Tag: Les Miles

Les Miles could be ineligible for CFP Hall of Fame following sanctions

With LSU’s vacated penalties, former LSU coach Les Miles is no longer eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame.

Former LSU head coach Les Miles was set to be eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame in the upcoming years but following LSU’s self-imposed sanctions including 37 vacated wins from 2012 through 2015, that is no longer the case.

Vacating those 37 wins, however, now makes Miles ineligible for the College Football Hall of Fame.

Without those 37 wins, Miles does not meet the College Football Hall of Fame’s requirement of coaches winning at least 60% of their games.  Miles now holds a career 108-73 record, a 59.8% winning percentage. In essence, making him two wins shy of being eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame.

Miles coached the Tigers from 2005 through 2016, collecting a 114-34 record prior to the self-imposed sanctions. Miles led the Tigers to three SEC West division titles, a pair of SEC championships, and one national championship. Miles left Baton Rouge in September of 2016 after being fired by LSU following a 2-2 start to their season.

Miles would do television for two years before signing with the University of Kansas in November of 2018. He would last just a year and a half with the Jayhawks going a combined 3-18 while also allegations of inappropriate conduct surfaced from his time at LSU, forcing him out of Lawrence.

It’s unclear if Miles will ever return to the coaching world but if he doesn’t he leaves a legacy of success mixed with a fair amount of controversy.

How LSU vacating 37 wins impacts Les Miles’ potential CFB Hall of Fame candidacy

Les Miles no longer meets the career .600 winning percentage required to be eligible for the Hall of Fame.

After multiple years of waiting, a decision from the NCAA regarding LSU’s infractions case finally came down on Thursday.

Both LSU’s football and basketball programs received three years probation, and the school’s self-imposed penalties, most of which were already public knowledge, proved to be heavily mitigating factors.

However, there was one interesting revelation from the Independent Accountability Resolution Process report. Among the self-imposed penalties that remained confidential was the vacating of all 37 wins between 2012-15.

This has to do with former offensive lineman [autotag]Vadal Alexander[/autotag], who was deemed ineligible during his entire time at LSU. However, it could ultimately have a major impact on former coach [autotag]Les Miles[/autotag].

Miles was previously 145-73 (.665). To be eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame, coaches must have a winning percentage of at least .600.

However, with the vacated wins, his record now sits at 108-73, below that threshold.

Miles, who last coached in 2020, will soon become eligible for the Hall of Fame. The Hall would have to assess and approve his nomination, given the fact that he doesn’t meet the .600 criteria.

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Which high schools produce the most LSU football players?

These high schools have led the pack in producing LSU football talent

Louisiana is loaded with football talent.

Every year, it shows up in the recruiting rankings, the NFL draft and college football.

LSU has been and remains a huge beneficiary of that homegrown talent. Several talent hotbeds across the state have sent multiple recruits to Baton Rouge over the years. Some are in LSU’s backyard and others are in north Louisiana.

Here are the 12 schools that have sent the most recruits to LSU this century.

Note: This data is pulled from CFBData and uses 247Sports rankings. It does not include players that walked on or transferred to LSU after signing with another program initially.

Ranking the 7 best coaches in LSU football history

Taking era into account, as well as long-term consistency vs. short-term peaks, here’s how LSU’s all-time greatest coaches stack up.

There’s a joke about LSU Football coaches.

“It’s so easy, anyone can win there.”

It does look like that with three different LSU coaches having won titles this century. Is it the coach? The program? Both?

We’re going to take a look at that and rank the seven best coaches in LSU history.

This was tough. It was difficult to balance long-term success with shorter tenures that reached greater peaks. Coaches also took over at different points in the program, meaning some coaching jobs were tougher than others.

I’ve tried to take everything into account here. With that in mind, let’s jump right in.

Ranking the 10 best defenses in LSU history

Here are 10 of the best defensive units the Tigers have ever had.

For much of its history, LSU has had elite defense.

Whether it was [autotag]Paul Dietzel[/autotag], [autotag]Charles McClendon[/autotag] or [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag], several LSU coaches have had the luxury of a top defense.

In several cases, it led to a national title.

Here, I’m looking at some of the best defenses in LSU history. I’ve avoided ranking them because it’s too hard to compare defense across eras.

The bottom line: all of these units are good.

I tried not to include a bunch of units from consecutive years. For example, LSU had four of its best defenses from 1958-62. Only a couple of those groups are included here.

Here are 10 of the best defenses in LSU history.

The best performance from every starting LSU quarterback this century

From Josh Booty to Jayden Daniels, here’s every LSU signal-caller from this century’s shining moment.

