Dawg
January 12th, 2011
9:48 am
@AU National Champs!
Get lost!
JB
January 12th, 2011
9:48 am
ADL…………………….Willing to bet the farm AU is 8-4 next year……If that’s your team, but you won’t tell us that. You could be a Techie though. That hate never sleeps.
Paul N Destin
January 12th, 2011
9:49 am
Alabama will win the SEC West and the NC in 2011.
Murphy
January 12th, 2011
9:49 am
DawginLex,
Good point-interesting point about Peterson. I still believe it will be Mullen if Richt is let go.I was sad to see Diaz leave Miss St.Was hoping if we get Mullen,that Diaz would be in the deal also.
AU National Champs!
January 12th, 2011
9:49 am
JB Have your ever made mistakes in your life? Would you want me judging you the rest of your life because you got into some trouble when you were a 19 year old kid? You are exactly who I’m talking about, in fact you made my point for me. You are judging based on the past, not the present. What a sad life you must lead….
Gator Mike
January 12th, 2011
9:51 am
@AU National Champs: Congrats to AU. You had a great team this year. I am not saying that Newton did anything wrong which would hurt AU, but he is not an altar boy. His record is not clean from his time at UF. His dad seems like a preacher who is only in the church business to make money and Cam is caught in the middle which has unfairly put a bad light on AU.
jumvbeauxtiger
January 12th, 2011
9:51 am
Miles is not a stupid man as some have alluded to. He has a great situation at LSU. Great facilities, rabid fan base, the flagship state school and a fertile recruiting base. Michigan would be a rebuilding job. His family loves it here. His high school daughter is a state champion swimmer.
@Andrew, Miles was not offered the job? So the Michigan AD traveled from Arizona to Baton Rouge to meet with Miles for just the hell of it. Michigan would have taken Miles in a heartbeat. Miles will never admit that an offer was made as he does not want to embarrass his alma mater. He allowed Dave Brandon to save face and hire Brady Hoke while he shrewdly used his leverage to improve his contract with the Tigers.
3rdN8
January 12th, 2011
9:51 am
AU National Champs!
see what you did? I was hoping for one day…just one day…without hearing about “I AM CAM!!!”
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a Bama fan, but AU is a very close second. I was pulling as hard as anyone Monday night for AU to bring home that crystal football.
But if I never hear the words, Cam, Newton, Cecil, etc… etc…it will be too soon.
Everyone has done a huge diservice to the AU TEAM. That was a TEAM that beat Bama, and a TEAM that beat Oregon.
gomdawg
January 12th, 2011
9:53 am
Let’s not put the buggy in front of the horse. CMR is a great coach and I for one believe he will bring back Georgia so please everyone dont give up on him. You keep wishing you may get what you want. Ask Michigan about that.We have a very good QB coming back and great players around him, I see good things happening. GO DAWGS looking forward to 2011 .
JB
January 12th, 2011
9:53 am
No mistakes that would determine a BCS NC if I didn’t follow the rules. Why don’t you ask all the Other hundreds of other Div 1 football players who have been kicked off teams for less the last 30 years how much forgiveness they were given?
ADL
January 12th, 2011
9:54 am
JB…not a Techie. Just tired of hearing about the “potential” at UGA every year. Nothing ever seems to come of it.
RxDawg
January 12th, 2011
9:54 am
I thought the best thing about the game was the commentate from Saban and Meyer. Especially Saban, you could just watch the coach come out in him. Hate the guys if you want to, but you have to respect them.
JB
January 12th, 2011
9:54 am
and not a sad life….A life played by the rules.
JB
January 12th, 2011
9:55 am
ADL….. As a Dawg fan, you and I can agree on that.
T-Bone
January 12th, 2011
9:56 am
Tony, Great work as usual. If you can get a flight out of NY to Atl, I hope you can get from the airport to your home. I can’t get my car out of my driveway!
Two thoughts that I would love you to tackle:
1. Can you comment on the condition of the playing field Monday night? Both teams were sliding around a good bit, and no one has commented on that .
2. Auburn seemed to dominate the game, but they only won by a field goal. They had several chances to put it away in the second half, but could never sustain a drive. What do you think that means? I think it means that Oregon is more resilient than we thought and Auburn is not quite as good.
AU National Chumps!
January 12th, 2011
9:57 am
Miles is not a builder of programs. He took over a stocked LSU program and will slowly run it down, very much like Urban Meyer at Florida (7-5). He would have no chance at Michigan since they are already depleted in terms of talent. As Clint Eastwood said “a man’s got to know his limitations.” To his credit, Les apparently does.
Wheresmycrackpipe?
January 12th, 2011
9:57 am
listening to meyer and saban with their analysis on the tube that night made me think the outlook is even more distressing for the GA team. Can any of you see richt even coming close to the strategy in detail that these two guys did. they were detailed and articulate in their strategy………things richt will never be.
juvbeauxtiger
January 12th, 2011
9:59 am
Tony, good article. You are right about the defensive lineman in the SEC being the difference. I recall about 10 years ago hearing Larry Munson say that you “gotta have linemen”. He’s right.
Auburn’s defensive linemen were the difference in the game. Just before they got the safety I was thinking that Chip Kelly would surely call a quarterback sneak in that situation. That was a poor call by him and I thought this changed the game.
gomdawg
January 12th, 2011
9:59 am
T-Bone that’s just football remember Georgia and Alabama had a chance to put Auburn away and didn’t. just football
AU National Champs!
January 12th, 2011
9:59 am
I agree Gator Mike, his dad did something that was inexcusable. I just want everyone to realize that you can’t control what others around you do. Reserve judgement until all the facts come out. No one even knows what actually happened yet, until then let’s talk football and look forward to next season! War Eagle!
gomdawg
January 12th, 2011
10:02 am
Cam Newton , simple snake in the grass
RxDawg
January 12th, 2011
10:03 am
Wheresmycrackpipe, I’m pretty sure Richt knows a thing or two about football. He is just much more secretive, maybe to a fault, about strategy and the program as a whole. His press conferences are a waste of time really. He just pulls right from the coach speak book and says the same thing which is really nothing. The advantage to this is it gives your opponents nothing to go by. The disadvantage is it gives your fans nothing to go by and thus leads to the illusion that you don’t know what your doing.
JB
January 12th, 2011
10:04 am
AU, now that is a fair statement……Your first one wasn’t. The Guy has been caught in trouble and is at the heart of the most tantalizing story in College football in years. As a SEC fan, I hope nothing is true and all is happy………But, a guy in this big of a story can’t be described as innocent with the trail he left at UF.
KR
January 12th, 2011
10:06 am
To me, Saban looked like he couldn’t say the things he really wanted to say. Meyer looked like he was on a job interview.
I don’t dispute the knowledge base of either one, but I thought it was a little inappropriate for Saban to be there. After all, he’s still actively coaching in the same conference, same division and same state as one of the teams that earned the right to be there.
Meyer is retired from coaching. That makes his situation similar to Lou Holtz, Lee Corso, Philip Fulmer, Bob Davie, etc… Might as well do something with the knowledge you’ve gained.
But really, I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.
AU National Chumps!
January 12th, 2011
10:06 am
An observation regarding the safety Monday night. If the nose of the ball simply has to break the plane of the goal line in order to be ruled a touchdown, then why isn’t the ball considered to be in the field of play if it breaks the plane of the goal line coming out of the end zone? The announcers said the “whole ball” had to be over the goal line to avoid the safety. Seems like a double standard.
gomdawg
January 12th, 2011
10:07 am
Listen , CMR will not be leaving Georgia no time soon. GEORGIA will be back .
JB
January 12th, 2011
10:07 am
RxDawg………Another thing about Richt……………….He checks his EGO at the door…….Those two guys mail in a promo to make sure all know they have one. Richt does not seek out that attention…..and to be fair, has not achieved anything at UGA to warrant being ask to represent the BCS NC to the country.
GTBob
January 12th, 2011
10:08 am
Les Miles didn’t take the Michigan job because he knows he would have to coach like crazy to make them successful. Why give up an almost sure thing that is running at LSU? Even being an ok coach there is good because of the talent they have. If he went to Michigan and couldn’t turn it around within 3-4 years then he would be fired and would probably have a hard time finding another high profile coaching job.
As for the 5 year streak, yeah, it will never be broken with the joke of a system we have now. The SEC and Big Ten are basically guaranteed a title spot if one of their teams is undefeated and the Big Ten isn’t good enough to do it 5 times in a row. So unless college football starts a real postseason that record is staying.
Dawg Man
January 12th, 2011
10:09 am
He looked at what he had and what Michigan didn’t have. It would have taken him several years to get Michigan back on track again. At LSU he has everything, including a quarterback (Mittenburger) who could provide the additional piece for a national championship team. He’s happy at LSU and so is his family. Why move just because of sentimental reasons.
Beast from the East
January 12th, 2011
10:09 am
Miles made the right decision. Michigan is in disarray. Rich Rod tired to change the entire philosophy and now that will have to be done again. Their defense was terrible. It will take at least 3 years to turn it around and the Michigan folks have proven to have no patience (not unlike most big-time programs these days).
As far as Meyer and Saban being on the set, what’s the problem? Coaches have been commentators in games after their season is over for years. Both of those guys have forgotten more about football than most will ever know. How could you ask for any better insight?
