Les Miles, long considered the heir apparent to Lloyd Carr after the second week of the season, announced last Saturday that he wanted no part of Michigan and that he had a new contract on the table to stay at LSU for years to come.

He then promptly led his team into the National Championship game after a win over Tennessee in the SEC championship game. But the speculation about Michigan hasn't stopped.

This morning, Miles called into ESPN Radio's "Mike & Mike in the Morning" to discuss football and his seemingly shady contractual tactics. He was a boatload of laughs to most listening and has prompted me - a diehard Maize and Blue fan - and probably thousands of others to question whether or not he's truly staying at LSU next year.

"My eldest daughter was born there [Michigan], I uh...love the place, there isn't any question. And uh, it appeared early on that selected by the media that I was the guy and, uh, I uh, I have a great job. I love where I'm at, I...you know there was never a time when I in my career made my only destination back to Michigan," he said.

So host Mike Greenberg fired back with, "Just to make sure we're totally clear on what you're saying, you didn't talk to Michigan, your people didn't talk to Michigan to your knowledge and there's no way you're going to Michigan?"

Then Les said: "There's no uh, to my knowledge, my people didn't talk to Michigan, Michigan didn't talk to me. There were was no communications."

Greenberg continued to talk about the subject for six minutes and although the answers from Miles never got clearer, one fact shines brightly - MICHIGAN'S NOT OUT OF THESE SWEEPSTAKES YET.

It remains to be seen whether or not Michigan AD Bill Martin will wait long enough to make another run at Miles after the NC game. Other candidates now being bandied about include Florida's Urban Meyer, Greg Schiano from Rutgers, Kirk Ferentz from Iowa and Jon Gruden of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Everyone knows new associate athletic director Lloyd Carr wants no part of Miles as captain of the ship, but it's Martin's call inevitably. It should be interesting to watch this saga as it unfolds, but many fans still hold true to their feelings from weeks ago - "Turning in team's Carr, want one with Les Miles".

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (6)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

JEH45 said:

	I don't know? Does Miles have a Saban in him? You mention Urban in your article. I don't see that.
	report abuse vote down vote up

December 05, 2007
Votes: +0

JEH45 said:

	I would add, the whole Carr and his people aspect of this is interesting.
	report abuse vote down vote up

December 05, 2007
Votes: +0

Lloyds Apple said:

	LSU boards are making this sound ridiculous. One guy says: Coach Miles gave his word to everyone including his team. If you want the info, read todays advocate The Advocate.com and quick this what if game......The amendment to his present contract will be presented to LSU Board fo Supervisors this thursday/friday.....
	report abuse vote down vote up

December 05, 2007
Votes: +0

Lloyds Apple said:

From ESPN, Miles signs Contract. But it's worth noting he still has an out clause to UM. This could be smoke and mirrors: BATON ROUGE, La. -- LSU head football coach Les Miles signed a contract extension Thursday to keep him at the university through 2012 and end speculation that Miles might leave for a job at the University of Michigan. "I'm thrilled to be here. I'm thrilled to be LSU's head coach. I'm thrilled to be on the campus," Miles told the LSU Board of Supervisors before signing the deal. "I look forward to many years as the LSU head coach," he added. The contract extension requires approval of the full governing board, which is expected to be a formality when the board meets Friday. The board's athletic committee approved the extension Thursday with nearly all board members present. The agreement doesn't change Miles' salary, which will already rise to at least $2.8 million annually based on LSU's Southeastern Conference championship this year. An SEC championship win requires Miles' salary to be at least the third highest in the conference. If LSU wins the national championship, the contract provides Miles would become among the nation's top-earning college football coaches, no less than the third highest-paid. University officials estimate that would put his annual earnings between $3.2 million and $3.5 million -- but that could grow depending on contract negotiations with other coaches around the country. LSU (11-2) faces Ohio State (11-1) in the Allstate BCS Championship Game on Jan. 7 at the Louisiana Superdome. Just before his team played Tennessee in the SEC championship game on Dec. 1, Miles effectively stopped predictions he would bolt Baton Rouge for Michigan, announcing his intention to remain at LSU. Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr announced his retirement in November. Miles wouldn't talk about the speculation that had dogged him for the past weeks about a return to Michigan, where he played, worked as an assistant coach and met his wife. LSU officials praised Miles' coaching, his straightforwardness and his integrity. "He told the people in this room he wasn't going to Michigan, and he never was. He never leveraged it," said LSU athletic director Skip Bertman. During his three years at LSU, Miles has amassed impressive statistics that set records at the university. His overall record of 33-6 is the best three-year span in LSU history, and his 14 wins over teams ranked in the top 25 is a school record, said Bertman. His wins in conference rivalries also set records. "He's the only coach in LSU history to defeat Florida, Auburn and Alabama in one season," Bertman said. "But he's done it twice." Miles also deflected concerns about the distractions the uproar over his tenure at LSU may have caused, saying he and his team were focused on the championship game. "I can promise you we're at the task at hand," he said.

report abuse vote down vote up

December 07, 2007
Votes: +0

Lloyds Apple said:

Reports: Rutgers Coach Schiano Meets With Michigan AD About Replacing Carr By The Associated Press Rutgers coach Greg Schiano met with Michigan athletic director Bill Martin earlier this week to talk about the Wolverines' coaching vacancy, according to newspaper reports Thursday night. Rutgers athletic director Robert Mulcahy told The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., for a story posted on its Web site late Thursday night, that Schiano's agent, Bryan Harlin, "asked for permission to meet" with Michigan. "I have not heard anything formally from Michigan - yet," Mulcahy told the paper. Mulcahy told The Home News Tribune of East Brunswick, N.J., he was aware of a meeting between Schiano and Martin. Both papers cited unidentified sources saying the meeting took place Tuesday night in New York during the College Football Hall of Fame banquet at a midtown Manhattan hotel. Though Michigan has made no official offer to Schiano, both papers reported one could be coming soon. Schiano, a New Jersey native, has orchestrated one of the most impressive turnarounds in college football during his seven seasons at Rutgers. When he took over in Piscataway, N.J., the program was one of the worst in the Division I-A. The Scarlet Knights have had three straight winning seasons and will be making their third consecutive postseason appearance at the International Bowl against Ball State on Jan. 6. They went 7-5 this season, a disappointment after starting the season ranked No. 16 in the nation. A year ago, Schiano turned down a chance to become coach at Miami, where was defensive coordinator before coming to Rutgers. Schiano signed a four-year extension through 2016 that will pay him $1.7 million annually after pulling out of contention for the Miami job. The deal contains a buyout of $750,000 if Schiano were to leave Rutgers between the end of the 2007 regular season and the beginning of the 2008 campaign. Schiano was asked Monday during his weekly news conference about speculation linking him to Michigan and said, "We're not going to start this stuff again." "I haven't spoken to anybody about any job," he said, "and that's where I'm going to leave it." Michigan is looking for a replacement for Lloyd Carr, who is retiring after 13 seasons. Martin had received permission to speak with LSU coach Les Miles after the Tigers played Southeastern Conference championship game on Saturday, but that meeting never took place, Miles signed a contract extension to stay at LSU on Thursday.

report abuse vote down vote up

December 07, 2007
Votes: +0

ItOffishul said:

	i was wondering what other article you wrote than i stumbled upon this. i was gonna write a similar article. well done. now write 8 more and you get a t-shirt and/or thong
	report abuse vote down vote up

December 12, 2007
Votes: +0

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Add Comment