The story of LSU quarterback play this century has been something more resembling a Shakespeare play than a group of football players.

You have all the pieces for a great story. You have your superstar talents, like [autotag]Joe Burrow[/autotag] and [autotag]JaMarcus Russell[/autotag]. You have the guys that were late-round picks but still won titles, like [autotag]Matt Flynn[/autotag] and [autotag]Matt Mauck[/autotag].

You have [autotag]Jordan Jefferson[/autotag] and [autotag]Jarrett Lee[/autotag], two guys who won a lot but caught a lot of flack from fans. Don’t forget signal callers like [autotag]Zach Mettenberger[/autotag], [autotag]Danny Etling[/autotag] and [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] — veteran transfers who proved to be critical additions.

And that’s not even the end of it.

Here, we’re looking at the best game from every LSU starting quarterback this century. Let’s not waste any more time and jump right in, beginning in the year 2000.

The 10 biggest ‘What ifs’ in SEC history

What if Nick Saban stayed at LSU? What if Tim Tebow went to Alabama? Here are some of the biggest “what ifs” in SEC history.

Despite the success LSU had under [autotag]Les Miles[/autotag] and [autotag]Ed Orgeron[/autotag] (both won national titles at LSU), there’s always been a lingering question among LSU fans.

What if Nick Saban never left LSU?

Saban leaving Baton Rouge for the Dolphins, only to head back to the SEC West, is a move that has defined this era of the sport.

The college football landscape is vast and wide. One move, big or small, can cause a massive butterfly effect. Here, we’ll be looking at some of the decisions and results that have shaped our current era of college football, and what may have happened if things played out differently.

5 LSU players who would have benefitted the most in a modern offense

Here are five players whose talents could have been better utilized at LSU just a few years later.

For years, LSU fans were stuck watching a dreary and outdated offense. It’s what eventually led to [autotag]Les Miles[/autotag]’ firing at LSU as the Tigers fell behind on the offensive side of the ball.

Miles just wanted to turn around and hand it off. There wasn’t much creativity, either. When the Tigers did have successful passing attacks under Miles, like in 2013, it was a scheme that relied on talented receivers winning their routes.

When it worked, it worked. There were times LSU was able to overpower teams and run the ball at will.

When it was paired with an elite defense and fantastic starting field position, it was fine too. LSU didn’t have a prolific passing attack in 2011 and Miles’ group still managed to win the SEC.

But the sport caught up with them, and it got tiring. LSU had too much talent to be doing that on offense and it wasn’t going to work in the SEC.

We know the story. Miles was fired, [autotag]Ed Orgeron[/autotag] was hired and he brought a modern offense to LSU. Plenty of players in the Miles era could have benefitted from a similar attack.

Here are five players that would have had more success had they arrived at LSU just a little later.

Comparing Brian Kelly to every first-year coach in LSU history

Here’s how Kelly’s 10-4 mark stacks up against previous LSU coaches.

LSU’s [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] wasn’t the only first-year head coach to find success in 2022.

Sonny Dykes led TCU to a national title appearance. Out west, Lincoln Riley and USC fell one-win short of a playoff berth, while Dan Lanning and Kalen DeBoer had their schools competing for a Pac-12 title.

Jon Sumrall and Troy won 11 games and a Sun Belt title as Duke’s Mike Elko led the Blue Devils to their seventh nine-win season in program history.

In the current era, Year 1s are volatile and unpredictable. Roster chaos can be a coach’s best friend with the transfer portal allowing for a quick influx of experienced talent.

It can also be a new coach’s worst enemy, as program’s best players leave in the coaching transition.

Every situation is different, with some guys facing complete rebuilds while others take over talent-rich squads. Making comparisons can be tricky, especially across eras.

With that in mind, I’m going to do it anyway. Here’s how Brian Kelly’s first-year at LSU compared to previous Tiger coaches in year-one.

Top 101 LSU football players of all time: No. 20-11

The countdown heats up with the best receivers in LSU history.

The countdown is heating up.

With 70% of the list in the rearview mirror, we’re starting to look at not just the best in LSU history, but some of the best the SEC and country as a whole have seen.

Today’s list is full of offensive playmakers, but before we get started, here’s a reminder of the criteria used when putting the list together.

  • I’ve tried my best to avoid recency bias.
  • Emphasis was placed on players who received all-American honors and other accolades. Leaders of championship teams received a boost as well.
  • I gave coach and eyewitness quotes about players significant emphasis.
  • Players who made significant contributions over multiple years were given priority over single-season stars. Production mattered more than talent.

Without further adieu, we begin with one of the most talented players to ever put on an LSU helmet and a current NFL superstar.