The Bob Stoops & Les Miles Comparison Conundrum

Image via nypost.com

I’ve always kind of been of the opinion that comparing coaches to one another “in a vacuum” is a bit of a fruitless endeavor. It’s not really fair to the coaches and there are so many variables it’s basically impossible to put them all into the proper context.

However with the news of Les Miles’ firing at LSU and what I think would be fair to call the current state of unrest among some (many?) within Sooner Nation, I thought it might be interesting to see how Miles and Bob Stoops’ respective track records line up.

screen-shot-2016-09-26-at-7-11-34-pm

Sooooooooo, it would appear Miles was just fired for have a better win-loss record than Stoops over the last 11+ years. Not to mention playing in two national championship games, to Stoops’ one, and winning it all in 2007.

What does any of that actually mean? I suppose it’s in the eye of the beholder.

If you look at just the last five years, including the highly disappointing first couple weeks of this 2016 season, their respective records are nearly identical. And yet Miles was almost fired last year, reportedly, before the axe finally fell this past Sunday. On the flip side, Stoops certainly wasn’t in any jeopardy whatsoever of losing his job last year or any time in the foreseeable future.

So it would seem fairly obvious this Miles thing was about more than just wins and losses. As to what those reasons may or may not be, I couldn’t really say. I don’t care enough to try to find out and, frankly, I don’t really think it’s relevant to the point. I would expect there are factors (failing to live up to “expectations”, for example) that apply to both and at least as many, if not more (personality “quirks” for one) that do not.

But as I was casually following the Miles news on Sunday, I was struck by a particular comment that found its way into my Twitter mentions.

It stuck with me because if I’m being completely honest, the sentiment this person expressed is one that has crossed my mind on more than one occasion previously. Not specific to LSU of course, but I have wondered to myself whether or not Stoops will be the guy to bring home that elusive #8.

I’d venture to guess that was a thought shared by more than one LSU fan as well. Is that reason enough to want Miles to be fired? Again, I suppose that’s up to the individual. Apparently it, at least in part, was reason enough for the decision-makers in Baton Rouge.

So now Stoops will get the chance, presumably several more chances in fact, that Miles will no longer be afforded, despite their strikingly similar win-loss records.

Is that fair? At this point I’m not sure how much ‘fairness’ even plays into the question when it comes to the big business that is college football. LSU made what I’m sure they feel was a “business decision” and only time will tell whether or not it was the right one.

Does there ever come a day where OU has to do the same with Stoops? Personally, I doubt it (mainly because I think he’d leave of his own accord before it ever came to that point). But again I go back to those win-loss records and just how similar they were. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was. If for no other reason, and at the sake of being redundant, than one guy just lost his job while the other is no danger of meeting that same fate.

Hence, the conundrum.