On Wednesday morning, well-respected NFL insider Mike Freeman floated a nugget he’s been hearing around the league over the last few years: Les Miles has been in serious discussion as an NFL head coach.
While concerns in the past centered around Miles’ general “goofiness,” as Freeman phrased it, the fact that he continues to win and the way he handles his locker room are reasons why Miles is all of a sudden a hot name in NFL circles. As Freeman adds, Miles is “the next Jimmy Johnson in terms of knowing how to coach the 21st-century player.” What do the minds at CBR have to say? Taking everything into consideration (how he handles his players, how he handles the media, his general goofiness), would Les Miles be a good NFL Head Coach?
Aaron Torres: First off, let’s get one thing straight, the comparison to Johnson is blasphemous. Miles’ coaching style has about as much in common with Johnson’s as my dating life does with Derek Jeter’s. They couldn’t be any more different. Go ahead and read the book on the Dallas Cowboys by Jeff Pearlman, “Boys Will Be Boys.” Johnson didn’t “know how to handle players,” he was a straight dick. Guys played hard for him because they were terrified of him. He cut players on a whim the way someone decides on a whim to get dessert with dinner.
But at the same time, that’s what works in this league. In the NFL, the best head coaches are the alpha dogs, the task-masters, the guys don’t take crap from anyone. I already mentioned Johnson, but don’t Bill Belichick and Mike Tomlin fit the same description? Same with Sean Payton. Other than Rex Ryan, name me a “player’s coach,” who has really worked out in the NFL? I can’t think of one. And ultimately, the jury is still out on Sexy Rexy.
Anyway, if you’re going to make a comparison between Les and any Dallas Cowboys coach of the last 20 years, the apt comparison would be Barry Switzer… yes, the same Barry Switzer that the Cowboys dynasty ultimately crumbled under. Like Les, Switzer was highly successful at the college level because he was a player’s coach. While- to his credit- Les certainly doesn’t let his players get away with what Switzer’s did, I would have the same concerns for Les that plagued Switzer. Essentially, if the players don’t fear the coach I’m not positive they’ll respect him. And if they don’t respect him, eventually they’ll stop playing for him.
Do I love Les? Of course. But his game is suited for college. In a lot of ways he reminds me of Pete Carroll, a guy who- because of the ancillary things- is underrated as a straight X’s and O’s guy. He also does a masterful job connecting with kids and gets them to play hard for him. But for all the success that Carroll had in college, two years into his stint in Seattle, his team still doesn’t have an identity. As far as I’m concerned, Les needs to stay in college.
Kevin McGuire: Let’s recap the recent history of college coaches going to the NFL. Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban and Pete Carroll are the ones that quickly come to my mind, and how did things work out for them? Here’s a hint. It didn’t. They each returned to the college game and had a much higher level of success, although Pete has gone back to the NFL to give it another crack (uhh, not going so well).
Here’s the thing. Very rarely will a successful college coach be successful at the NFL, unless he goes to the Dallas Cowboys (Jimmy Johnson, Barry Switzer). Les Miles is certainly a popular name to float around but ultimately I don’t see him as anything but a college coach. Miles is a good coach, no doubt, but will he would be a stretch in the NFL.
Aaron: But that’s the thing…. Barry Switzer WASN’T SUCCESSFUL! Granted, I know he won a Super Bowl in his second year, but just read the Pearlman book. Every guy on the Cowboys says that if Johnson had stayed they would’ve won five in a row.
And ultimately, that’s my problem. Every situation is different, and comparing any is impossible. Still, Switzer is the most apt comparison from a personality standpoint and Carroll from a coaching style standpoint. And they were both massive flops.
Look I’m not saying that Les can’t succeed, I’m just saying the odds are against him. Besides the fact that his style isn’t suited for the pros, he’ll have to learn how manage the draft, manage a salary cap and all the other ancillary things that come with the job.
At LSU, he has one the plush 2-3 jobs in the country. He’s got a ravenous fan base, all the support he needs, and at this point, he’s picking kids, the kids aren’t picking him.
Unless Les wins a second title this season and feels like he has absolutely, positively nothing to prove at this level anymore, I can’t see him going. Nor should he.
Michael Felder: I agree that Les is best suited for the college game. I stop short of slapping the “players coach” label on him as a bad thing. His players love to play for him but that’s not because “he’s nice” or “a super cool” dude. They like playing for him because he puts all the confidence in them that they can get the job done. He has crafted an “us against everyone else” atmosphere that isn’t about players liking him so much as guys wanting to sell out and win for him.