JB
January 12th, 2011
10:11 am
Hell, ESPN still trots our Holtz and he’s ready for the home.He’s disconnected and clueless….Like me LOL
Beast from the East
January 12th, 2011
10:13 am
JB,
I’m sure ESPN contacted Meyer and Saban…..not the other way around. Richt wasn’t there because no one has contacted him about ANY job offer. He can’t handle the one he has. LOL!
JB
January 12th, 2011
10:13 am
I love to hear Meyer do color for a Georgia game next year…….
Chance
January 12th, 2011
10:13 am
“Wow, Tony, you just make things up as you go along, don’t you. I’m sure the fact that Les Miles WAS NEVER OFFERED THE JOB had NOTHING to do with his decision not to leave LSU. I’m sure the fact that a school on probation didn’t want to hire one of the dirtier recruiters in the SEC (and that’s saying something) whose school just reported a litany of violations had nothing to do with Les’ decision to stick around.”
Wow, SOMEONE is certainly making things up as they go along, aren’t you!
JB
January 12th, 2011
10:13 am
Amen Beast…
285exp
January 12th, 2011
10:14 am
AU National Chumps:
It isn’t really that hard to understand. If any part of the ball is in the end zone, it’s in the end zone. If you’re downed with the ball in the end zone, it’s a safety.
Tomsjeep88
January 12th, 2011
10:14 am
Who is next year’s Auburn? My early take is Florida State. Dates with Oklahoma and @ UF will be big.
JB
January 12th, 2011
10:15 am
Chance…..I sure when the Michigan AD went to Baton Rouge, I’m sure the job opening came up, don’t you ?
Beast from the East
January 12th, 2011
10:15 am
The Semis will not escape the Swamp alive! (I hope)
JB
January 12th, 2011
10:18 am
Beast……I don’t have a lot to look forward to… What’s the thinking at UF with all the changes for next year?
atltiger15
January 12th, 2011
10:18 am
JB
Looking at AU’ schedule next year and what we lose, 8-4 is my prediction. We are still 2more years from being where we need to be. This year was an example of how one great player in the right system can make all the difference in the world. One thing AU can do is fit the personnel into the system. In 09 we had a non mobile QB who had the arm strength of a middle schooler and went 8-5. This yr we obviously had a QB that was really good at both.. I beleive we will go back and throw the ball around more next year but also have Dyer and MaCaleeb back.I beleive Bama, LSU, Arky will be ahead of us with MissSt right there with us. Should be interesting
3rdN8
January 12th, 2011
10:19 am
re: the safety Monday night. I didn’t know the rule. I assumed that it was the same as a TD, except in reverse. I thought if the ball broke the plane…going out of the endzone….then the spot would have been inside of the one yard line. Hebstreit knew the rule, and explained it.
Sandman053
January 12th, 2011
10:21 am
Well we all know what a mental giant Herbstreit is….lol
Comment Here
January 12th, 2011
10:21 am
AU National Champions – no one brought up Au here. Take your cheating trophy and shove up your $$$$. Thank you and shut up.
UGAFan
January 12th, 2011
10:22 am
” You keep wishing you may get what you want. Ask Michigan about that”
_______________________
So, gomdawg, nobody makes coaching changes that actuall work out?
Ask Stanford about that.
Ask Auburn about that.
Ask FSU about that.
Ask Mississippi State about that.
Ask Oregon about that.
Ask Nebraska about that.
Etc.
Etc.
SOGADOG
January 12th, 2011
10:23 am
I hope CMR reads point no 2. We need big fast and strong defensive linemen at Georgia, not more skill players which we have an over abundance of.
Beast from the East
January 12th, 2011
10:24 am
JB,
I’d have to guess about 8-4 or 9-3 at this point in time. Hope it’s no worse than that, but with all the changes being made it will be a challenging year.
All Auburn
January 12th, 2011
10:25 am
3rdn8 from 9:51
This War Eagle appreciates your comment. That was a team effort out there Monday night, and the reality is that is has been that way the entire year. Auburn will be good again next year, not NC good but solid. The coaches have done a good job creating a team concept and I think they will continue to do that. I also think LSU or Bama will represent the SEC next year but we’ll see. Thanks again.
Sandman053
January 12th, 2011
10:25 am
Well let’s just wait until the WLOCP next year, cause like it or hate it, Richt is going to coach UGA next year. Just get behind the team and hope we get the people we need to compete and go Dawgs!
3rdN8
January 12th, 2011
10:26 am
as far as the SEC six-peating. It will be harder to accomplish in 2011. I can’t seen anyone running the table in the SEC West. The SEC East is a huge question mark….I look for UT and UF to be much stronger, but am unconvinced anyone in the East can run it either.
Of course….I made virtually this same comment at this time last year.