Method To His Madness - Letter from the Publisher

You could describe LSU Head Coach Les Miles in many different ways. Just don’t call him conventional. 
 

He has been known to eat a bit of grass from the football field for good luck. He has over 34,000 Twitter followers, which is more than any other FBS coach. Last month, he tweeted “I hear Wimbledon champ likes eating grass too. Hope he enjoyed it. Nothing beats Tiger Stadium grass though.” He is a press favorite, having provided many memorable sound bites. There’s even a web site devoted to over 500 of Miles’ quotes on football and life.

Miles is also widely thought of as somewhat of a crazed coaching genius – the “Mad Hatter” of Baton Rouge. That reputation likely grew out of a collection of dramatic fourth down conversions and fake field goals in high-profile, nationally-televised SEC matchups where Miles’ gambling paid off. 

But the reality is that LSU actually gambles less on fourth down than most FBS schools – only 12 attempts last season compared to, say, 34 attempts at Oregon. It’s just that Miles has become a master at knowing when and how to go for it on fourth down, and the Tigers were better at it than any other team last season, converting 11 of those 12 attempts. In our cover feature, Miles shares his guidelines for making the most of fourth down opportunities.

You might also argue that Miles in unconventional in another way – his loyalty to the LSU program. Despite two head coaching opportunities in the last five years at Michigan – his alma mater, where he played for and coached with the legendary Bo Schembechler – Miles has remained at LSU for what will be his seventh season. In this era of annual high-profile coaching moves at top programs, his dedication to the Tigers is unique and refreshing. Perhaps his decision had something to do with the fact that Michigan Stadium has synthetic turf.

Miles’ coaching resume illustrates how young, ambitious coaches need to be mobile in today’s college environment. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Michigan in 1980 and served two seasons before moving on to Colorado, where he spent five years on Bill McCartney’s staff. In 1987, he returned to Michigan for eight seasons under Schembechler and Gary Moeller. He joined the Oklahoma State program as OC in 1995 for three years before becoming the O-Line coach for the Dallas Cowboys for another three-year stint. His first head coaching job, back at Oklahoma State included two notable upsets of Oklahoma in consecutive years and a Big 12 Coach of the Year award. Since joining LSU in 2005, Miles’s Tigers have compiled a 62-17 record that included the BCS National Championship in 2007.

Miles’ enthusiasm for LSU and his players is clearly evident in this month’s cover photo and the dramatic photo spread on pages 22 and 23. Thanks to the Sports Information departments of colleges and universities around the country, AFM receives great photos every month that help us illustrate the subjects of our articles. But rarely have photos captured our attention more than these from LSU Photography Coordinator Steve Franz. The images of Miles leading his players onto the field are an ideal portrayal of a coach as a leader and, we think, a very appropriate way to kick off the 2011 season.

Every coach who reads AFM is a leader of young men. We salute you for the important role you play in their lives and for the hard work you’ve done preparing for this season. Win or lose, we hope that your year will be judged as a success because of the positive impact you’ve had on your team.

On behalf of everyone at American Football Monthly, have a great season!
                           
John Gallup
Editor & Publisher