Dantonio Being Mentioned as Possible Les Miles Replacement

Submitted by BursleyHall82 on

LSU is about to go through its own version of "It's Happening," and I've been spending the day looking at all the speculation on who will replace Les Miles. Houston's Tom Herman is at the top of the list, of course, just as he will be for Texas, Auburn and USC. Bobby Petrino is also getting a lot of run.

What I find interesting, though, is that multiple LSU reporters and national guys are speculating that Mike D'Antoni could be in the mix. Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports had my favorite explanation as to why Dantonio might be the guy - to get away from Harbaugh.

This columnist from the Baton Rouge newspaper also lists Dantonio among the 10 candidates for the job.

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reshp1

September 25th, 2016 at 11:46 PM ^

I'd be a good fit and they wouldn't have nearly the transition cost of Herman. I think ol' Mork is happy where he's at but I guess money does wonders at changing people's minds.

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stephenrjking

September 26th, 2016 at 12:46 AM ^

How high are Herman's transition costs, though? LSU's current system isn't remotely similar to Herman's, but I think the only position that can't make a clean transition to Herman's system is QB, and every coach is going to struggle with that position. Herman makes good use of power blocking and substantial linemen, as witnessed in his demolition of Alabama a couple of years ago. And LSU is stacked with athletes. And I think Herman can work with a QB that isn't a mobile ninja. Suboptimal, perhaps, but he can do it.

Joined: 03/15/2012

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buckeyejonross

September 26th, 2016 at 8:35 AM ^

Not that high really. Greg Ward was a wide receiver as a sophomore. Gus Malzahn took a cornerback turned QB to within 13 seconds of a national title. Trevone Boykin also moonlit at wide receiver before being a full time QB. The beauty of the spread system is the ability to plug and play athletes at QB and still get results. And when you actually get a QB who is an athlete instead, it changes everything.
It's way harder to find a competent pro-style QB than it is to find a dual threat kid.

Joined: 07/27/2010

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UMForLife

September 25th, 2016 at 11:53 PM ^

If this happens, can you imagine the butthurt that party fans feel? While it is entertaining, it is not happening. And we need him here so we can slap him around for the next few years.

Joined: 11/04/2013

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CorkyCole

September 26th, 2016 at 12:03 AM ^

I didn't realize until now the game clock. Gosh that makes this actually hilarious instead of just funny. I'm probably the last person to recognize that, which doesn't surprise me in the least.

Joined: 06/13/2011

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The Fugitive

September 26th, 2016 at 12:00 AM ^

If that's the case, then LSU has given up on ever beating Alabama. Mork has been outscored 87-7 against Saban and even had to punt on 4th and goal in their bowl game in 2010.

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Victor Hale II

September 26th, 2016 at 1:38 AM ^

To be fair, he'd have a lot more talent at LSU with which to make a good run at Saban's boys. MSU (along with ND and UM in the recent past) simply had inferior talent across the board and lost accordingly. Count me among those who'd like to see MD stay so Harbaugh can beat him into retirement, scowling the whole way, tail between his legs.

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stephenrjking

September 26th, 2016 at 12:03 AM ^

I don't think Dantonio will leave MSU. He is an institution there and can basically write his own check for as long as he wants. He seems to care about the place. He's there. I'm not sure he's a good fit at LSU. But, oddly, I think he would work at Notre Dame. He would be able to get enough good players, and he's great at coaching them up. Might be just what ND needs. But, like I said, probably at MSU for good.

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Leaders And Best

September 26th, 2016 at 12:07 AM ^

Mark Dantonio is 60.5 years old. No one is giving him an Tier 1 college football coaching job, and I doubt he would even consider any offers outside of the Midwest (OSU or ND) if someone were crazy enough to offer. How much longer do you think he will be able to coach at his peak? Is he going to be willing to build new recruiting relationships in LA, AL, and East TX (Houston) at that age?

He is already pretty much in the same age range as Les Miles and Nick Saban. How much longer do you think the shelf life is on those guys outside of Saban who already has his Death Star assembled? History has not been very kind to coaches after their 60s.

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kurpit

September 26th, 2016 at 12:13 AM ^

He's earned having his name brought up anytime a big job opens up, but I just can't picture him going anywhere.

That aside, this will be an interesting offseason for coaching hires, because Clay Helton isn't doing shit right now at USC either.

Joined: 02/25/2009

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funkywolve

September 26th, 2016 at 12:59 AM ^

The Big 12 to me seems like a conference where with the exception of Iowa St, anyone could be anyone this year (and I say Iowa St kind of jokingly since they beat Texas 24-0 last year).  It's so hard to predict what's going to happen in that conference but if Strong has another 6 or 7 loss season his seat is going to be quite warm.

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BlueinLansing

September 26th, 2016 at 12:43 AM ^

Strong was hired by the previous AD who is now gone.  Those are always tenuous situations at best especially at schools like Texas where big money donors have a lot of influence. 

Strong has one other signature win when they beat an 11-2 Oklahoma team last year that wen to the playoff (somehow).  Otherwise its been a lot of losses of the double-digit variety that have rankled the alums.

IMHO, Strong has to have a good to great year to keep that job, otherwise they cut ties and move on.  Something like 9 or 10 wins, losing to Cal did not help him at all.

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Ronnie Kaye

September 26th, 2016 at 12:31 AM ^

He's 60. That's the age that very rarely sees new job offers. Most programs are shooting for someone you can realistically have for at least a decade.

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Pit2047

September 26th, 2016 at 12:34 AM ^

If they don't get Tom Herman (no guarantee he even leaves Houston, especially if they join the B12) I think the LSU fan base is crazy enough to go after Briles. Will definitely be interesting this offseason with LSU, probably USC and Auburn and maybe Texas if Strong doesn't ya know…. finish strong.

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BlueinLansing

September 26th, 2016 at 12:34 AM ^

have a deep history of hiring the next great coordinator as head coach, many have failed or are failing.  LSU has mostly avoided that travesty but if they're willing to hire Gary DiNardo once upon a time from Vanderbilt there are a lot of directions this job opening could go.

Not sure LSU is the top notch job people think it is, it wasn't great for the 15 years before Saban got there and Les just kind of continued on down that same path.  He's more than held his own, LSU fans have simply forgotten how bad it used to be.

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