Les Miles Made Absurd Decision to Leave Jordan Jefferson in BCS National Championship Game
Put simply, the BCS National Championship game was about as exciting as naptime in kindergarten. That is due directly to the stubbornness of LSU head coach Les Miles. LSU’s offense was stagnant in the first half with Jordan Jefferson at quarterback to put it politely. Trailing 15-0 at the end of the third quarter, Miles refused to play his better quarterback, Jarrett Lee, and it cost his team an undefeated season. This move could possibly put Miles’ job in jeopardy.
Miles is obviously a pretty good coach or he wouldn’t have a national title under his belt already. However, his moronic decision in Monday night’s title game was enough to raise even the most faithful eyebrows.
Lee started the first eight games of the season for LSU, during which time the Tigers went 8-0 and dominated most every opponent they played. Lee played exceptionally well during that time, throwing for 1,306 yards and 14 touchdowns while only tossing three interceptions. He wasn’t a Heisman candidate, but he got the job done and got it done well.
As for Jefferson, he was suspended the first four games of the season after being arrested in mid-August. The face he was even allowed back on the team is absurd, much less his being named starting quarterback four games later. However, that’s a knock on Miles’ character, not his coaching ability.
Why in the world would any coach change quarterbacks three-fourths of the way through a season, especially one of the undefeated No. 1 team in the nation? Jefferson not only has issues between the ears (see multiple off-field instances), but he’s nowhere near the quarterback Lee is. Again, that’s not to say Lee is a future NFL starter, but he’s worlds better than Jefferson.
In addition, Lee was the senior leader on the most dominant team in the country that was on its way to a surefire national title. The fact he didn’t even play the final three games of the season, including the title game, is beyond mind-blowing.
Everyone’s not perfect, so let Miles have his decision to bring Jefferson back and then start him. However, anybody with half a football mind knows to switch quarterbacks down by 15 in the title game with a quality replacement on the sidelines.
That’s not to say Lee would won the game for LSU, but he sure wouldn’t have done any worse than Jefferson. Lee should have started the second half for LSU, in which case it might have been a very different ballgame. But for whatever reason, Miles elected to stay with Jefferson.
Miles’ decision makes him look a lot like Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who is known for sticking with players and coaches beyond their usefulness because he’s the one who hand-chose them for the job. Maybe that’s what it was with Miles, but c’mon, man! It’s all or nothing in the fourth quarter of that game and Jefferson was playing awful.
Now Miles’ job is almost certainly intact, but one has to wonder if LSU athletic director Joe Alleva will question Miles’ decision to leave Jefferson in the title game. It was one of the most bewildering and moronic moves in college football history and LSU fans should be livid as well as embarrassed.
Follow Jeric Griffin on Twitter @JericGriffin
