Nick Saban rips LSU for firing Les Miles in middle of season
Nick Saban does not agree with the way LSU went about firing Les Miles.
Miles lost his job on Sunday in the wake of a loss to Auburn, which has the Tigers off to a 2-2 start — the worst start of Les Miles’ 12-year tenure with the program. As far as Saban is concerned, that is no reason to fire a coach with Miles’ track record in the middle of a season.
Saban: A man wins a national championship and two SEC titles, and he doesn't make it through the season?
— Aaron Suttles (@AaronSuttles) September 26, 2016
Saban on Les Miles: First of all, Les Miles is one of the most respected colleagues in terms of rivalry we've had.
— Aaron Suttles (@AaronSuttles) September 26, 2016
Saban: "I have a tremendous amount of respect for Les Miles and what he was able to accomplish there…I guess this is the time we live in"
— TideSports.com (@TideSports) September 26, 2016
The last year or so has been incredibly bizarre for Miles and LSU. He was all but fired in the middle of last season before a dramatic win over Texas A&M, which inspired LSU to keep the veteran coach. The leash was apparently a short one after Miles’ job status was discussed last fall.
There’s no debating LSU has underachieved over the past two seasons, but you can understand why Saban feels the school was not kind to Miles, who is the second-winningest coach in team history. We’ve all seen how animated Saban can be in defending people he believes were wronged (remember this incident?), so it’s no surprise he is sticking up for a rival coach.