Les Miles Announces He is Staying at LSU

With news coming sooner than most expected, LSU head coach, Les Miles, notified LSU's Athletic Director, Joe Alleva and the Vice Chancellor at LSU that he is staying at LSU this morning.

Miles had been the top choice for the head coaching position at Michigan and rumors have been bouncing off the wall all across the nation since before the Tigers took down Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl last week.

Miles has been upfront with his team, LSU and the public as to the situation from the very beginning. He took care of business first, the Cotton Bowl, and then tackled the sticky situation he found himself in for the second time in his career as the head coach of the football team at LSU. However, he knew that he would be contacted and soon.

LSU also knew that Michigan would be coming after Miles and they were prepared to counteroffer on the job even before Miles talked to Michigan. LSU officials started working on the new contract on Saturday, the day after the Cotton Bowl.

Miles made a brief statement to the press on Monday, January 10, 2011 after Patrick Peterson announced that he would be entering the NFL draft, stating that he had not talked to anyone from Michigan at the present time. He stated that he would be attending a meeting with Michigan but did not have the final dates or time at the time the press conference was held. Miles also stated that he and his family were happy at LSU and loved Baton Rouge, LA.

As it turned out, Miles met with Michigan's Athletic Director late Monday evening. Apparently, the offer wasn't enough to lure the famous "mad hatter" away from LSU, as Miles announced early Tuesday morning that he and his family would be staying in Baton Rouge and he would remain the head coach of the LSU Tigers.

LSU fans were happy to have all the rumors laid to rest and get the news that Miles would be staying at LSU. They also learned he was a man of his word, something that a former coach wasn't very good at.

LSU officials made this statement concerning the situation, "I can certainly understand Coach Miles' desire to accommodate his alma mater by speaking with them during their coaching search. We remain committed to working toward keeping Les Miles as the head of the LSU football program, a program that wins at a high level, graduates its student-athletes and represents the university well in the community under his leadership."

After the announcement, Miles left for Dallas, TX where he will be a guest speaker at the American Football Coaches Association Convention. Miles announced that he will hold a press conference upon his return from Dallas.

Source:

Miles to Return for Seventh Season at LSU