The flaws that Nick Saban had; micromanagement, domineering personality and basically being an ass, don’t afflict Miles. That comparison isn’t really accurate for me. Neither is Barry Switzer or Pete Carroll or any other coach you throw out there.
Les Miles isn’t some guru of the 3-4 defense, or the wishbone or any other defensive or offensive system. He’s an offensive line coach that breeds toughness in his players and holds them accountable to each other. I don’t buy this whole “standard rule” of college coaches not working in the NFL. That’s not how it works to me. Every coach and their style is a case by case study at the next level.
I think Miles could work at the NFL level. I don’t think he’d be more successful there than he is in the Bayou but I’m not ready to write him off as some guaranteed failure.
Matt Yoder: I’m in total agree with Mike, which I think is a first in these roundtables!
Les Miles definitely could succeed at the next level. It’s awfully hard to make the argument that he won’t succeed in the NFL because he’s a “players coach.” Pete Carroll hasn’t been a runaway success, but let’s not forget he made the playoffs last year and won a game against heavily favored opposition (as much as I hate to admit it, that was against my Saints). On the other side, strict coaches like Nick Saban haven’t quite worked out in the NFL. It’s tough to make an overarching declaration one way or the other.
Ultimately, Les Miles gets the most out of his teams. For sure the NFL is a different beast, but there’s no reason why Les couldn’t translate that from the college game to the pro game for the reasons Mike mentioned. The staffs do so much of the gameplanning and coaching in the NFL anyways, Les can stand at the top in that motivational role. As a head coach in the NFL, it wouldn’t even necessarily be about Les’ Xs and Os skills, but that ability to be a leader and have his team produce. And that he has a proven track record of doing. And his voodoo magic would naturally carry over, of course.
Aaron: Here’s where I think that Miles could succeed: The way he actually coaches games (not his “style” per se), already translates to the NFL. Run the ball, play defense and punt if you need to. But live to play another series. That screams “NFL” about as much as Bill Belichick mumbling through a press conference.
Still, Mike, I disagree. To your point, Les is a guy who is great at instilling confidence in his players… which is great at the college level. At the college level you’re dealing with guys who are ultimately just over sized children. They’re away from home for the first time, miss their girlfriends, hate chemistry class. They need to be picked up. They need Les.
In the NFL? I’m not so sure that’s what they need. These are grown men here. They don’t need guys to give fiery speeches and instill confidence in them. They need a guy who is going to come up with an excellent gameplan, install it, and execute it on Sundays. That’s what John Harbaugh does. That’s what Mike Tomlin does. That’s what Bill Belichick does.
Now, could Les do the same? Yes, he absolutely could. But I’m not so sure that when everyone else is working 20 hours a day like he is, and when everyone else has pretty much the same talent level that he does, Les will stand out quite as much as he does right now.
I just finished my column for CBR and ultimately, I would never blame Les for trying his hand at the NFL. Especially if he wins a second title this year.
But in my opinion, the chances he succeeds there are just as likely that he fails.
Allen Kenney: When I think of great NFL coaches, I think of guys like Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick who seem to play as much of a CEO role as they do on-the-field strategist. They’re meticulous and detail-oriented, and their ability to “manage” a team, particularly in the area of personnel management, is paramount to their success.
Does Les Miles really fit that mold? I don’t see it. He seems like more of the kind of guy you bring in to motivate players and act as a confidant than he does day-to-day executive. On the NFL level, he’d make a great No. 2 in my mind – a coach the players trusted who can advocate on their behalf to the head coach.
I just don’t think he’d be a great fit in the CEO’s chair, though.
Michael: Allen and Aaron you guys are right. He isn’t that same type of coach as the CEO, super elite NFL guys. Most coaches are not.
I don’t see the need to push that on to anyone. That’s like saying a quarterback won’t be successful because he’s not Manning or Brady. An LB can’t succeed because he’s not Ray Lewis.
There’s a lot of room between a “failure” in the NFL and being a coaching legend with multiple Super Bowls to his name. Jeff Fisher – he has 0 Super Bowls but I wouldn’t consider him a failure. Up until Tom Coughlin did the impossible against the Patriots was he considered a failure? There’s a lot of room between failure and a legend.
Allen: Yeah, Mike, but I’d like to think I’m hiring a coach who has at least super-elite potential. This is the NFL – there aren’t rivalry games and meaningful conference championships to be had, just Super Bowls. While I’d agree that falling short of winning a Super Bowl is tolerable and ultimately not the best measure of a coach, I’d rather not settle on a coach who I didn’t feel confident could actually win one.
I don’t have that confidence in Miles.
You’ve read our discussion, what’s your take on Les Miles as a future NFL coach?
