Les Miles Report Card

Full Disclosure:
For the record, I was neither for Miles nor against Miles during the last 3 seasons while at LSU. I have been critical at times and I have been equally complimentary. I have delayed my official critique of Miles until now because I thought that was the fair thing to do. He’s been here 3 years now. He’s fully entrenched at LSU and now is the appropriate time for him to be judged. He may not like being scrutinized so much by the media and the fans, but that’s why he makes the big bucks.
It is important to remember that coaching is a very tough job. It involves a lot of hard work 12 months a year. The responsibilities and pressure is more than most people can handle. I have broken down the coaching profession into many sub-categories that make up Miles’ job description. Like everyone, he excels at some aspects of his job and is not so good at others. No coach in the country is good at everything. They all have their faults. I will give a grade to each sub-category and then calculate his Coaching GPA. Let’s get to it.

Program Management:
As the head of the football program, Miles must manage the day-to-day operations of the entire football staff, much like the CEO of a corporation. The ‘Project Management’ sub-categories are:

Hiring Decisions: A+
If you want to be great, surround yourself with great people. Miles has done just that. Most notably, Miles hired 2 excellent coordinators to run his offensive and defensive units. In his first season, Gary Crowton established a very consistent and productive offense that averages nearly 40 points per game. Bo Pellini has kept LSU’s defense ranked in the top 5 the past 3 seasons. Both of these guys were hired by Miles. Good job!

Personal Character: A+
Don’t discredit this aspect of being a good coach. Miles is a quality man. He is an honest, reputable person who genuinely cares about other people, especially his players. He is a family man and a role model to his team. Miles’ character may not matter to some fans, but it matters to me.

Public Relations: C-
Sometimes, Miles lets his emotions take over in front of the microphone and he behaves like a fan, not a head coach. He often provides bulletin board material for his opponents which is unnecessary and counterproductive. His comments about the Pac-10 made him a national target for criticism. His rant about “F’ing Alabama” didn’t help his cause. I like his passion, but he needs to control himself when he’s in the public eye. Furthermore, Miles is not a very good public speaker. He uhhh fumbles over words uhhh and uhhhh sometimes uhhh doesn’t make much uhhhh sense when he uhhh talks.

Team Discipline: A-
Every program has a few bad apples. The way that the head coach handles these players defines his reputation as a disciplinarian or a win at all cost hypocrite. The key is to be consistent and fair. Miles has done a good job of both. The most high profile discipline problems have come from backup QB Ryan Perrilloux. But remember, Perrilloux’s troubles have been non-violent type offenses. That is why I believe he’s been given a second and third chance. He won’t get a fourth.

Player Development: B-
Coaching proper techniques and game strategies is the responsibility of the head coach and his staff. It is important that players learn the schemes, tactics, and rules of football. Without being at practice, it’s hard to grade out this category. Another part of developing a team is recognizing each player’s strengths and weaknesses and giving them the best opportunity at the appropriate position. Miles has made several successful position changes, especially on the offensive and defensive lines.

Gameday Coaching:
Strike up the band, its game day. Does Miles have what it takes to match wits with some of the most successful and revered coaches in the nation? The ‘Gameday Coaching’ sub-categories are:

Game Planning: B+
This starts Sunday night for the coaching staff. They review film of their next opponent and formulate a plan of attack. Their ability to identify weaknesses is crucial to being a good coach. Offensively, Miles (and Crowton) were very consistent throughout the season. Each game saw a very balanced attack of run and pass. Defensively, the game plans were a wild card. Will they be aggressive or will they take a more passive approach? Miles (and Pellini) were susceptible to some poor defensive performances, especially at the end of this season. But considering the past 3 seasons, the offensive and defensive game plans have been fairly good.

Game Management/ Clock Management: C-
Miles’ game management skills need a little improvement. He has shown an unwillingness to modify certain game plans and make necessary adjustments. He can be very stubborn. Although not uncommon, this is a bad trait for a football coach. Another bad trait is Miles’ ability, or lack there of, to keep up with the fast pace of the game. Miles has not shown the capability to think quickly under pressure. He sometimes looks confused on the sidelines and he’s done some goofy things at times. His clock management at the end of some games has been questionable. We all remember the winning touchdown at the end of the Auburn game with 1 second left.

