Les Miles and the Most Overrated Coaches in College Football

Last night, LSU coach Les Miles had the chance to win his second national championship and prove to the college football world that he was one of the elite coaches in the sport, but after his team's embarrassing performance, instead of being showered with accolades he's now being bombarded with questions. 

How could the Tigers play without passion in the biggest game of the season? Why didn't Jarrett Lee get a chance at quarterback? Where was the daring coaching call that earned Miles his mad hatter reputation?

Miles has a lot of explaining to do, and he's going to face his fair share of criticism in the coming weeks.

He's not the only big-name coach in college football who's a little overrated, though. Here's a look at five prominent college coaches who aren't exactly as great as they're made out to be.

Les Miles, LSU

Uninspired, lifeless and clueless are just a few of the different adjectives that you could use to describe how LSU looked during last night's BCS championship game. 

After sprinting through the regular season, finishing 13-0 and winning an SEC championship, the Tigers came out flat in the biggest game of the year. Much of the blame has to fall on Les Miles for not having his team properly prepared for Alabama and for not making the proper halftime adjustments to at least do something offensively in the second half of last night's game. 

There were no tricks or gambles from the Mat Hatter last night. In fact, there really wasn't much of anything. Miles simply stood on the sidelines expressionless and watched his team get rolled over by the Tide.

Miles is one of the most successful coaches in college football, but after his team's performance last night, his reputation will definitely take a hit. 

Bret Bielema, Wisconsin

If my favorite team had to play a big pressure-packed road game, and I could have my choice of any coach in college football to lead them, the one guy who would be at the absolute bottom of my wish list would be Bret Bielema. 

Bielema has done some great things after taking over for Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin after the 2005 season, and his 60-19 overall record is quite impressive, but if you look at the struggles that the Badgers have had in big games and on the road, it will definitely change your perspective of the 41-year-old coach.

Bielema is just 2-4 in bowl games, and his team is allergic to success in road games, as the Badgers are just 16-12 in true road games during the coach's tenure.

This was the year that Wisconsin was supposedly going to compete for a national championship. The Badgers had the right quarterback to do it, but once again Bielema's boys came up short on the road in consecutive losses at Michigan State and Ohio State in the middle of the season.

Bob Stoops, Oklahoma

Big Game Bob's team did it once again in 2011. 

After starting off the season ranked No. 1 in both preseason polls, the Sooners unraveled and proceeded to throw their national championship aspirations out the window after mailing it in during a dismal loss to Texas Tech at home. 

You at least have to give credit to Stoops' squad for not waiting until the postseason to implode, though. 

Mack Brown, Texas

We've seen a lot of the sad Mack Brown face these past two years, as the once mighty Texas Longhorns have fallen back to the pack in the Big 12 after consecutive mediocre campaigns.

The days of watching Vince Young run to glory against USC in the national championship game now seem like a distant memory. The Longhorns haven't been able to find a quarterback that's capable of playing anywhere close to Young or Colt McCoy. 

Brown may be one of the best recruiters in the country (it helps when you're at the biggest school in the most talent-stocked state in the country), but his lack of success on the field these past few years makes it hard to justify his 5.2 million dollar annual salary. Brown needs to get off the fundraising trail, and get back into the film room this offseason, because 2012 is shaping up to be a big make or break year for him and his team.

Gene Chizik, Auburn

Gene Chizik's coaching record with Cam Newton: 14-0

Gene Chizik's coaching record without Cam Newton: 21-29

Now I'm not saying that Cam Newton is the best thing to ever happen to Gene Chizik, well OK, that's exactly what I'm saying. 

Don't get me wrong, Chizik's a solid coach and he's had some major success on the recruiting trail during his time at Auburn, but if he never reeled in Cam Newton, he'd probably have three straight 8-5 seasons on his Auburn resume right now. 

Chizik's team may have been inexperienced this past year, but that's not an excuse for looking completely lost on both sides of the ball at certain points in the season. 

The War Eagle leader will have his work cut out for him in the offseason, as he tries to replace offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn and star running back Michael Dyer.