Where Would LSU Turn If It Fired Les Miles?
The seat under LSU head coach Les Miles heated up to "boiling" over the weekend, as the "Mad Hatter" lost his third straight game—38-17 to Ole Miss in Oxford—in which his team was playing from behind from the moment toe met leather.
That capped off a depressing week in Baton Rouge, and according to Scott Rabalais of the Advocate, athletic director Joe Alleva declined to comment on Miles' status after the loss to Ole Miss. All signs point toward LSU making a head coaching change unless something miraculous happens in the season finale versus Texas A&M.
There are 13 FBS job openings now that Iowa State has let go of Paul Rhoads and Sports Illustrated's Thayer Evans reported Scott Shafer is out at Syracuse, but LSU shouldn't have to worry about the crowded job market.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
The Tigers, along with USC, should have their pick of any candidate who's interested.
So where would LSU turn?
Houston Head Coach Tom Herman
It seems like the knee-jerk reaction to any coaching vacancy is to instantly say, "Tom Herman."
For good reason.
The Houston head coach has been awesome this season, leading the Cougars to a 10-1 record, into the discussion for a New Year's Six bowl game and to the top of nearly every coaching big board for Power Five schools.
He'd kill it at LSU.
There's no shortage of talent on the offensive side of the ball in Baton Rouge, and Herman's proven track record of not only producing top-tier offenses but making adjustments—which are the football equivalent of spotting Sasquatch at LSU—is second to none.
Last year as the offensive coordinator at Ohio State, he replaced one Heisman Trophy candidate (quarterback-turned-receiver Braxton Miller) with another (J.T. Barrett).
When Barrett was lost for the season against Michigan, all third-stringer Cardale Jones did was win the three biggest games of the season and lead the Buckeyes to the national title.
That earned him the head coaching job at Houston, where he has developed quarterback Greg Ward Jr. into one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the country. The junior ranks 23rd nationally in total offense at 7.61 yards per play, has thrown for 2,194 yards, rushed for 810 and totaled 29 touchdowns (13 passing, 16 rushing).
Any questions whether Herman can handle running a program have been answered in one short season in Houston. He's the perfect candidate to revitalize LSU's offense and bring that champion's mentality back to Baton Rouge.
"One of the neatest things I saw with the team at Ohio State—and we preach about it all the time as coaches—is that the team genuinely played for the happiness, success and rings on the finger for the guy next to them," Herman told Bleacher Report's Adam Kramer in August. "The results speak for themselves. When you play for the guy next to you, that’s when you win championships."
What's more, while the Cougars offense has been dominating headlines this year, their defense has been solid as well.
They're fourth in the American Athletic Conference in total defense (373.9 yards per game), tied for third in yards per play (5.26) and have given up the fewest plays of 10 or more yards in the conference (132).
According to Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle, Houston recently approved a raise for Herman to $3 million in an effort to keep him with the school, but a destination job like LSU would likely be too difficult to pass up.
Memphis Head Coach Justin Fuente
Another knee-jerk name that inevitably comes up with major vacancies is Memphis head coach Justin Fuente.
There's a reason for that.
He has turned Memphis around from a laughingstock to a contender in the American Athletic Conference in four short years, and has done so first with defense and now with offense behind NFL prospect Paxton Lynch at quarterback.
What? Development of quarterbacks? That never happens in Baton Rouge.
Doing less with more is Fuente's calling card.
Whether it has been at Memphis where he recruited Lynch sight unseen or at TCU when he was the offensive coordinator of the Horned Frogs, he has been at programs that don't get top-flight prospects and charged with making it work.
From 2009-2011, the Horned Frogs finished in the top 12 nationally in total offense twice and consistently found ways to move the football regardless of quarterback.
Like Houston, Memphis has upped the ante and offered Fuente a handsome contract to make him the highest-paid Group of Five head coach in the country, according to Geoff Calkins of the Commercial Appeal.
That shouldn't deter LSU.
If Miles' $15 million buyout isn't an issue, as NOLA.com's James Smith wrote over the weekend, then matching a more attractive compensation package shouldn't be too difficult to put together.
Alabama Offensive Coordinator Lane Kiffin
This would be more of a reach because the previous two candidates are safer picks.
But since we're throwing out options, how much fun would it be to see Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin in Baton Rouge?
He's already a recruiting machine and has a history of successfully developing quarterbacks into stars, including former Alabama signal-caller Blake Sims, current quarterback Jake Coker and former Tennessee gunslinger Jonathan Crompton.
Yes, there's concern that Kiffin might not be able to handle life as a head coach. After all, things didn't exactly work out at USC and ended really badly after one season in Knoxville. But two years working under Nick Saban at Alabama could go a long way toward resurrecting his career.
Kiffin discussed his mindset in the summer, per the Associated Press (h/t the Tennessean):
"Just going into the offseason, it’s kind of like being a freshman. I’ve said that to one of our coaches. I feel like a sophomore now where last year you’re a freshman just trying to figure it out, trying to get the scripts ready, get to practice and stuff. Now you really start to understand how and why he does it and why it’s so successful.
"
Would Kiffin be a gamble? Of course.
But he's going to get a big job somewhere, and if LSU wants a proven offensive mind, Kiffin would be it. He helped Alabama set a program record for total offense last year and stays true to pro-style principles while allowing himself enough flexibility to open things up when needed.
Once you get past the stigma, Kiffin actually is a perfect fit.
Florida State Head Coach Jimbo Fisher?
For some reason, Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher has become one of the hot names associated with the potential LSU opening.
Matt Hayes of Sporting News tossed his name out as a possibility, and others—including Michael Detillier of WWL-870 (h/t 105.5 WNSP's Mark Heim)—have suggested there could be interest on Fisher's part.
There's a reason for that. Fisher served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in Baton Rouge from 2000-2006 during the regimes of both Saban and Miles, and has a national title under his belt at Florida State in 2013.
Why would he leave Florida State for LSU, though?
Sure, the SEC is typically the best conference in the sport—although that's very much debatable this year—but Fisher is sitting pretty in Tallahassee. He makes $5.15 million per year, according to the USA Today salary database, is in one of the most fertile recruiting states in college football and has it made in the ACC.
With so much youth on the roster, this is Florida State's rebuilding year, and it will likely still finish in the Top 15 or 20.
Florida State is a better job than LSU, plain and simple.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics are courtesy of cfbstats.com.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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