Comments from Dandy Don

Good Morning, Tiger fans. The reaction to the hiring of Gary Crowton as LSU's new offensive coordinator has been very positive. As a matter of fact, I have not received a single email from any of my readers who disapprove of the hire. There are many LSU fans who are surprised that Miles hired an offensive coordinator with the reputation of running a wide-open offense. There are also many LSU fans who believe that Les Miles took over the play calling for Jimbo Fisher late in games when LSU was leading, but I do not believe that is accurate. I honestly believe that Tiger fans will learn next season that it was Jimbo Fisher who became conservative with the play calling late in games. I have spoken to three coaches who have coached with Crowton and I spoke to several people in the Ruston/Monroe/West Monroe area who speak highly of Crowton as a coach and as a person with high moral standards. I believe that LSUís quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers will enjoy learning from Crowton who has experienced coaching at all levels. I am hoping that Les Miles will be able to hire an offensive line coach with credentials as strong as Crowton's. With the addition of Crowton and whoever the offensive line coach is going to be, there will no longer be any coaches on the staff from the pre-Miles era. Also, less than 50 percent of the players on the 2007 roster will be players recruited by the previous staff. Les Miles has had back to back eleven-win seasons with a large percentage of players and coaches from the previous staff, so I think it will be accurate to say, starting with the upcoming Spring practice, that this is the Les Miles era. I believe Miles will continue with great success at LSU. Going into the 2006 season there was still a large percentage of LSU fans who had doubts about Les Miles, but most of the doubters are now believers. I'd say there are still 10-15 percent of Tiger fans not sold on Les Miles, and a few will never be.