We all know why Nebraska fired Bo. But looking solely at W/L records like Zoogs implied, Les Miles firing is comparable to a degree.
If we look at the final four (plus four games) of Les, it is similar: .71 for both of them.
So in that sense, LSU not only completely erased his first *seven* seasons of .81 as "not lately", they were substantially more impatient with him. He was on the hotseat entering the season with .73 is his previous four, and he lost by the narrowest of margins: 1) to a Top 10 team that steamrolled Michigan State, and 2) when LSU's game-winning TD was nullified by a hair. Bo didn't bank seven years of goodwill; his seven seasons here were like Miles' last four, which for Les were embroiled by discontent even on the basis of record.
Cumulatively Les was .77 in 11-plus seasons. He finished unranked twice; in the remaining nine seasons he *averaged* a Top 10 ranking (#8.9), winning one NCG and losing another. After 2008 (NR in both polls), Bo's teams averaged about a #21 ranking, finishing (barely) Top 15 once, in 2009.
So, even on a football basis, not that comparable. And the thing is, people aren't completely freaking out about LSU either. They're taking a gamble, not committing a cardinal, program-destroying sin. There's some surprise, but also understanding that this has been on the cusp for a little while already.