Personnel Decisions: B-
Sometimes the best players don’t see the field nearly enough under Miles. The most glaring example of this is at the running back position. Jacob Hester is a strong back with a big heart, but he is not a feature back. I don’t think anyone can argue that Hester is a better all purpose running back then Keiland Williams or Charles Scott. These two guys give an added dimension when they are in the game that Hester does not. Miles tends to reward his seniors who have paid their dues. We saw the same situation last season with Justin Vincent. It’s a noble thing to do, but it could sometimes hurt the team. Give me Keiland and Scott on 1st and 2nd downs, and let Hester pick up the short yardage on 3rd downs.

Recruiting:
Having better talent than your opponent can make your job as a coach a lot easier. Miles has certainly benefited from inheriting a team loaded with super athletes. But, has Miles and Co. recruited players to sustain this program for the near future?? Some people say, rightly so, that LSU sells itself. The facilities, tradition, opportunities, and atmosphere surrounding LSU will bring in the best players each year. That may be true for the in-state recruits, but Miles must also recruit nationally against the likes of other big time football programs that offer similar opportunities. The ‘Recruiting’ sub-categories are:

Talent Evaluation: A+
Coaches spend much of the offseason traveling across the country to personally evaluate certain players. Not every player is up to LSU standards, and not every player wants to play for LSU. It’s Miles’ job to pick out 25 players each year that fit well into the LSU program. Miles has done a good job of identifying the best players in the state and across the country.

Recruiting Classes: A+
With two top 10 recruiting classes, and another on the way, LSU looks to be loaded with talent for the next few years. One national recruiting service that I follow closely, Rivals.com, has Miles’ recruiting classes ranked #7 and #4 respectively the last two seasons. While recruiting rankings are an inexact science, Miles is consistently near the top of the recruiting world.

Results:
Just win baby! It’s the only thing that matters to most sports fans. Right or wrong, the success of your team is most directly associated with your ability to win. Failing to meet fan expectations, no matter how unrealistic, will significantly hinder your future employment. The “Results” sub-categories are:

Record: A-
Miles has amassed a record of 33-6 over the last 3 seasons. That is an outstanding record (85% win percentage). Half of the losses have come in overtime and all of them have been against quality SEC teams.

Championships: B-
Winning a SEC or National Championship is not easy. Still, most fans believe that LSU was in great position to win, or at least play for, the SEC crown last season. Instead, LSU failed to win the west division. The year before, LSU was blown out by Georgia in the SEC Championship game. The SEC title has eluded Miles until this season. His grade would be F had he not beaten Tennessee. He still has the opportunity to hoist the crystal ball in a few weeks which would further improve his grade in this category dramatically.

Bowl Wins: A+
LSU handily won two very high profile bowl games in the Miles era. First, they destroyed Miami 40-3 in the Peach Bowl. This loss was the catalyst that sent the Miami program into a tailspin. Last season, they embarrassed Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl 41-14. Dominating performances against traditional powerhouses earns Miles a top grade in this category.

Final Rankings: A-
When you’re at the top of the polls, there’s very little room for improvement. However, that’s just what Miles has done. In 2005, LSU finished the season with a #5 ranking. In 2006, Miles improved on that finishing with a #3 ranking. Miles has the opportunity to continue the trend this season.

Miles’ Coaching GPA: 3.14

At this point in his tenure, Miles is a solid B student. A very respectable performance, but definite room for improvement. His biggest opportunity for improvement is with his PR skills and game/clock management. Generally, he’s been a good coach. He wins a lot of games, but needs more hardware to show for it. He’ll get his chance in a few weeks. Miles’ GPA will be adjusted, for better or worse, on January 7th.

I am not completely satisfied with Miles but I like him as LSU’s head coach and I respect him for succeeding in the very tough environment of college football. For those of you that are overly critical of Les, I’ll leave you with this quote:

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who, at the worst, if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”-Theodore Roosevelt

We're Going to the 'Ship!!

The Samson Report Schedule:
December 5th: Game Recap, Heisman Preview
December 12th: Les Miles Report Card
December 19th: Bowl Season Preview/ Recruiting Update
December 26th: No Report
January 2nd: Ohio St. Preview
January 9th: Ohio St. Recap

Week 14: December 1, 2007
SEC Championship Game
(7) LSU def. (14) Tennessee, 21-14
Atlanta, GA

Game Recap:
Battling injuries on both sides of the ball, LSU was able to overcome the mountain of distractions to beat a very hot Tennessee team. I was impressed with the attitude and intensity shown by the LSU players and I have to think they got a boost from their head coach before the game when he announced his intentions to stay at LSU. Mentally, I think this had a very positive effect on our players.

