Sooner or later, Miles will have to win the SEC to be considered one of the better coaches. 11 wins are nice, but it's all about championships. If we don't have too many injuries, there will be no excuse for not playing in the SECCG.
I agree with this. This is Miles chance to prove he's big time. Anything less than Atlanta with this talent level is cause for concern.
We don't need to be having this discussion. There may never been another coach at LSU to do more then what CLM has done in his first two years at LSU. Don't forget what he inherited. A talent rich program, following Nick Saban, the worst Hurricane disaster in the history of the U.S. and the Media giving all credit to Saban. CLM has managed a complete turnover with our coaching staff in two years and posted back to back 11 win seasons. Not to mention continuing with top ten recruiting classes each year. He fights like a Tiger and backs down from no one. I expect this will be a banner year for CLM and his Tigers.
On offense, we lose first rounder Doucet at WR, first day pick QB Flynn, our best blocking TE Zinger, and 3 Oline - including our center. WR should actually improve and TE may as well if some of the young guys develop, but RP still has a ways to go & our OLine will be very young. On defense, we lose our best 2 DL (Dorsey & I'm assuming Jackson goes pro), 2 OLB's (and Beckwith could potentially go pro early), 2 starting CB's, and a Safety. That is the core of our defense, and it's going to hurt. DLine will go from the best in the country to very good, LBs will go from one of the best in the country to just pretty good, but CB is where the real concern is for me. Nobody is ready to step up & be as good and consistent as they have been, yet. Plus we play our tough games on the road in '08. It just isn't made for a championship run, although we could still have a successful season.
fwiw i didnt take the thread title to mean clm would be fired if he doesnt win NC, but can he win a NC if he cant with this team? maybe. stars have to align and in many ways they already have for this team--senior qb (although inexperienced), talent and enough depth everywhere, best D you could ask for, favorable schedule (for SEC team), and #2 ranking (most important). heaven forbid clm puts a great team together and they get auburned clm could put a great product out there, even LSU's best ever and still not get to SECCG. dont forget that if lsu has a bad game/calls/breaks against auburn or arky or bama that could end it. i dont think any of these will go undefeated in sec, but stranger things have happened. also, if LSU isnt in the NC hunt for most of the season then it may be tougher to get the top recruits. the secw cant get much easier. OM and MSU have nowhere to go but up. Bama will get better, Ark and Au are probably down. how easy will it be to replace pellini?
No! I just don't see them haveing a "bad" year. The smartest thing he has done is hire two of the best coordinators in the country. I can't wait to see Crowton's offense.
the OL may not take much of a hit. you lose arnold (dont know how much he's gonna mean to 07 team) and stewart (we'll see how solid he is). johnson, black, and helms return--thats a pretty good core. hitt will have enough experience. miller could probably be a decent starter at RT. and two of jones, dworaczyk and barksdale will likely get significant pt this year. on D, you get francois back. and im counting on jai eugene and chad jones to make a big impact on secondary. i think the biggest loss would be if beckwith leaves. next year will be tough schedule, but it wont slack up much the year after that either with @ bama (saban in his 3rd yr) and @UGA.
