Debate: Who should LSU hire as its next coach?
This isn’t a job for LinkedIn.
You will have a reaction — one way or another — when LSU ultimately hires its next head football coach to replace Les Miles.
Your reaction will not be: Who’s that?
LSU is a big-boy job, one of the biggest in the country. First-timers need not apply.
We figured we could save a few pennies Joe Alleva might spend on a firm to help with the search.
Who should the Tigers hire? Glad you asked. We’ve been debating that all week.
Answer: LSU should replace Les Miles with Lane Kiffin, and not just because it would be a dream for a columnist like myself.
First of all, there’s nothing Alabama could do to step in the Tigers’ way. It’s a promotion, so there’s no messy buyout to worry about like there would be with a Tom Herman, a Jimbo Fisher or a Bobby Petrino.
What ultimately led to the demise of Miles? His inability to evolve in the passing game. Look at what Kiffin has done with the Crimson Tide, historically one of the sport’s classic ground-and-pound programs. He turned Blame Sims and Jake Coker into productive passers, and neither will ever take a snap in the NFL.
If Kiffin can get Nick Saban to adopt spread and hurry-up elements in order to take the next step offensively, then he can surely do the same in Baton Rouge. He’s also an ace on the recruiting trail and a cut-up in the Twittersphere.
Best of all, it be a strike across the bow of the Tide. Kiffin might even be able to bring fellow bad boy Steve Sarkisian along as offensive coordinator.
— John Crist, senior writer
Answer: LSU should throw everything at Houston coach Tom Herman and fast. LSU is a big-time job, and unless Texas and/or USC come open, it will likely be the biggest vacancy. Herman is no doubt the guy the Tigers should target and put the full court press on.
Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
When it’s the biggest name and hottest coach in college football, you make it happen.
The thought of Kiffin at LSU just doesn’t do it for me. Sure, he’d be a quote machine, but I just don’t think he’ll get the opportunity unless the athletic department strikes out on about eight of its top candidates, with Herman leading the way.
Herman has proven he can take a program, recruit talent, turn it around and win big games. He’s been tutored by Urban Meyer, and he’s seen big-time football.
No doubt, I’d pay Tom Herman whatever he wants.
— Jon Cooper, director of operations
Answer: If the desires of LSU fans over the past few years are any indication, the best hire for LSU would be Tom Herman.
Fans in Baton Rouge want offense, plain and simple, after several years of having a limited offense under Les Miles. In that respect, the Tigers’ fans don’t feel too different from how the Gators’ fans felt after having Will Muschamp. Of course, Miles had glory years where Muschamp didn’t, but you get my point.
Secondly, Herman will have ties to Houston recruits, which is a hotbed only four hours away that LSU dabbles in when it reaches outside The Boot.
Herman has gone 17-1 at Houston since taking over the program at the beginning of last season, and his Cougars handled Florida State rather comfortably in a New Year’s Six bowl game.
This season, Houston has been ranked at No. 6 in the AP Poll for four consecutive weeks after never attaining a ranking that high since 1990 in the David Klingler days.
Clearly, there’s a case to be made for Lane Kiffin, Chad Morris and a lot of other guys out there, but (with the exception of maybe Jimbo Fisher) no other realistic candidate would bring more excitement than Herman.
— Talal Elmasry, managing editor
Answer: Kiffin is the obvious first choice and for all of the obvious reasons. (If Saban can jump from LSU to Alabama, ….) Herman certainly isn’t a bad consolation prize. But they’re snapped up. That’s OK. A name not enough people are mentioning is Chad Morris.
Like Kiffin and Herman, Morris is an offensive mastermind. He was the play-caller for Sammy Watkins’ Clemson teams, the man who turned Tajh Boyd into a record-setting quarterback.
Playing for Morris was a key reason Deshaun Watson chose Clemson over the SEC.
Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports
Forget what Morris has done — or hasn’t done — in one-plus years at SMU. It’s irrelevant. SMU and Houston are in the same division, but there not in the same league. Houston had three 10-win seasons in the decade before Herman arrived. There was nothing for him to rebuild. In that same span, SMU had three one-win seasons. Morris walked into an impossible situation, but he did so only to set himself up for a bigger move.
So focus, instead, on what Morris did — and who he attracted — while helping Dabo Swinney rebuild Clemson into a national brand.
The Clemson team that pushed Alabama to the brink in January? Morris recruited almost every key piece on both sides of the ball. The prize, of course, was Watson, a leading candidate for this year’s Heisman.
Can you imagine LSU’s offense with the next Watson leading it? I certainly can, and it’s a scary thought for the rest of the West.
— Chris Wright, executive editor
Chris Wright is Executive Editor at SaturdayDownSouth.com. Email him at cwright@saturdaydownsouth.com.
