Time ran out twice for LSU head Coach Les Miles this weekend.
After his team came up short in a 18-13 loss to Auburn on Saturday — when referees overruled what had appeared to be a game-winning touchdown — Miles was let go of his head coaching duties as the Tigers dropped to 2-2 on the year after what many media pundits believed was a playoff contending team this year.
Miles, is one of the most winningest coaches in the SEC during his 12-year reign with 114 wins and ranks seventh all-time among SEC coaches who spent at least five years in the conference with a 77.0 winning percentage.
But that apparently wasn’t enough for LSU’s power brokers to pull the trigger.
Last year, Miles survived a November coup attempt after losses against Alabama, Arkansas and Ole Miss almost led to his dismissal. Fans went into the season final against Texas A&M expecting to see Miles coach his final game at Tiger Stadium. But after a 19-7 victory, the administration decided to give Miles one more chance.
“Decisions like this are never easy ones to make,” vice chancellor and director of athletics Joe Alleva said in a statement. “Coach Miles has done a tremendous job here and he’s been a great ambassador for our University, which makes this even more difficult.
“However, it’s apparent in evaluating the program through the first month of the season that a change has to be made. Our commitment to excellence and competing at the highest level is unwavering, and our goals for the remainder of this season haven’t changed. We have an obligation to our student-athletes to put them in the best position to have success on the football field each week.“
Miles, arguably one of the top coaches in SEC history, posted a 75-18 record in his first seven seasons at LSU. During that stretch, he won three SEC West titles, two SEC titles, a BCS championship and a national title game appearance.
LSU will now hand the keys over to defensive line coach Ed Orgeron who has been promoted as the interim head coach. Orgeron, was an instant success in his previous interim coaching stint at USC in 2013. The 55-year-old led the Trojans to a 6-2 record with a plethora of fans wanting him to get the head coaching job after the season.
