During Les Miles first 3 season he went 34-6 an 85% winning percentage with 1 BCSCG, 1 SEC title, 1 SEC West title and 1 SEC West co-title. The other SEC West teams had the following the records:

Alabama: 23-15 60% *on the field
Arkansas: 22-16 57% 1 SEC West title
Auburn: 29-9 76% 1 SEC West co-title
Mississippi: 10-25 28%
Mississippi State: 14-22 38%
Texas A&M: 21-16 56% *Big12 member – listed to show early winning percentage

Les Miles’ beginning his tenure at 85% winning percentage is impressive. However, the one thing that should be considered is while LSU was dominating the West, their opponents were of considerably weaker. Auburn appeared to be the only challenger that posed a threat to Les and LSU in the West. So, a little more perspective needs to be considered regarding Miles early domination. The SEC East was considered to be the power division during Les’ start. Schools like Florida, Georgia and to some degree Tennessee in 2007 had high winning percentages as listed below.

Florida: 31-6 83% 1 BCSCG, 1 SEC title
Georgia : 30-9 77% 1 SEC 1 SEC East title Kentucky: 19-18 51%
South Carolina: 21-16 56%
Tennessee: 24-14 63%
Vanderbilt: 14-21 40%
Missouri: 27-12 69% *Big12 member – listed to show early winning percentage

As shown above the East was bit stronger than West. This advantage may offer a bit of perspective about the LSU winning percentage early in Les’ tenure. However, after 2009 seasons the power between the division shifted, the West became the dominate division and fueled with new coaches at every SEC schools things began to change, slightly.

Many LSU fans will agree that the tDecline, as it’s become affectionately called, began at the end of the 2011 season. The following shows the combined records of the SEC West teams since the 2012 season.
LSU: 35-14 71%
Alabama: 46-6 88% 1 BCSCG, 2 SEC Arkansas: 20-28 41%
Auburn: 29-23 55% 1 SEC title
Mississippi: 32-18 64%
Mississippi State: 33-17 66%
Texas A&M: 36-14 72%

The SEC East had now become the weaker division where West teams could feast on lesser opponents and help their winning percentage. LSU was no exception, during the 2012 – 2015 period LSU posted a 6-2 (75%) versus the East with losses coming against Georgia in 2013 and Florida in 2012. In contrast, LSU’s early winning percentage versus the East was 2-4 (33%). However, the below par record was done during LSU’s period of domination. The following shows the records for the East teams since tDecline began (2012).

Florida: 32-16 66% 1 SEC East title
Georgia : 38-13 75% 1 SEC East title
Kentucky: 14-33 29%
Missouri: 33-16 67% 2 SEC East titles
South Carolina: 32-18 64%
Tennessee: 24-24 50%
Vanderbilt: 25-24 51%

As noted above the East has seen a slight decline in their perceived power from the earlier period listed above.

Based on the above charts one can see that while the SEC West was in down, LSU was able to pad their winning percentage against weaker opponents. Thus giving a false sense of real dominance. However, when the other West schools made changes LSU’s faux dominance declined and they moved to the upper-middle of the pack. Even the head-to-head games versus the East shows that LSU was not the dominate force they thought they were. The early period of Les’ tenure showed a sub-par performance versus a formidable opponents. This same decline was shown once the West teams began recruiting better and changing their game plan.

This type of performance, has never been indicative of a Les Miles coached team. First time head coach Les Miles took over a struggling program at Oklahoma State in 2001, a program that had 1 winning season in the past 13 years and after the first season, accomplished back-to-back-to-back winning seasons. A feat that hadn’t been accomplished since the 1980’s in Stillwater.

Based on the above information, Les Miles is a winner and knows how to win. Can Les be replaced and LSU return to their new found glory days of a decade ago? Perhaps - but to achieve and maintain a winning percentage of 85% in a conference that many perceive to be the strongest in the country would be a task that would challenge the greatest coaches of the day. The odds of LSU returning to those times are very low, perhaps even, impossible to achieve. Most likely, LSU will experience a lull while a new coaching staff molds and reshapes the current team in its new image. Firing Les may work out in the long run, but more than likely the long run and especially the immediate future will see LSU win even fewer games than the fan base demands.

Is LSU the program the fans think it is? That answer, like any regarding perception is relative to the perspective of the individual being asked. To the LSU fan that began watching in 2001, LSU is the program they think it is - to the rest of us LSU is awakening from a dream they may never return to again.