Les Miles
Age: 61
Current position: Louisiana State University head coach
Head coaching experience: 103-28 at LSU (2005-present), 28-21 at Oklahoma State (2001-2004), 131-49 overall
Current salary: $4,300,000 per year
History: Miles grew up in Ohio and was an offensive lineman at Michigan under Bo Schembechler in the mid-1970's. After being a graduate assistant at Michigan, he went to Colorado and then came back to Ann Arbor to be the offensive line coach for four seasons. He took a promotion to be Oklahoma State's offensive coordinator, spent a few seasons coaching tight ends for the Cowboys (Dallas, that is), and was rehired at Oklahoma State as their head coach. A high-powered offense propelled him to the head coaching job at LSU, where he has mostly been known for suffocating defenses, particularly on his way to winning the 2007 national championship.
My thoughts: I have reservations about Miles because of some stories about how he has rubbed people the wrong way at Michigan with his actions in the past. The athletic department was fractured when Lloyd Carr retired and was replaced by Rich Rodriguez, and Michigan got past that right around the time when the student body and journalists turned on athletic director David Brandon, essentially forcing him out. There would certainly be some ruffled feathers if Miles were hired, so that would be a guaranteed bump in the road. They say "winning cures everything" so that might smooth things over a little bit. Miles has a history of running the ball a lot, getting athletic wideouts, having mediocre quarterbacks, and producing big-time players at all levels on the defense. Miles would be good on the recruiting trail with his accolades and midwest connections, and his style of play would be well received, too. The drawbacks would appear to be money and whatever shenanigans he pulled to make some long-time Wolverines angry. Miles also has a history of oversigning and then cutting "unworthy" players, which is a rampant issue in the SEC. That would not go over well at Michigan, but that is something that might be institutional and fairly easily fixed.
My wish list:
1. Bob Stoops
2. Les Miles
3. Mike Shanahan
Les Miles can stay with his "damn strong team" for all I care.
ReplyDeleteMike Shanahan? I really don't care for him as a coach. He seems to throw anyone under the bus not named John Elway.
ReplyDeleteI don't really want Miles at Michigan. He's a weirdo and LSU has been guilty of the SEC recruiting kerfuffle for a while.
ReplyDeleteThat said, if he was indeed hired, I'd be perfectly fine with telling the "ruffled" parties to suck it and get over themselves. We just hired a guy who apparently got the job because he offended exactly no one and Brandon knew that would continue.
Miles would be a last resort for me. I know he's a decent coach (not better than Harbaughs nor Mullen). I don't want to have to deal with his recruiting tactics, public antics, and what appears to be an overall coarse personality.
ReplyDeletePlease, inform me as to why you think Mullen is a better coach than Miles?
DeleteIsn't it obvious? Les is 8-4 this year with LSU talent. Mississippi State has been a doormat for decades.
DeleteMullen is doing a good job, but he lost to Alabama and Ole Miss here late in the year, and he's had a bunch of above-average-but-unspectacular seasons. Miles has done a great job and won a national championship at LSU. And yeah, he's having a bit of a down year this year, but he also has a lot of young guys playing. Two of those losses have been close ones to #2 Alabama and #4 Mississippi State.
DeleteRight thunder -- all I am saying is Mississippi State is at a much, much harder place to win. Even going 8-4 there is hard, because recruiting just isn't the same there and the competition is much better.
DeleteLet me just add -- I think Mullen would be competing for the SEC and national title every year with at least 10 wins a season if he was at LSU. He would outperform Les Miles. The talent level just isn't the same.
DeleteI'm interested to see if Gary Patterson is on this list. If we don't get a guy named harbough, then he would be my pick.
ReplyDeleteMichigan has swung and missed with Rich Rod (Strike One), and now they've swung and missed with Brady Hoke (Strike Two). They have one more chance to hire a sure hit or else they will strike out and will start approaching high schoolers who will not be old enough to remember when Michigan was a great program. At this point I don't care who the next coach is as long as they can turn this thing around.
ReplyDeleteMiles would be good but Harbaugh would be better. The guy is a hard core champion with real toughness. Why isn't he at the top of your list?
ReplyDeleteThe list is not complete.
DeleteMiles has a great resume. But he is old, dirty, not especially bright, and dependent on southern uh....lets say "resources". He has been underachieving with superior talent for many years now. Lloyd Carr won a national title and a decade later was NOT the kind of coach that another team wanted to poach away. His skills weren't transferable, and neither are miles. Then you talk about cultural fit.... I would much rather keep Hoke. At least then I can stand by the character of the head coach and players.
ReplyDelete