Could this be a smoke and mirrors routine?

Discussion in 'The Tiger's Den' started by Wolf04, Jan 2, 2005.

  1. Wolf04

    Wolf04 Founding Member

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    Let me say this before i start. I would have no prob with Les Miles as our coach and would support him fully as long as he is coach here if he takes the job. However i do realise that he is not exactly the best guy we can get and after all that talk about Skip"s long list of great coaches that he wants to entice to come here i started thinking. What if this is just a situation where the AD is showing the media and fans one hand while really deal with another. What i meanm is mabey there is a different coach that the AD is after and that coach wants to seriously discuss comming here, but both parties are keeping this quiet so as to protect themselves. There are two good reasons to do this.

    !) This is benificial to LSU because if they start negotiations with a major coach and things go south we look like we settled when hire our second choice (presumably Miles if he indeed wants the job). This way if we distract the Media by seriously talking with Miles and we talk behind doors with the other coach and lets say we can't come to terms with said coach we look like we got the guy we wanted all along when we hire Miles.

    2) This is benificial to Coach x for a number of reasons. Look what happened to Petrino. All he did was talk with LSU and he had fans calling for his head. In the college ranks it is an extreemly bad thing to burn bridges. Also all the recruits need to do is catch wind of a coaching change and all of the sudden some of your verbal commits start reconsidering. No coach want to seriously consider another job while doing damage control at the same time. If the deal falls through recruits may still reconsider because they would realize that you are willing to leave for the right deal. The fans may be able to accept you considering the NFL, but would not forgive so easily you considering other schools.

    My senario works because of the awckward timing of this search (which is normally done in November leaving everybody ample time for damage control. By the way this is all speculation on my part and is in no way backed up by any source.
     
  2. LSUGradin99

    LSUGradin99 I Bleedeth Purple 'N Gold

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    At first, when only WJBO was reporting it, I thought that was all this was: smoke & mirrors. I'd even told people here much. I don't feel that way any longer; I was likely wrong.

    Miles is not a terrible choice and has actually accomplished quite a lot. I would be satisfied with his hire but not overly excited.

    With all of that being said..... While your theory sounds good, I'd rather put all my support behind Miles right now. :geaux: :helmet:
     
  3. TigerFan90

    TigerFan90 Too far away from home

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    It is becoming more and more obvious, almost by the hour, that it is Miles. I admit I don't know much about him. From what I have read, he is a nice guy that runs a clean program. He has faced challenges recruiting against the likes of OU and UT in the OK/TX area. And the OSU fans seem to like and respect him.

    That said, I don't feel a lot of excitement. I am going to go into a wait-and-see mode. It does me no good to complain about the hire and I can't get excited about it. So that leaves me with little to say about it. :confused: I'll just hope for the best.
     
  4. Dutchtown tiger

    Dutchtown tiger Founding Member

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    I know most of our intitial reaction was that Miles was not a "sexy" hire, but we should welcome him and stand behind him this year. The more and more I research him, the more and more I am starting to like this hire.
     
  5. TCUTiger

    TCUTiger Founding Member

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    I felt the same way about Saban...........all I could remember about
    him was the way we KILLED MSU in the Indy Bowl with him as HC. Miles
    has waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy more personality and CAN RECRUIT..............he is "stuck" in a moderatley small town in OK and
    still brings in recruits.
     
  6. houtiger

    houtiger Founding Member

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    I think you have also made the case better than I could for exactly why Saban behaved in the way he did in the early stages of the Miami interview process. IT IS THE WAY IT IS DONE by every coach interviewing and accepting a promotion. Saban followed standard operating procedure in his exit, maybe keeping Skip better informed than most head coaches do. I fail to understand LSU fans consternation with Saban in any way, over his exit. He came here, worked hard, built our program up, and if he'd been a loser, you'd have shown him no loyalty whatsoever and showed him the door. It's a tough business and a two way street. Just how "open" have you been on your last job or two while out interviewing for your next one? When out interviewing, did you openly inform your boss? Imagine trying to do that process with 50 media camera's following you around, plus 10 million fans with cell phones and internet access posting your every move. Tough gig.

    Realize there is NO real gracefull way for a popular head coach to interview and leave a successful program for what he feels is a better opportunity. Nick did about as good as he could under the circumstances.

    Our super sized egos and immaturity in being able to accept that the NFL is a step up the coaching ladder if that is what the man wants, makes us look like real whinners.

    Saban worked hard, built a winner, improved our program tremendously, and left under acceptable circumstances to accept a bigger challenge and much more lucrative financial deal, that he views as a superior opportunity. I wish him well, and will always be grateful to him for helping provide the best 5 years of LSU football in the last 30, and bringing the Nat. Championship that we all thought we could achieve, to LSU!
     
  7. Jean Lafitte

    Jean Lafitte The Old Guard

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    I agree "in principle" with houtiger.

    I have only two points to add and nothing to dispute.

    -- NFL HC jobs don't last as long as they used to. Even the most celebrated Superbowl winning coaches in the NFL can get into job trouble. Gruden and Holmgren come immediately to mind. As such, it is no longer an axiom that the NFL is a step up from the LSU HC job. In many ways the LSU HC job is BETTER than a NFL HC job. The LSU AD and search committee should have begun the search for a new HC with my point in mind.

    -- Maybe it's important only to me, but I think that Saban should have realized that the timing of Wayne High-Zinger's contact with Saban is highly suspicious. HZ really zinged LSU, because we began our search for a new HC after Urban Meyer was already hired by Florida. HZ is a huge Gator booster, and my hunch is he did that on purpose. Saban should have realized this underhanded tactic and considered that his move to the Dolphins would really hurt LSU, because the pool of available replacements was tapped out. How many college HCs were hired this season . . . wasn't it about eight . . . before LSU began its HC hire process?

    I also don't see how Saban could feel that living in Miami is better for his wife and 12/13 year old daughter than BR. Finally, I'll bet that Saban's family will see even LESS of him now that he's a NFL HC. Don't NFL HCs work more hours than college HCs?
     
  8. houtiger

    houtiger Founding Member

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    I agree with everything JL has added. Thanks!

    If security, a long term great deal, and not moving so much, and better living conditions than Miami are important, you are totally correct, Nick should have stayed in Baton Rouge.

    I think Nick is driven by challenge, and the opportunity to test his skills against the best trumped all the above. I understand this, and he can't go to his grave wondering how he would have done against the best. Many may not understand, but that is what drives some people.

    Saban may not be able to overcome his talent, front office, and salary cap situations, but it seems to me compared to last year, he could be just 1 great running back away from challenging in the playoffs. The fins were pretty tough with R. Williams back there.

    I don't follow the NFL that much (cept I do follow the Texans), and Saban did not personally endure himself to me so much that I will become a fins fan (I won't), but generally, I wish him nothing but the best.

    If he flamed out in 4 years, as did our next head coach, I'd take Nick back if he was the best candidate available.

    I just don't understand the fans who think he somehow split his pants with us.
     
  9. red55

    red55 curmudgeon Staff Member

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    There have been too many leaks from Louisiana, Florida, and Oklahoma in the last 24 hours for this story to be smoke and mirrors.
     
  10. tigerjeffrey

    tigerjeffrey Founding Member

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    With all due respect, Wolf O4

    Your theory doesn't hold water. Are you saying that LSU, that a standup guy like Skip Bertman, is going to put on a charade, involving another standup guy like Miles, dick with him, his family, his coaching staff, Oklahmoa State, its administration, its fan base, etc., etc., merely for the purpose of creating "smoke and mirrors" and shielding attention away from the "real candidate"? There is no way in hell that is the scenario!
     

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