A crazy month of November in Baton Rouge came to an end in the most-craziest of ways late Saturday night. Les Miles wasn’t fired after all, and he’ll be back to coach the Tigers in 2016.

Who saw that coming?

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The end of the Les Miles era seemed etched in stone. Ugly losses to Alabama, Arkansas and Ole Miss had set the tone for mutiny on the bayou, and every indication last week seemed that there was no way Miles could survive all the angst, despite 11 years of mostly-good results at LSU.

But if the reports are believable, a meeting of power brokers during the third quarter of LSU’s 19-7 victory over Texas A&M changed the scenario. Miles would stay, they determined, and the midnight press conferences bordered on absurd. Apparently ready to toss Miles out of town all week, LSU administrators claimed him to be one of their own again, singing his praises and looking forward to working together in the future.

OK.

LSU athletic director Joe Alleva should have egg all over his face this morning, as well as his bosses and the money men behind the program who were ready to shell out $15 million or more to give Les the boot. It was an embarrassing week for all of them, especially with this kind of result. Can Miles and his staff really succeed in this kind of environment?

We’re certainly going to find out, and soon.

Look, when you peruse the totality of Miles’ resume at LSU, he’s been an unmitigated success. He’s won a national title. He’s won SEC championships. He’s won 111 games at LSU and lost just 32, for crying out loud, the best record in school history. He’s done enough to earn tenure, that’s for sure.

But there’s also this reality. LSU hasn’t won the SEC West – and played in an SEC Championship Game – since 2011. That’s four long years. During those four years, they’ve also only won one bowl game, and that was against an overmatched Iowa team that surprised no one.

And in the last three years, they are just 14-10 in SEC games. Losing close to home – and losing rivalry games, especially to Alabama – is getting to be too much for the fan base to handle.

Going forward, the word is the stubborn Miles at least has come to agree with his bosses that some things need to change. It’s the million-dollar question in Baton Rouge now – or is it $15 million? – wondering how much LSU will change. The offense has ground to a halt this month, and even in Saturday’s win they could muster only 19 points against a less-than-average Texas A&M defense.

Here’s a few areas of concern:

  1. Cam Cameron, LSU’s offensive coordinator: He’s calling the plays and putting the game plan together, so plenty of fingers have been getting pointed his way. It’s reasonable. But let’s keep this in mind, too. Has he been held back by Miles’ insistence of playing it close to the vest, with a smash-mouth style he prefers? Cameron has had enough success in the NFL and in college in being creative and getting his best players in the best positions. So that’s the most obvious question now. Do you replace Cameron, or take off the shackles?
  2. Brandon Harris, LSU quarterback: For the last four weeks, defenses have been loading the box to stop the LSU run, often putting eight and even nine guys in the box and daring Harris to throw. But even in such favorable conditions, he’s been downright awful. The banged-up offensive line takes some blame as well, but it’s Harris’ job to make plays and he hasn’t been doing it. He was directly responsible – or at least mostly responsible – for 14-, 17- and 21-point losses to Alabama, Arkansas and Ole Miss when the Tigers weren’t even competitive. He was even horrible in a win Saturday night, completing only 7 of 21 passes for a laughable 83 yards. The Tigers need to decide if he’s the right guy, and if he’s not, what they’re capable of doing about it quickly.
  3. Leonard Fournette, LSU running back: He’s had such a brilliant overall season that the complaints will be kept to a minimum here, but this ultra-talented back can help the cause by developing a more well-rounded game himself. No one, not even Fournette, can run well against constant eight-man and nine-man boxes. So he needs to become a better pass-catcher and work on being better running outside the tackles and being more of a factor on draws and screens. Want to get better as an offense? Then everyone needs to get better, even the best player.
  4. And lastly, Les Miles himself: The head coach has gotten a reprieve, but now he needs to make the most of it. He needs to loosen up the offense and get a playmaker at quarterback, even it if means moving on from Harris – or at least really coaching him up in the offseason so he’s better in 2016. All the quirkiness and the grass-eating and the trick plays on special teams are fun, but the Tigers need to be competitive and relevant again. They certainly weren’t this year. The head coach needs to look himself in the mirror and get better as well. If not, we’ll have all these same firing conversations again next year … and likely with a different result.