LSU fires Les Miles and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron

What a difference a month makes.

Many speculated that LSU would win the SEC outright. They were #5 in the preseason polls.

At 2-2, LSU cleaned house.

They wanted to let him go last year but they didn't have a coach in waiting. Also, the university claimed they or the state didn't have the money for his payout. Apparently the school found the money for him and the offensive co-ordinator. Les new he was on a short leash.

It's a stupid move. They should have at least let him finish out the season. It'd interesting to see who they get to replace him. Personally, I'd love to see PJ Fleck down there.

It's about time. They have been underperforming for a long time. Now they will be first in line for new coaches at the end of the year.

I wonder if they would dare to hire Baylor's former coach Art Briles. Great football coach but morally challenged.

ignatiuswriter said:

It's a stupid move. They should have at least let him finish out the season. It'd interesting to see who they get to replace him. Personally, I'd love to see PJ Fleck down there.

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I agree, this is definitely not a grass is greener situation. Miles had a better winning % than Saban at LSU. Who is gonna do better?

LSU should take heed of what happened to Tennessee with axing Phillip Fulmer. They've had a tailspin from 2008 to this year.

realdog4 said:

I wonder if they would dare to hire Baylor's former coach Art Briles. Great football coach but morally challenged.

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In college sports (as in life), success seems to outweigh a lot of repugnant qualities. Briles would be an interesting match at LSU.

Speaking of repugnant qualities in a coach, the Louisville faithful seem concerned that Bobby Petrino might bolt for LSU. It is possible I suppose (he has left Louisville high and dry before), but I don't think he would bolt with a Heisman contender and what looks like a team that will probably be Bowling at the end of the season. Also, I don't know if LSU wants the baggage.

Okay, let me pipe in with my two cents that probably isn't worth anything...

honeycutt said:

They wanted to let him go last year but they didn't have a coach in waiting. Also, the university claimed they or the state didn't have the money for his payout. Apparently the school found the money for him and the offensive co-ordinator. Les new he was on a short leash.

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All indication points that they had a deal in place with Jimbo Fisher, but F. King Alexander, University President, balked at the deal when he thought the perception of LSU shelling out big money to fire a coach still in contract and hire another for a lot of money. Truth is, the buy out for Les Miles was never going to be produced by the university but by private donors or boosters. Same with Jimbo's salary. The LSU Athletic department is separate from the University and generates its own revenue. The Athletic department donates millions of dollars each year (usually somewhere in the range of $10 million or so each year). The money for the pay out was there but the University President didn't like how it looked.

ignatiuswriter said:

It's a stupid move. They should have at least let him finish out the season. It'd interesting to see who they get to replace him. Personally, I'd love to see PJ Fleck down there.

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I was in the "keep Miles" camp last year but after seeing the performance in Wisconsin this year and certainly after the Auburn game, it was evident that a change had to be made. I am kind of torn on whether they should have waited till the end of the year or fired him immediately. I like the guy...a lot, but at some time you have make a decision. In retrospect, they should have let him go at the end of last season. All of that being said if you fire a guy who won 75% of his games over 12 years, won a national championship, and then took you to another national championship to play for, you better get the biggest darn fish that you can. PJ Fleck is doing a tremendous job at Western Michigan, but you don't fire a potential hall of fame coach for someone at Western Michigan.

hulkman said:

It's about time. They have been underperforming for a long time. Now they will be first in line for new coaches at the end of the year.

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+1 I think this is the best advantage of fire Les after four games. That and I really want to see what Ed Orgeron can do with his high energy temperament. He was great replacing Lane Kiffin at USC.

realdog4 said:

I wonder if they would dare to hire Baylor's former coach Art Briles. Great football coach but morally challenged.

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First I wouldn't touch this guy with a 10 foot pole. No matter how good he might be. Also I am not a huge fan of these coaches who run their fancy high school offenses. The will get exposed eventually. You can start to see it happen with Gus at Auburn and I believe you will see Hugh Freeze in peril in a couple of years also.

the_edski said:

I agree, this is definitely not a grass is greener situation. Miles had a better winning % than Saban at LSU. Who is gonna do better?

I have been saying this for years now. Truth is, there have been people who have wanted Les Miles out of Baton Rouge since he first stepped on campus.

LSU should take heed of what happened to Tennessee with axing Phillip Fulmer. They've had a tailspin from 2008 to this year.

