Les Miles is back and we’re all here for it.

As for whether the former LSU coach and new Kansas coach succeeds, that’s a different topic of discussion. The Mad Hatter watched his time in Baton Rouge end because of his inability to evolve his offense, and now, he’s tasked with rebuilding arguably the worst Power 5 program in America.

If Miles leads Kansas to relevance, it’ll be one of the top bounce-back coaching performances of recent memory.

With that in mind, I decided to take a look at other FBS head coaches who have been able to land on their feet after getting fired. It’s rare, but it certainly has been done.

Let’s run through some parameters:

  • Coach has to have started bounce-back season between 2008-18
  • Coaches who resign are ineligible
  • Only fired FBS head coaches are eligible
  • Bouncing back only includes FBS head coaches and not coordinators/interns (sorry, Butch Jones)
  • Coaches fired from school after bounce-back performances are ineligible (sorry, Bobby Petrino)

Here are the top 7 bounce-back performances we’ve seen from FBS head coaches in the past decade:

7. Lane Kiffin, FAU

Let’s start with a ride on The Lane Train. The guy who was fired at the airport tarmac has done pretty well for himself since his time at USC came to a crashing halt. After proving himself as the Alabama offensive coordinator — and rebuilding his tainted personal brand — Kiffin’s bounce-back gig at FAU has helped put him at least back into the conversation among the coaching vacancy candidates. A Conference USA title and 11 wins in Year 1 was certainly impressive.

Kiffin would be higher on this list if he weren’t in the midst of a disappointing second season in Boca Raton. Still, a 16-9 mark and potentially consecutive bowl seasons would mark the first time that happened at FAU in a decade. Kiffin has still been one of the nation’s top bounce-back stories in recent memory. Something tells me the 43-year-old isn’t done writing his comeback story yet.

6. Charlie Strong, USF

After Strong’s disastrous run at Texas ended in Year 3, I sort of thought we’d see him get a Power 5 defensive coordinator job. Given the scrutiny he faced, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he got a little burnt out from being a head coach (see what I did there?).

Instead, Strong took one of the top Group of 5 jobs in the country at USF and immediately reminded everyone that he could still coach. He led an extremely talented team to a 10-win season that was overshadowed in large part because of the unbeaten season UCF had up I-4. Even though the Bulls aren’t having the second half of 2018 that fans hoped they would, Strong has a chance to become the second coach in program history to clinch consecutive 9-win seasons.

5. Will Muschamp, South Carolina

Rare does a coach get a chance to bounce back in his own division. Muschamp got that chance after Steve Spurrier resigned in 2015, and to this point, Muschamp has done well with it. South Carolina improved its win total by 3 games in each of Muschamp’s first 2 years in Columbia. While that won’t happen again in 2018, he’s still a year removed from being in the SEC Coach of the Year conversation.

Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Expectations were significantly lower at South Carolina than they were at Florida, which undoubtedly helped. The question moving forward isn’t recruiting. Muschamp, who never struggled in that department in Gainesville, is off to a fantastic start on the recruiting trail at South Carolina. The big question is if Muschamp’s kryptonite at Florida — not getting quality quarterback play and subsequently struggling against ranked foes — will limit his upside at South Carolina.

Still, though. Three consecutive bowl wins after the mess that Spurrier left is pretty impressive.

4. Mark Richt, Miami

Nobody at Georgia thought that Richt was a bad coach when he was ousted in Athens after the 2015 season. They just thought that his best days were behind him and that he’d never lead the program to an SEC or national title. You can bet those same people were stunned to see Richt leading No. 2 Miami in late-November last season.

While that season didn’t finish as Hurricanes fans hoped it would, Richt led the program to consecutive top-20 finishes for the first time since 2005. Many would be quick to point out how since Miami reached that No. 2 ranking, it’s just 3-8 in its past 11 games vs. Power 5 competition. It’s been a disappointing year in Coral Gables after starting as a top-10 team.

But Richt’s cumulative numbers at Miami are still not bad. A 25-12 record overall and a 15-8 record against the ACC is the program’s best 3-year total since 2005, as well. It could be a whole lot worse at Miami.

3. David Cutcliffe, Duke

The prideful Cutcliffe was fired in atypical fashion. After his first losing season in Oxford, Cutcliffe wanted to hang on to his full staff, but the administration didn’t. That stalemate ultimately resulted in him getting fired, despite the fact that he was the first coach in program history to win 7 games in each of his first 5 seasons.

You know who would welcome a coach as steady as that? Duke. The Blue Devils already earned their sixth postseason berth in the past 7 years. In football! Duke gave Cutcliffe time to build the program up, and he’s essentially earned a lifetime contract with how his teams have performed in that stretch. At least he should’ve.

2. Ed Orgeron, LSU

Speaking of coaches who were fired from Ole Miss, Cutcliffe’s successor was a disaster. Orgeron compiled a 3-21 record in SEC play during his 3-year stint in Oxford. Unlike Cutcliffe, though, there was no debate that Orgeron didn’t meet an expectations when he was fired after the program’s first winless mark vs. the SEC since 1982.

After Orgeron spent the next 8 seasons as an assistant/interim coach, it seemed that he’d forever be entrenched in one of those roles. The stench of the Ole Miss failure was still on the minds of many when LSU whiffed on Tom Herman and shed Orgeron’s interim tag in 2016. And while many have questioned that decision and whether Orgeron is the long-term guy in Baton Rouge, he’s shown that he’s a completely different coach than he was a decade ago.

In essentially 2.5 years at LSU, Orgeron is 15-6 against the SEC, and he has 6 wins against ranked teams since he took over as the full-time head coach in 2017. Despite boasting one of the nation’s toughest schedules and having a 7-win projection by the oddsmakers, LSU is a win from 10 victories and a berth in a New Year’s 6 Bowl. Orgeron has indeed bounced all the way back from his Ole Miss days.

1. Mike Leach, Washington State

Some might argue that Leach shouldn’t be on this list because he wasn’t necessarily fired for performance-based reasons. Texas Tech fired Leach after the Adam James discipline story came to light. When Leach left Lubbock, there was no doubt that he could coach. The guy led the Red Raiders to 10 bowl berths and Associated Press Top-25 finishes in 5 of his final 6 seasons. The question was if the animated, beat-of-his-own-drum coach was ever going to get another chance to run another Power 5 program.

It took the right athletic director (Bill Moos) and the right program to make that happen. Washington State was willing to take on any questions surrounding Leach’s past because of how great of an offensive mind he was. The Cougars were desperate after missing the postseason in 8 straight years. All Leach has done is clinch 5 bowl berths in the last 6 years.

In his seventh season in Pullman, Leach is doing his best work yet. He’s leading a Pac-12 frontrunner and a Playoff-hopeful program with the nation’s top passer in Gardner Minshew. Wazzu is tied for its highest single-season win total ever and Leach is up for every national coach of the year honor in the book.

There’s no better bounce-back coach, and perhaps even less debatable, there’s no better character in the sport than Leach: