LSU Football: Les Miles Is 11 Wins Away from Escaping the Shadow of Nick Saban

When Les Miles became the head coach of the LSU Tigers in 2005, he took over a program with a great deal of talent. Coming from Oklahoma State to coach the Bayou Bengals must have been like trading in a Volvo for a Porsche. For that, Nick Saban deserves a lot of credit. 

Along with inheriting a great deal of talent, Miles also inherited a gigantic shadow that he has had to coach under for several years. Nick Saban had helped restore the Tigers from mediocrity to winning their first national championship since 1958.

Miles' first two seasons as LSU coach were highly successful. He had an overall record of 22-4 and won both bowl games that LSU played in. In his third season, he led the Tigers to their second National Championship in five seasons.

Despite this success, however, the general consensus was that he did it with Saban’s players. While there were several flaws within this logic, it still became the battle cry of Coach Miles’ critics. He was a National Championship coach, but he was still living in the shadow of Nick Saban.

In 2010, after another 11-2 season, Miles began to lessen the depth of this shadow. It started when the Bayou Bengals hosted Nick Saban’s current team, the University of Alabama. The score was close all day. However, in the fourth quarter, Miles and Saban found themselves in a chess match.

It was 4th-and-1, and Miles decided to make what was perhaps the best call of the season. Instead of the conventional wisdom to run the ball up the gut, he ran a perfectly-timed and executed reverse to DeAngelo Peterson, picking up 23 yards and leading to the go-ahead touchdown.

Sure, he ate grass from the field before the play, but he had just out-coached the man whose shadow he had been living under on a national stage. Moreover, it was in front of the very fans that had cast the shadow. It was clear in the minds of most—Les Miles was carving his own legacy.

Despite all of the accomplishments of Nick Saban, there were two things he was never able to do. The first was to keep LSU on top long-term. While no one will argue that Saban can build a team from the ground up, he has never stayed anywhere long enough to prove he can sustain that success. While it is not easy to get to the top, it is even harder to stay on top.

The second thing Saban was not able to do at LSU was to demonstrate loyalty. In my opinion, no fault should be held against him because he tried to make it in the NFL. I believe that most LSU fans can understand his desire to do that. However, it was like a punch in the stomach for him to come back to the same division. Had he gone to Florida, Georgia or Tennessee, it might not have enraged the fan base to such a great magnitude.

Miles was faced with a similar dilemma during the offseason. His alma mater, the University of Michigan, came calling for his coaching services. It was his chance to return to a school he loved and not have to deal with the shadow of Saban. However, he turned down his alma mater and let it be known that LSU is his home now.

The shadow is unfair when you consider the records. In five seasons, Saban had one top-five finish and two top-10 finishes. In Miles' first six seasons, he has recorded three top-five finishes and four top-ten finishes. Saban has an overall coaching record of 48-16 (.750). Miles, on the other hand, has an overall record of 65-17 (.793).

In the end, Miles can leave LSU as the most revered coach in LSU history. All he needs is 11 more wins. With a second National Championship, he becomes the measuring stick for all future LSU coaches.