Offensively, LSU racked up the stats. Unfortunately, those stats didn’t translate into many points on the scoreboard. We need to do a better job of scoring touchdowns in the red zone. Still, the offense had another good game. Most importantly, LSU proved they could win with the backup QB, a feat that has doomed other top teams this season. Perrilloux showed signs of brilliance all game. Jacob Hester punished the Tennessee defensive backfield for 120 yards on 23 carries, putting Hester over the 1,000 yard mark for the season. The last LSU back to accomplish this was Justin Vincent in 2003. I have been impressed with the consistency of the offensive unit throughout the season.

Defensively, I thought we were much improved over last week. We saw a lot more blitzing and pressure put on the QB. One thing that I’m still disappointed in is LSU’s inability to check out of defensive plays when the offense makes adjustments. It seems that Tennessee was able to read the LSU defense and check into a different play without any changes to the defensive look. LSU came up with a lot of big stops and big plays; None bigger than Zenon’s interception for a touchdown to give LSU the lead and the win. The Beckwith interception to kill Tennessee’s last drive was also a very big play. I’m glad Pellini corrected some issues and had his team prepared for the Vols.

Rushing: LSU-212, UT-94
Passing: LSU-252, UT-249
Total: LSU-464, UT-343

Game Ball:
Offense:
Ryan Perriloux had a great game going 20 of 30 for 243 yards including 1 td pass and 1 2-point conversion. His rocket arm coupled with his snap delivery makes him one hell of a passer. Hopefully, he’ll be a part of the game plan against Ohio St.

Defense:
Jonathan Zenon gets the game ball for his game winning pick-six in the fourth quarter.

Ohhh What a Night!!!
What an amazing, incredible, outstanding, unbelievable, shocking day. December 1st 2007 was one of the best days in the history of LSU football.

First, LSU learns that its head coach has spurned the great University of Michigan to remain coach at LSU. The message was received loud and clear that LSU is one of the top football schools in the country. We are a “now” program and Michigan is a “then” program. Weather or not you like Les Miles, you gotta love the way this portrays LSU nationally. Les chose LSU over his dream job at his alma mater. I was tired of hearing that Michigan was the pinnacle of the college football world. Michigan fans can be very arrogant about their program. For what??? What have you done lately???

Later that day, LSU beats Tennessee for the SEC Championship and a trip to the Sugar Bowl. Also it kept LSU’s longshot hopes alive to play for a national title.

Then, it really starts to get crazy. Stars move into position and the top 2 teams in the country lose, including a 28 point favorite. At this point, I knew we’d be in the big dance. It was a great day to be a Tiger.

How it went down:
Ok, here’s the timeline of events that led to the spirited press conference 2 hours before kickoff. This is not fact, this is just my opinion.

Tuesday 11/27:
Les Miles still does not have an offer from LSU to extend his contract and/or give him a raise. Therefore, he authorized his agent, George Bass, to contact Michigan and express his interest in the job. He urges his agent to use a middle man, which is often done for discretion, and not deal directly with Michigan officials. General contract terms may have been discussed, but not agreed upon. Miles asks them to wait until after the SEC Championship game to make any moves.

Wednesday 11/28:
Michigan “officially” requests permission to speak with Miles. Skip Bertman, as expected, does not grant them permission until after the SEC Championship Game. Once this hits the media, Les Miles gets pissed off that Michigan made this public 3 days before the SEC Championship game. He feels slighted that his wishes were not respected.

Thursday 11/29:
The job is offered to Miles through George Bass. The contract terms are not nearly what Miles expected, and again he feels slighted. (Reports say that Michigan went cheap because they thought Miles was a “Michigan Man” and would be happy with less money).

Friday 11/30:
Miles sits down with LSU officials and they agree on a new contract. Remember, at this time, LSU’s chances of playing for a national title are slim to none. Therefore, Miles is not expecting the automatic raise that is built into his contract if he reaches and wins the national title. His new contract is for more money, but just how much more is dependent on the outcome of the SEC Championship Game. Miles and LSU agree that a press conference will be held before the game to announce that he will remain at LSU. Meanwhile, Michigan is still under the assumption that LSU has not made Miles a new offer.

