LSU fans have started to take it too far with their anger at Les Miles
LSU head coach Les Miles truly deserves more credit than he’s been getting over the last season and a half.
LSU Tigers head coach Les Miles has spent the better part of the last ten years being, arguably, the most criticized coach in NCAA football. Since 2005, he’s paced the sidelines of Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The result has been a 140-54 coaching record and two SEC titles in 2007 and 2011. The Associated Press even awarded him their College Football Coach of the Year Award in 2011. The 2007 SEC title served as the launchpad to the national title in that same year.
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Unfortunately for many of the citizens of Baton Rouge and the Tiger fan base, that’s just not going to cut it. Stories surfaced towards the end of last season stating that Miles’ job was in jeopardy. Rumors circulated that there were even talks with Florida State Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher. Social media was flooded with comments that were, both, in support of his firing and to the contrary, but when the dust settled, Miles was ultimately awarded an extension.
Then it happened. On Saturday September 3rd, LSU made its’ way to historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin for an opening day tilt with the Wisconsin Badgers, and the Badgers walked away with a 16-14 victory. Just like that, the hate mail came rolling in. Fans have threatened to boycott future games or withdraw financial support from the program. Many have asked that Miles be removed from his position.
One fan even wrote to Miles “I hope they fire your stupid (butt) or you die”.
With this loss, LSU already has an uphill climb if they’re going to fight their way back into the national championship picture. Keep in mind they play in the best conference in college football. That includes a perennial contest that they have every year with some team you may have heard of from Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The success the Alabama Crimson Tide has every program in the country believing that if you don’t win it all, your season is a failure. Fair or unfair, that’s just the way it is. Miles has a lot of work to do. He may never get the credit he deserves in Baton Rouge. He may be fired after this season, but fans of the “Bayou Bengals” may want to think of an old theory whenever these types of conversations come up. If you do fire Miles, who are you going to get who’s better?
The truth is, unless he takes this program on an Alabama-type run, he’ll never truly be appreciated.