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I completely agree with this. Phil Fulmer was a legend in his own right. And it is much like what happened to Les Miles. But Tennessee hired lane Kiffin who left them in a lurch after one year. After that, UT went bargain shopping. In these situations you have to have a slam dunk. Pony up how much money you possibly can to get the guy you want. Once you start moving down the list of candidates you are screwed.

auk1124 said:

In college sports (as in life), success seems to outweigh a lot of repugnant qualities. Briles would be an interesting match at LSU.

Speaking of repugnant qualities in a coach, the Louisville faithful seem concerned that Bobby Petrino might bolt for LSU. It is possible I suppose (he has left Louisville high and dry before), but I don't think he would bolt with a Heisman contender and what looks like a team that will probably be Bowling at the end of the season. Also, I don't know if LSU wants the baggage.

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See above about Art Briles. I am sure he will coach again...I just hope it's not at LSU. I will admit that Petrino is kind of interesting, but I would keep him away from the volleyball program . I don't think he will want to leave Louisville. He is making a ton of money right now, has a $10 million buy out. Plus he only has to beat Clemson and Florida State each year in the ACC and he is gold. Coaches in the SEC have a habit of getting fired if they can't beat their rivals from time to time or beat Saban. Oh yeah...and Petrino has baggage.

dangerousdon said:

Okay, let me pipe in with my two cents

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Tom Herman at the University of Houston is a hot ticket and is surely being courted as much as is legal. Since Charlie Strong at Texas and Kevin Sumlin at Texas A&M were both on the hot seat at the beginning of the season, I figure the boosters of both schools have already been thinking how much they're willing to pony up for someone like him. It looks like Sumlin will survive another year in College Station with that new quarterback he transferred in. But Herman could be a fit for LSU.

Orgeron is Louisiana blood. He did do a good job after Kiffin at USC. But there was no way USC was going to promote him to the top job. I was in Oxford when Ole Miss hired Orgeron as head coach. At that point, he was in over his head in the SEC. I don't know if the years since then have better prepared him for a top spot in the SEC. Whether he has or not, he is a heck of a guy to have on your staff. A new incoming coach might even keep him if he wanted to stay.

Crixus said:

Tom Herman at the University of Houston is a hot ticket and is surely being courted as much as is legal. Since Charlie Strong at Texas and Kevin Sumlin at Texas A&M were both on the hot seat at the beginning of the season, I figure the boosters of both schools have already been thinking how much they're willing to pony up for someone like him. It looks like Sumlin will survive another year in College Station with that new quarterback he transferred in. But Herman could be a fit for LSU.

Orgeron is Louisiana blood. He did do a good job after Kiffin at USC. But there was no way USC was going to promote him to the top job. I was in Oxford when Ole Miss hired Orgeron as head coach. At that point, he was in over his head in the SEC. I don't know if the years since then have better prepared him for a top spot in the SEC. Whether he has or not, he is a heck of a guy to have on your staff. A new incoming coach might even keep him if he wanted to stay.

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Herman's name is being tossed about and I am sure he will get a great job and make a ton of money...he might even be LSU's next coach and do a great job. But there is a certain degree of unknowns. HE has only been a head coach at Houston and for only a couple of years. Like I said...I am not sure I would be willing to fire a National Champion Coach to go get a coach out of the American Athletic Conference. I would hope that LSU goes after a proven coach in a power five conference...there are always exceptions though.

I remember the Ole Miss days of Coach O also. I still play the Coach O song from time to time (Yaw, Yaw, yaw!). And I am not necessarily advocating that he become LSU's next head coach, but let's say he runs the table on the rest of the games (O don't think this will happen) or even loses a game to say Florida, Ole Miss, or Texas A&M, but beats Alabama...then I think you have to at least take a look at him. Coach O in his press conference on Monday laid out in front of reporters why he didn't do well at Ole Miss and what he has learned since. It would be great to retain a guy who played at LSU, grew up in the state and loves LSU. Plus he is a character to match the personality that Les Miles was.

If LSU did decide to hire Herman (kind of sounds like they want to) it wouldn't be the end of the world. I think Dave Aranda (Def Coordinator) would most likely be retained (him and Herman are evidently friends) and hopefully retain Orgeron. Just some thoughts.