Saturday 12/1:
9 am – Miles meets with his team at breakfast and tells them that he’ll be their coach next season. This is a closed breakfast with only LSU players and coaches.

10:00 am – Kirk Herbstriet reports that the Miles to Michigan deal is done. I think Kirk’s sources were legit, but nobody at Michigan knew that Miles’ was re-negotiating with LSU. When Miles hears the report, which went out to the entire college football world, he feels slighted for the 3rd time. This is the last straw, and he gets angry.

11:00 am – A seemingly impromptu press conference is organized by LSU officials to announce that Miles is staying at LSU. The cat is now out of the bag. The LSU pre-game radio show announces the amazing news.

1 pm: Miles addressed the nation in a very short and blunt press conference. His anger is evident and directed at ESPN and Kirk Herbstreit.

Bo Pellini:
As you know, Bo Pellini is the new coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. However, he will also stay on as LSU’s defensive coordinator for the NC game. I haven’t heard many names as to who will replace Pellini but John Tenuda may be interested if he doesn’t get the head coaching job at Georgia Tech.

Week 14 Games of the Week:
Pitt def. (2) West Virginia, 13-9
(9) Oklahoma def. (1) Missouri, 38-17
(6) Virginia Tech def. (12) Boston College, 30-16
(8) Southern Cal def. UCLA, 24-7

FINAL BCS STANDINGS:
Well, here it is folks. The only poll that matters.

1. Ohio St.
2. LSU
3. Virginia Tech
4. Oklahoma
5. Georgia

Heisman Talk:
This Saturday is the Heisman Trophy Award Presentation. I think it’s on ESPN at 7pm. This award is by far the most distinguished award in college football. It goes to the most outstanding college football player. The selection process is extremely flawed, but it’s still fun to watch. The players in the running are Tim Tebow (Florida QB), Chase Daniel (Missouri QB), Darren McFadden (Arkansas RB), Pat White (West Virginia QB), Colt Brennan (Hawaii QB), Dennis Dickson (Oregon QB).

The award is Tebow’s to lose. Although he’s only a sophomore, I think he gets the hardware. For the second straight year, I believe Darren McFadden will come in second place in the voting. Chase Daniel and Colt Brennan will round out the top 4.

Speaking of awards…
Glenn Dorsey picked up a national award earlier this week when he was named the Bronko Nagurski award winner which goes to the nation’s most outstanding defensive player. He won that award over Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis. Dorsey is also a finalist for the Lombardi Award, the Lott Trophy, the Outland Award, and the Bednarik Award. Craig Steltz is a finalist for the Thorpe Award.

All SEC Tigers:
LSU landed 7 players on the 2007 All-SEC first team. That is second in school history behind the 1988 team that had 8 first team players. The 10 total players selected set a school record. Congrats!!

1st Team:
Ali Highsmith (unanimous)
Glenn Dorsey (unanimous)(SEC Defensive Player of the Year)
Craig Steltz (unanimous)
Chevis Jackson
Herman Johnson
Colt David
Patrick Fisher

2nd Team:
Ciron Black
Jacob Hester
Darry Beckwith

Bowl Pick’em Contest:
I have picked out 10 of the most intriguing bowl games this season. I want you to pick who you think will win each game and e-mail me @ slspeer@cox.net. Or you can make your pics in the comments section. I won’t post your comment but I’ll record your pics. Don’t forget to leave your name. All picks must be in to me by Tuesday December 18th because I will be previewing each bowl game soon after. At this time, the only thing you will win is bragging rights. Here are the games I picked out:

Dec. 27th: Holiday Bowl – Arizona St. vs. Texas
Dec. 31st: Music City Bowl – Florida St. vs. Kentucky
Dec. 31st: Chick-fil-A Bowl – Clemson vs. Auburn
Jan 1st: Outback Bowl - Wisconsin vs. Tennessee
Jan 1st: Cotton Bowl – Missouri vs. Arkansas
Jan 1st: Capital One Bowl - Michigan vs. Florida
Jan 1st: Rose Bowl - USC vs. Illinois
Jan 1st: Sugar Bowl - Hawaii vs. Georgia
Jan 2nd: Fiesta Bowl - West Virginia vs. Oklahoma
Jan. 3rd: Orange Bowl - Kansas vs. Virginia Tech

HAVE A GRRRRRREEEEAAAATTT DAY!!!