Les Miles And The Top 10 Dumbest Smart Guys in Sports

By (Featured Columnist) on November 25, 2010

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BATON ROUGE, LA - NOVEMBER 20:  Head coach Les Miles of the Louisiana State University Tigers celebrates after their 43-36 win over the Ole Miss Rebels at Tiger Stadium on November 20, 2010 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Les Miles is widely viewed as one of the luckiest coach of all time. Sometimes what can initially be perceived as a poor decision on the field, could then turn out to become a smart move with a little bit of luck.

There are just people in sports that show a whole lot of talent and ability but at times do some pretty dumb things.

Miles isn't the only one out there. There's plenty more.

Here are some sports figures who have been brilliant at times but painfully stupid

10. Ben Roethlisberger

Ben-roethlisberger-drunk-2_display_image

The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback has been the driving force behind two Super Bowl championships.

 

Dumb moves

He may be a success as a football player but he's been pretty stupid off the field. He's been injured falling off of a motorcycle while riding without a helmet. Plus he's found himself on the wrong side of not one, but two sexual assault charges.

9. Josh McDaniels

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29:  Head coach of the Denver Broncos Josh McDaniels speaks to the media during a press conference prior to the start of a team training session at The Brit Oval on October 29, 2010 in London, England. The Denver Broncos will pla
Chris McGrath/Getty Images

McDaniels gets a lot of love for being a key part of Bill Belichick's coaching staff with the New England Patriots. 

He became the youngest head coach in the NFL when he was hired by Denver. 

 

Dumb moves

But so far he's done very little as coach for the Broncos and has an overall 11-14 record.  Plus, he traded away breakout star of 2010 Peyton Hillis for third stringer Brady Quinn.

8. LeBron James

MIAMI - NOVEMBER 22:  LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat looks on during a game against the Indiana Pacers at American Airlines Arena on November 22, 2010 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or u
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

LeBron is a rare kind of athlete that doesn't come along very often. The guy is a smart and savvy basketball player that has the potential to influence the game with his passing ability and athleticism.

 

Dumb moves

Leaving Cleveland, "The Decision."

7. David Stern

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 26:  Commissioner David Stern speaks to the crowd prior to presenting the 2009-2010 Championship Rings to the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on October 26, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly ackno
Jeff Gross/Getty Images

He's a smart man with a law degree from Columbia and has been the commissioner of the NBA since 1984. Despite all of the league's success, some of Stern's decisions during his tenure have not been received well by players and fans.

 

Dumb moves

Signing off on new microfiber basketball what was trashed after half a season; endorsing a new and stricter technical foul rule; and the Tim Donaghy scandal.

6. Andy Reid

PHILADELPHIA - NOVEMBER 07:  Head coach Andy Reid of the Philadelphia Eagles against the Indianapolis Colts on November 7, 2010 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

They call him the fat genius. He may be smart but there's plenty of hunger in that great football mind.

 

Dumb moves 

This Philadelphia Eagles coach treats his timeouts out like jelly filled donuts. He devours them and before you know it, it's all gone and there's nothing left.

5. Michael Jordan

CHICAGO - JANUARY 24:  Michael Jordan #23 of the Washington Wizards warms up before playing his last game against his former team the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on January 24, 2003 in Chicago, Illinois.  The Bulls won 104-97.  NOTE TO USER: User e
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

The man was a genius on the basketball court and will go down as the best basketball player in history.  He led the Bulls to six NBA titles and became one of the most recognized and marketable athletes ever.

 

Dumb Moves

Playing for the Washington Wizards; his Hall of Fame speech to his sons, “I wouldn’t want to be you guys;” two more words: Kwame Brown.

4. Bud Selig

ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 29:  MLB commisioner Bud Selig talks with the media at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on September 29, 2010 in Arlington, Texas.  (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Before being named commissioner of major league baseball, Selig earned a reputation as a very successful business owner in the Milwaukee area. 

He later went on to become an owner of the Milwaukee Brewers and became a very accomplished baseball executive.

 

Dumb move

With all of that business knowledge and front office experience, he didn't have enough common sense to realize that players in his league were juicing up on steroids.

3. Isaiah Thomas

NEW YORK - MARCH 08:  Head coach Isiah Thomas of the New York Knicks watches from the sideline against the Portland Trail Blazers at Madison Square Garden March 8, 2008 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downlo
Nick Laham/Getty Images

He was a two-time NBA champion and a star guard for the Detroit Pistons. But off the basketball court and in the front office or sitting on the bench, he has proven to be a big failure.

 

Dumb moves

Pulling the trigger on the Eddy Curry trade and signing off on his monster contract.  Trading for Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury, while also signing several high-prized underachievers from the free agent pool.

2. Tiger Woods

CHARLOTTE, NC - APRIL 30:  Tiger Woods finishes his round and failed to make the cut during the second round of the Quail Hollow Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club on April 30, 2010 in Charlotte, North Carolina.  (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Imag
Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

He was a golf genius and quite possibly the best player the sport has ever seen.

Even as a two-year old, he was already featured putting on television.

 

Dumb moves

He thought he was invincible. There were too many mistresses to keep track.

1. Les Miles

BATON ROUGE, LA - NOVEMBER 20:  Head coach Les Miles and the Louisiana State University Tigers celebrate after their 43-36 win over the Ole Miss Rebels at Tiger Stadium on November 20, 2010 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

When you think Les Miles, you have to use the word idiot savant to describe him.

He's the kind of guy that you cast off as an idiot for calling a dumb play but immediately call him a genius once the play turns out well.

But he's also overseen a national championships with LSU in 2007.

 

Dumb moves

Several, but here's one of the latest—playing Florida at the Swamp this season, he called a fake field goal down by three against the Florida Gators that looked horrible when his holder threw a blind pitch to the ground but a lucky bounce went Miles' way when the ball landed in the hand of his kicker, who ran for a first down.  The Tigers ultimately won the game with a touchdown with six seconds left to play.

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