Orgeron will have an interesting first game. Missouri is a 13 point underdog @ LSU.

Historically, Missouri isn't really respected in the SEC but they are moving the ball quite well this year. LSU may be in for a major upset.

Even if Missouri wins tomorrow I would imagine Orgeron will be running the show for the rest of the season. The AD has already given the crowd their pound of flesh and I would imagine there are really no other options for LSU until the season is over. That is, unless they decide to buy someone who is not currently coaching.

Crixus said:

Even if Missouri wins tomorrow I would imagine Orgeron will be running the show for the rest of the season. The AD has already given the crowd their pound of flesh and I would imagine there are really no other options for LSU until the season is over. That is, unless they decide to buy someone who is not currently coaching.

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I agree Orgeron will be there all year but I have a feeling that he is on a season long job interview.

realdog4 said:

I agree Orgeron will be there all year but I have a feeling that he is on a season long job interview.

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I know he thinks he is. Good luck to him. Without an offensive coordinator, the team will be running the Miles/Cameron playbook the rest of the year. He'll have to find a way to come up with better results than they did.

Crixus said:

Orgeron is Louisiana blood. He did do a good job after Kiffin at USC. But there was no way USC was going to promote him to the top job.

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You're right...there was no way they were going to retain Orgeron. That being said, USC hired Steve Sarkisian from Washington, which seemed like an okay hire at the time. I guess maybe they should have done a better background check on him because it turned out that he had some drinking issues. So they fire Sarkisian and make Mark Helton the interim head coach for just one game...the bowl game. Based on that one game, USC decided to make Helton their permanent head coach. Currently Helton and USC for 2016 is 1-3 with their only win against Utah State. So...how is that debacle working out for USC. Helton has had no head coaching experience until USC and was hired after a one game resume. One could argue that Orgeron got a raw deal.

realdog4 said:

Orgeron will have an interesting first game. Missouri is a 13 point underdog @ LSU.

Historically, Missouri isn't really respected in the SEC but they are moving the ball quite well this year. LSU may be in for a major upset.

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Missouri has only been in the SEC for four years. And it is funny that the SEC doesn't respect them very much considering they pretty much jumped into the SEC and was competing for the SEC East champion. They made it to the SEC Championship game in 2013 and 2014. Of course if they were in the west division I think that might be a bit different. I don't think LSU is taking them for granted at all. I think they will be okay with Missouri. LSU's Defense has done a really good job inside the 20s so far. They give up some big plays between the 20s but Dave Aranda has been implementing is 3-4 defense and I think much is because of that. The defnse is the one thing that has been getting better each week.

Crixus said:

Even if Missouri wins tomorrow I would imagine Orgeron will be running the show for the rest of the season. The AD has already given the crowd their pound of flesh and I would imagine there are really no other options for LSU until the season is over. That is, unless they decide to buy someone who is not currently coaching.

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Orgeron is the guy for the rest of the season. That has been made pretty plain. Even if they hired a coach that currently isn't working (I am assuming this is a hint at Art Briles...a lot of fans would be upset if this is the case), that guy might do some recruiting and administrative things, but he wouldn't come in mid-season.

realdog4 said:

I agree Orgeron will be there all year but I have a feeling that he is on a season long job interview.

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Most definitely! I can say one thing...if...and I know it is a big if...if LSU runs the table for the rest of the season, then that would mean wins over Florida, Ole Miss, Alabama, Arkansas, and Texas A&M. That would mean five wins over current top 25 schools. I don't know how you wouldn't at least consider him for the job. Even one loss with one of those teams and a win over Alabama might be able to do the trick. Like I said though...that is a big if.

Crixus said:

I know he thinks he is. Good luck to him. Without an offensive coordinator, the team will be running the Miles/Cameron playbook the rest of the year. He'll have to find a way to come up with better results than they did.

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Even if there was a fancy high profile OC, you can't implement a whole new playbook mid season. Miles/Cameron had plays in their playbook just like most coaches. The difference is when they were called and where you lined up who. We only saw about 10% of the plays...for whatever reason. Steve Ensminger is the interim OC now. He is by far the most experienced guy on the staff left calling plays. He is a former LSU quarterback, and has been an OC at McNeese State, Louisiana Tech, Texas A&M, and Clemson. While he wouldn't be my first choice for an OC, I think he is very capable in this situation.