When you think of SEC football, “innovative” is hardly the adjective that comes to mind. The league follows the “good ol’ boys” mentality of following its tradition and providing little change.
The old saying is, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” and in this case, it remains true. The conference has enjoyed a dominant run since the turn of the century, winning eight of the last 10 national championships, including a run of six consecutive BCS titles from 2007-12.
Nick Saban, the conference’s most successful coach, is the perfect example of this mentality. Saban is innovative to an extent, considering three other SEC coaches — Florida’s Jim McElwain, Georgia’s Kirby Smart and South Carolina’s Will Muschamp — branched out from Saban’s coaching tree.
But his style is so textbook and old school that it’s hard for him to be considered innovative in 2016. Saban’s firm stance against satellite camps led many to compare him to an angry old man yelling at kids to get off his lawn.
But again, why fix what isn’t broken? Saban has won five national championships and six SEC titles — both at LSU and Alabama. Saban’s coaching style is so “by the book” that it’s shocking when he does go against the grain, like calling for an onside kick in the national championship against Clemson.
That play was so un-Saban-like that it not only caught the Tigers off guard, but most of the viewing audience as well. However, that play would have been the norm for LSU’s Les Miles, who’s made a legacy of going against the grain.
Miles is the SEC’s longest tenured coach and arguably its most successful behind Saban. Fittingly, he picked up where Saban left off at LSU and led the Tigers to another BCS Championship in 2007.
But even still, Miles’ legacy at LSU is widely debated. Known by many as the “Mad Hatter,” his aggressive coaching scheme features many trick plays, which means they have a 50-50 chance of being incredibly successful or questionable.
Last season, Miles’ team jumped out to a 7-0 record before dropping three straight in November. The losing skid landed Miles on the hot seat, but fan support based on his past success and a 19-7 win against Texas A&M in LSU’s last regular season game saved his job.
Miles’ greatest attributes are also his greatest weaknesses, as you’d expect with such an unorthodox coach.
He’s a masterful recruiter, but rarely seems to have a quarterback on par with the rest of his offense. And with a coaching scheme that is so diverse, his success rate is always either feast or famine.
But that’s the Les Miles college football fans have grown accustomed to. Regardless of whether you agree with his style, there’s no denying that LSU has been one of the nation’s most consistent football programs since he took the job in 2005.
LSU is 112-32 under Miles and annually a national contender, which also creates expectations that must be met, otherwise he’ll find himself on the hot seat, as proven last season. But you’d be hard pressed to find a more innovative coach in modern college football, especially after Steve Spurrier’s retirement in 2015.
Few active coaches are innovative in the sense that they change the game. A spread offense is now the norm in college and is a growing scheme in the NFL. But Miles’ style is all his own and is so far from average that he’s earned both a positive and negative reputation.
Regardless, the SEC’s most innovative coach has been more successful than not and deserves to be recognized as one of the best in college football. Miles should have a bounce-back season in 2016, as LSU looks to once again contend for both an SEC and national championship.
The post Hall: Les Miles is SEC’s most innovative coach appeared first on Today's "U".