LSU vs. Alabama: Why Les Miles Is a Better Coach Than Nick Saban

You are either a Nick Saban guy or a Les Miles guy.

As we approach the biggest game of the college football season between No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama, the Tigers have the coaching edge.

Les Miles is not your average head coach.

He believes in the football karma Gods. He is loose on the sidelines, sometimes yapping to referees about topics that have nothing to do with football during play stoppages.

He wears his heart on his sleeve and never puts too much pressure on his team. In exchange, he has the utmost respect from his players. I wouldn’t call it a relaxed environment, but the Tigers are far less uptight than the Crimson Tide.

Saban’s crew is more like a military unit. They speak when spoken to, yes sir, no sir type of mentality. Saban is the general in charge, making sure every part of the operation is running smoothly. It’s almost as if he treats his team like a machine.

Saban installs fear into his team—that’s his way of commanding respect.

The two coaches couldn’t be more opposite.

Personally, I loathe the way Saban handles himself on the sidelines. The constant screaming and look of anger makes him look like drill sergeant not a football coach. His players are on pins and needles hoping they don’t make a mistake.

He preaches doing your specific job, trusting your teammates and coaches…but it’s hard to take him seriously when you remember what he did to the Miami Dolphins a few years back.

He realized pro’s would have nothing to do with his bully mentality, so like a recruit that changes his mind, Saban told the media he would return to Miami only to bolt the second the ‘Bama job opened. He had a 15-17 record in the NFL, hardly the record of a coaching genius.

If recruiting, it’s Miles that is the better football coach. He treats his players like human beings, and therefore gets the maximum effort out of them. Sure he makes some incredibly risky playcalls, but more often than not it works out. Saban is as vanilla as a white wall.

Miles isn’t afraid to take the big risk, and he has a championship to prove it.

Sure Saban may have two, but he’s been in the business for a much longer period of time.

Obviously both coaches are among the best in the game, but it’s Miles that is better suited in the Super Bowl of the SEC. ‘Bama is going to be on pins and needles with the whole world watching—including their intense and intimidating coach on the sidelines ready to scream at any moments notice.

Just remember: Nick Saban is 44-5 in his last 49 games, but he's only 2-2 against Les Miles.

I think the aggressive play calling and cool-demeanor of Miles’s to keep his players relaxed is the catalyst for a Tigers victory in the biggest college football game of the year.