Yeah when you really think about it your joke/question poses really interesting questions. Louisiana in-state recruiting is very different than for other places. There is a statewide culture genuinely looking down on in-state recruits leaving the state for OOS P5 programs. “Retention” of in-state talent has been a huge component of LSU’s recruiting strategy for years. I have never done the legwork to figure it out, but I have always suspected that Saban invented the concept of this strategy back in early 2000s when he was there. He identified the culture, nurtured it, and very quickly began to realize objectively superior recruiting results as to the state’s elite HS talent. The most successful in-state strategy shifted focus to this idea of “retention” of the top in-state recruits. The twist is that this strategy was also the easiest in that it is a system that essentially does work for you. The foundation for this system is made up of a small group of people at the top who cast a huge tent of supporters made up of community leaders, HS coaches, family members/friends serving as “handlers, and local donors/influencers acting as “brokers”. The supporters funnel talent through pipelines with built-in insulation from NCAA interference (like a part time HS job, etc) to the LSU coaches, who quietly know what is happening but have no direct knowledge that could implicate potential recruiting violations. The supporters are loyal to a fault and do not like outsiders. Perfect storm.

I didn’t analyze it much at the time but back when LES was about to be fired I was privy to a very unique situation by complete accident. Right before the wheels started moving on the firing/coach search I had a sit-down meeting with Roy O Martin. I just happened to be representing a government entity he was negotiating a big economic development contract with, and he stopped by for an surprise/impromptu meeting to work out all the contract terms/provisions. We did the whole thing and afterwards the Les Miles topic came up of course. He wasn’t throwing out insider info or anything, but I remember thinking it was interesting how important the in state recruiting was for the people calling the shots.

And so every coach since Saban has met the recruiting criteria. And the available talent pool is a gold mine, making it almost impossible not to field at a minimum a top 15 team based on raw talent and elite speed, size, and physical ability. So coaches who were already elite recruiters like Saban flourished. Coaches who were a notch or two below would still eat every signing day. So they could lean on that alone and still be one of the best teams in the conference.

But I agree, it does raise the question of whether they were actually good coaches/recruiters or if the most widely known “secret” in CFB could turn shitty coaches into elite ones. LSU will always prioritize a recruiting HC above all else as long as the state talent maintains like it has. L