(USA TODAY) Miles Close to Becoming LSU's New Coach

TejasTiger · Jan 1, 2005

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/sec/2005-01-01-lsu-miles_x.htm

ORLANDO — Louisiana State is on the verge of offering its football coaching job to Oklahoma State coach Les Miles, and Miles is expected to accept it, two LSU athletic officials confirmed Saturday.

"We're prepared to offer Coach Miles the job," said a member of LSU's athletic department after the Tigers' 30-25 loss to Iowa in the Capital One Bowl.

"I can't confirm that the job has been offered," said a member of the LSU Board of Supervisors. "There are still a couple of stages we have to go through. But he is a top candidate, and he is very interested."

Miles is expected to meet with either LSU president William Jenkins or new chancellor Sean O'Keefe in the coming days.

Miles, who is 28-21 after four years at Oklahoma State, did not return a call to his home in Stillwater, Okla. Miles' agent George Bass of Dallas also did not return a call to his cellular phone.

The 51-year-old Miles has a strikingly similar resume to that of LSU Coach Nick Saban's five years ago when Saban left Michigan State for LSU. Saban announced on Dec. 25 that he was leaving LSU to coach the NFL Miami Dolphins.

"There are a lot of parallels between his career and Coach Saban's career," said Charles Weems, chairman of the Board of Supervisors' athletic committee. He helped hire Saban from Michigan State.

"He's at the No. 2 school in his state like Nick was when he was at Michigan State," Weems said.

Miles' team twice knocked off Oklahoma, which plays for the national championship against USC on Tuesday, in his tenure and was the Big 12 coach of the year in 2002.

"He's done very well at a program that is surrounded by Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Texas and Nebraska," Weems said.

Miles also has NFL experience like Saban. The former Michigan offensive lineman and assistant coach was the tight ends coach with the Dallas Cowboys from 1998-2000 before becoming Oklahoma State's head coach after the 2000 season.

"He's very good with X's and O's, has exposure to the NFL game and is known as a good recruiter," Weems said. "He's a very attractive guy with an engaging personality. And he's very intense."

The Cowboys' 9-4 record in 2003 marked just the school's sixth nine-win season, and the Cotton Bowl berth after that season was Oklahoma State's first January bowl since 1949. Miles' team finished 7-5 this season with a 33-7 loss to Ohio State Wednesday in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.

"I think he'd be very excited to coach at LSU like a lot of other coaches," Weems said. "Anybody who watched that football game today (Saturday) would love to coach some of that talent that was on that field."

Miles recently signed a new, long-term contract worth $1.5 million a year. LSU athletic director Skip Bertman, who did not return a call Saturday, said last week he was prepared to pay in the $2 million range for a coach. Saban would have made $2.4 million in 2005 had he stayed.

Like Saban, Miles cut his teeth as an assistant coach in the Big Ten but on the offensive side. He was an assistant at Michigan from 1980-81 and again at Michigan from 1987-94 after stint at Colorado from 1982-86. He was also an offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State from 1995-97 before going to the Dallas Cowboys. Miles is a native of Elyria, Ohio.

Earlier Saturday, Louisville coach Bobby Petrino took his name out of the LSU search. Petrino interviewed with LSU last week but never received an offer.

"LSU has a tradition-rich program with much to offer," Petrino said in a prepared statement. "But as I reflect on what we've accomplished in a short time here at Louisville, we're on the brink of establishing a great program that will compete for a national championship."

Weems said Miles has always been on the top of LSU's list of candidates.
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philter · Jan 1, 2005

All of these reports are coming from the same set of facts reported by a small number of La. reporters. When it gets sent to the Associated Press, they all pick up on the story and re-print it. It is a long held tradition to reprint/rewrite (with credit) stories rather than waste time to research yourself. That is how come all these news sources have the same quotes, conclusions, etc.

Of course, if the story is true, that would expain the same conclusions too

peterkylesen · Jan 1, 2005

I'll be glad when this is done, so I can get back on my Fire Brady soapbox.

philter · Jan 2, 2005

http://www.2theadvocate.com/sports/

Don't see this story...am I blind?

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(USA TODAY) Miles Close to Becoming LSU's New Coach

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