My 2 cents on Miles is that he is a solid but unspectacular coach who benefited from having a state with the most NFL prospects per capita, only school in the state, and happened to win strongly when the SEC West was a bit down. The SEC West today is an absolute shark tank. I don't know why a coach would go there unless they are trying to max out their deals, as it is a lot easier to win in just about any other division in the country. I would dare say that Minnesota has an easier path to the College Football Playoff than any team in the SEC West that is not LSU or Alabama.
You may be right about the prospects/capita but keep in mind he is also competing against the entire SEC and the rest of the country for those Louisiana players. I'm not sure with the Florida schools, Alabama et al, the locals are falling in his lap. I like his style. You may call it unspectacular, but I would like to refer to it as solid without all the hype of a clown like Harbaugh or the authoritarian style of Saban. His record is solid...even recently(records posted below). And you can't argue he knows how to pick and mentor Assistant Coaches for their futures. I say open up the coffers and, for once, bring in the big name and roll the dice. We need to fill the stands, pay for the Athlete Village, and give the Gopher fans the feeling that they got a first rate hire as opposed to the feeling of "settling" which I've had over the last 35 years.
I was a student when the Bobby Ross debacle happened, but I was here when Holtz was hired too. That was the last "buzz" I had for a new coach. I used to work at Cooke Hall and would sneak down and listen to him talking to the players. Say what you want about his shortcomings, that guy could motivate the best out of average players.
Not that it matters, but on a trivia side, he coached Odell Beckham and his mom graduated from Windom High School back in 1988. Check out her high school track stats. They'll blow your mind...but I digress.
Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs Coaches# AP°
Oklahoma State Cowboys (Big 12 Conference) (2001–2004)
2001 Oklahoma State 4–7 2–6 5th (South)
2002 Oklahoma State 8–5 5–3 T–3rd (South) W Houston
2003 Oklahoma State 9–4 5–3 3rd (South) L Cotton
2004 Oklahoma State 7–5 4–4 5th (South) L Alamo
Oklahoma State: 28–21 16–16
LSU Tigers (Southeastern Conference) (2005–2016)
2005 LSU 11–2 7–1 1st (Western) W Peach 5 6
2006 LSU 11–2 6–2 T–2nd (Western) W Sugar† 3 3
2007 LSU 12–2 6–2 1st (Western) W BCS NCG† 1 1
2008 LSU 8–5 3–5 3rd (Western) W Chick-fil-A
2009 LSU 9–4 5–3 2nd (Western) L Capital One 17 17
2010 LSU 11–2 6–2 T–2nd (Western) W Cotton 8 8
2011 LSU 13–1 8–0 1st (Western) L BCS NCG† 2 2
2012 LSU 10–3 6–2 T–2nd (Western) L Chick-fil-A 12 13
2013 LSU 10–3 5–3 3rd (Western) W Outback 14 14
2014 LSU 8–5 4–4 T–4th (Western) L Music City
2015 LSU 9–3 5–3 T–3rd (Western) W Texas 17 16
2016 LSU 2–2 1–1 (Western)
LSU: 114–34 62–28
Total: 141–55
National championship Conference title Conference division title
†Indicates Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, BCS, or CFP / New Years' Six bowl.
#Rankings from final Coaches Poll.
°Rankings from final AP Poll.
