This is the best quote of the piece....and the most telling: Then we talked about the differences between Miles and Saban. My friend made an interesting point, something I had never really considered. “With Saban as your coach, winning sometimes isn’t even fun,” he said. “The goal of Saban is not to have fun, it’s just to win. With Les, it’s always kind of fun and lighthearted, even if you lose. When you go to a football game you’re paying money to watch people play with a ball. You get your money’s worth with Les.”
I was in a bar/restaurant near closing time in the early 90's when Curley Hallman walked in drunk. He wanted something to eat but the bartender told him that the kitchen was closed and all the cooks had gone home. Curley persisted in asking for food until the bartender gave him a bag of food that somebody had ordered early in the evening and never showed up to get.
Les is a class act. The bland food/rap music analogy was brilliant. Such a shame more LSU fans don't fully embrace him - quirks and all. Thanks for posting this - you're right - it was a really good read!
If any of you happened to catch the half time side line interview for the auburn game it was classic. "A heavy mist with a strong wind" the sob refused to admit that it was raining in TS. Rece Davis was losing his shit on the set and "implored Les to never change". Look, the dude can obviously coach but that mf'r is all sorts of crazy.
Good article, thanks! Les is special, his interviews with Tracy Wolfson over the past few years show a man that is truly concerned for the people he "works for" - the 95+ in Tiger Stadium, the families of the recruits he visits, the freakin' entire state of Louisiana,, and then he comes out of the tunnel at the Jerry Dome and heads for the Oregon sideline with the biggest grin you could imagine. He's a kid in a candy store, he's got a job he loves and it also happens to be the greatest job in the world. I've got two daughters trying to choose where they will play college softball - I hope they are lucky enough to play for a coach like Les.
Great article....I agree. Les comes off very human and whimsical, no surprise to those of us who follow him. Love the description of the hand clap, I'm sure he kept a good poker face while going through that one!
I was in a convenience store in Curleys last year and he came in and bought a 12 pack of Coors light and was clearly already soused. The guy definitely had demons.
Well I hope they're (our players) are having fun today. As for Saban's kids- they may not have "had fun" yesterday but I bet they're a lot happier today.
