Miles, Saban different, yet alike in some ways

    This week you have read (through various news outlets) that there cannot be two more different head coaches than Alabama’s Nick Saban and LSU’s Les Miles.
    In some respects, that may be true. After a home game on many a Saturday night, Miles can be seen walking to his SUV with his wife, their children and their friends. I have heard from many LSU staffers that Miles can turn off football and Saban can’t.
    But  Miles and Saban are alike in many respects.
    Both coaches have flourished with athletic defenses. They understand that in the SEC, the defensive front seven wins championships.
    LSU slipped after the departures of defensive end Tyson Jackson and defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey. The Alabama defense has featured a pair of defensive front seven picks in the past two drafts. They are defensive tackle Marcell Dareus and linebacker Rolando McClain. Both coaches love the power run game.
    Not since 2007, when Miles rode running back Jacob Hester to a BCS title, have the Tigers had a power running attack, until now. Alabama had the Heisman winner, Mark Ingram in 2009, and Trent Richardson, who finished third in the balloting in 2011.
    Both have won BCS titles without elite quarterbacks. The LSU starters were Matt Mauck in 2003 and Matt Flynn in 2007. Alabama’s starter in 2009 was Greg McElroy.
    Both understand that they cannot win without outstanding coaching staffs. And, if there is a deficiency, they are quick to look for a correction.
    After the 2007 season, Saban needed a fix on offense and hired Jim McElwain away from Fresno State to be his offensive coordinator. After the 2008 season, Miles sought out former Tennessee defensive coordinator John Chavis. Both have proven to be outstanding hires.
    The perception is that Miles is easy to deal with, and Saban is not. In a recent USA Today story on Miles, Stanley Jacobs of New Orleans, a member of the LSU Board of Supervisors, was quoted. Said Jacobs, “Nick was great, but he was hard to deal with.”
    The headline screamed, “Les Miles might be the anti-omni­potent head coach.”
    Two sources at LSU tell me that the relationship between Miles and LSU director of athletics Joe Alleva is frosty.
    The perception is that Saban works around the clock, and that somehow Miles finds “balance.”
    The reality is that when it comes to actual length of practices, LSU’s are quite lengthy.
    The perception is that Miles is a riverboat gambler, and that Saban is the ultimate conservative. There may be some truth to that one.
    In the Nov. 5 game in Tuscaloosa, Alabama’s big gamble, a wildcat pass from Marquise Maze intended for Michael Williams, was intercepted by LSU safety Eric Reid at the Tiger 1-yard line. The result of that play is something Alabama’s coaching staff rues to this day.
    Miles has won five of six bowl games. At LSU, Nick was 3-2 in bowl games.
    For both Monday night, the stakes are incredibly high. With Florida’s recent demise post-Tebow, the winner of this BCS Championship Game wins his second title at his current school and earns an unofficial moniker: King of the SEC and college football.
    Ed Daniels is sports director of ABC26 WGNO. He can be reached at [email protected].