Four Candidates To Replace Les Miles At LSU

Les Miles has been fired at LSU and the school will now be looking for a long-term solution at its head coaching spot. Here is a look at four candidates who could be in line to replace Miles in Baton Rouge.

Tom Herman

No one is hotter than Tom Herman right now. The 41-year-old has the Houston Cougars rolling, ranked No. 6 and on the path to reach the College Football Playoff. Herman is due for a big jump and while LSU will have competition pursuing him (USC comes to mind), the Tigers may present the most immediate shot at a national title.

Herman can recruit, learned how to run a program under Urban Meyer and is an aggressive, young coach who would turn the current culture at LSU around quickly.

Jimbo Fisher

Rumors swirled that Fisher may have been willing to replace Miles after last season, before Les was retained. Fisher coached quarterbacks and became the offensive coordinator at LSU in the early 2000s under Nick Saban before heading to Florida State and taking over as the coach-in-waiting and eventual head coach.

Fisher has won a national title with the Seminoles and it might seem like a weird move away from a successful program back to the dogfight that is the SEC West. That said, he’s a guy with a connection to LSU and when the Tigers go after someone they throw everything at them.

Bobby Petrino

Petrino is familiar with the SEC from his stint at Arkansas and seems to have put the “motorcycle incident” behind him. He’s got Louisville rolling right now, as the Cardinals are ranked in the top five and have a Heisman Trophy contender under center.

While things are great for Petrino at Louisville, the lure of LSU — one of the premiere jobs in the country — could be too strong. Throw in the memory of his missed opportunity in the SEC and you’ve got a perfect narrative for a redemption story in Baton Rouge.

Ed Orgeron

Orgeron is wildly popular in Baton Rouge (and everywhere else, really) and will be taking over as the interim coach with Miles gone. Orgeron had a forgettable tenure as the head coach at Ole Miss (10-25), but did well at USC in an interim capacity, going 6-2 and 6-1 in the Pac-12.

A Larose, Louisiana native, Orgeron will have legions of fans rooting for him to turn the Tigers’ season around and take a firm grip on the team’s future. He’s a beloved figure, a monster on the recruiting trail and one of college football’s more colorful figures. If LSU can win some games under him over the next few weeks, the school could turn to Coach O long term.