Chansky’s Notebook: Gone Mad At LSU

There is already talk of Larry Fedora to LSU.

After LSU mindlessly fired Les Miles, the controversial Mad Hatter, after his team’s last-second loss to Auburn, Twitter and various on-line polls have begun lining up the candidates to become the new permanent head coach in Baton Rouge after the season.

Though it’s the last thing he wants to talk about, if not think about, Larry Fedora is on every one of the lists I saw. Fedora is on a long-term contract with a substantial buyout that he – or the school that hired him – would have to pay to leave Chapel Hill, but when it comes to money LSU has plenty of it.

Although Fedora may not end his career at UNC, LSU is probably not a good move in the prime of his success. Any school that would almost fire its coach, like it did with Miles at the end of last season, and then fires him after an 18-13 loss to Auburn in which LSU’s apparent winning touchdown was reviewed and ruled to have been snapped after the game clock ran out, well, you get the picture.

So, if the Tigers had gotten the winning play off in time, LSU would be 3-1 and Miles would likely still have his job. Is that any tenuous way to treat a coach who helped make the SEC the most powerful league in college football? Yes, Miles’ teams have struggled on offense the last few years and could not get Leonard Fournette loose to play up to his ability as one of the best backs in college.

But fire a guy after four games? A coach who won two SEC championships and the national championship five years ago. Firing a coach at mid-season is policy that most schools do not adopt, even though UNC did fire John Bunting after a 1-6 start in 2006. Roy Williams’ love affair with the University of Kansas began to sour when the Jayhawks’ football coach and Ol’ Roy’s good friend, Terry Allen, was fired in mid-season by KU’s foolish new athletic director.

So, if the shoe is on the other foot, how much job security would Fedora feel if he lost a few games? Not much. If LSU can fire the Mad Hatter in such a heartless manner, chances are the Tar Heels’ Hat will be staying put.

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Chansky’s Notebook: Gone Mad At LSU

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