LSU's marriage with Les Miles has been unhappy for a while now. After a tumultuous last 12 months, the saga ended Sunday with Miles' firing after four games of his 12th season at the helm in Baton Rouge.
In those 11 and change seasons, Miles put together a 114-34 record, won one national title, lost a second and never lost more than five games in a season,which he did just twice. The Tigers went to three SEC Championships under Miles, winning two in addition to winning three bowls that are now a part of the New Years' Six rotation.
However, none of those big-time wins have come since the 2011 season, when LSU suffered its first loss of the season in the BCS title game. The Tigers went 9-3 last season, which was nearly enough to cost Miles his job. The offense struggled in 2016's first four games, which was enough to give the long-tenured coach the axe.
But will it actually help LSU?
We've seen notable coaches get fired before following seasons below their standards, and oftentimes, the replacements aren't any better. When Tennessee dumped Phillip Fulmer after a 5-7 season in 2008, the Volunteers didn't win more than seven games until 2015. Fulmer had just two losing seasons in his 16 years in Knoxville. In nine of those 17 seasons, the Vols won 10 games or more. Tennessee showed a fantastic college football coach the door, and the program paid the price.
The Tigers are losing a legendary SEC coach who is also known for building strong relationships with players and establishing discipline, not to mention that his antics make him incredibly marketable. Defensive line coach Ed Orgeron is taking over in the interim. Considering that it's the LSU offense causing problems, it likely won't get any better under the former USC interim head coach.
The main knock against Miles is his inability to find a good quarterback, which has cost the Tigers greatly this season as they've used both Brandon Harris and Danny Etling. Before that, it was Harris and Anthony Jennings. Zach Mettenberger was a decent option, but even he failed to maximize his potential, especially with all the NFL stars that surrounded him on the 2014 offense. The struggles date back for years, and it has kept the Tigers from getting over the hump in recent seasons — particularly when Jordan Jefferson led LSU into the BCS Championship in 2011, where the Tigers were humiliated by a strong Alabama defense.
Perhaps Miles' greatest contribution was his unpredictable nature, as the "Mad Hatter" would dial up trick plays in the strangest of situations, and they always seemed to work out. Growing up as a Florida Gator fan, I remember LSU punter Brad Wing running in a long touchdown and a remarkable fake field goal where the holder blindly threw the ball over his head for the kicker to scoop up and run for a first down. Miles was never afraid to go for it on fourth down or resort to gimmicky play calling, and it gave LSU somewhat of a reputation.
Now, the Tigers must figure out the next step. It could be Orgeron, who coached for three years at Ole Miss and led USC to a 6-2 record after the firing of Lane Tiffin, but I would expect a new coach come the beginning of next season. If LSU really believes the next coach can take the program to heights Miles couldn't, the administration is in for a rude awakening. The Tigers had one of the better coaches of this era locked up, and instead, they'll be shopping during the offseason.