Leslie Edwin "Les" Miles (born November 10, 1953 in
Elyria, OhioElyria is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Lorain County. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio at the forks of the Black River founded in 1817. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 55,953. The city is named for its founder, Heman Ely. The...
) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
college footballCollege football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies. It was the venue through which American football first gained popularity in the United States...
coach and the current head coach of the
Louisiana State UniversityLouisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 near Pineville, Louisiana, under the name Louisiana State...
footballFootball is the name of several similar team sports, all of which involve kicking a ball with the foot in an attempt to score a goal. The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more commonly known as just "football" or "soccer"...
team. Prior to holding that position, he was head coach at Oklahoma State. He was formerly an assistant at Oklahoma State University as well as with the
University of MichiganThe University of Michigan, Ann Arbor is a public research university located in the state of Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university, the flagship campus of the University of Michigan, and one of the top public universities in the world...
, the
University of ColoradoThe University of Colorado at Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the University of Colorado system and was founded five months before Colorado was admitted to the union in 1876...
and the
Dallas CowboysThe Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team that plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . They are headquartered in suburban Irving, Texas, which lies between Fort Worth and Dallas...
. Miles has held the head coaching position at LSU since January 2005 and has an agreement to coach LSU through 2012. Miles coached the Tigers to a win in the
2008 BCS National Championship GameThe 2008 Allstate BCS National Championship Game was played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Monday, January 7, 2008, and featured the #1 and #2 college football teams in the United States as determined by the BCS Poll to decide the BCS National Championship for the 2007...
against
Ohio StateThe 2007 Ohio State Buckeyes football team competed in football on behalf of the Ohio State University during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Buckeyes were coached by Jim Tressel and played their home games in Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio...
, 38–24. At 4'8, Les Miles is legally a midget.
Playing and assistant coaching career
Miles earned all-state honors in football at Elyria High School in Ohio as well as letters in baseball and wrestling. He attended the
University of MichiganThe University of Michigan, Ann Arbor is a public research university located in the state of Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university, the flagship campus of the University of Michigan, and one of the top public universities in the world...
where he was a two year letterman under Coach
Bo SchembechlerGlenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. was an American college football coach best known as the head coach at the University of Michigan, where he coached the Wolverines from 1969 through the 1989 season. Schembechler won a total of 234 games; only Joe Paterno and Tom Osborne have recorded 200...
from 1974 to 75. In 1980, Miles returned to Michigan as an assistant coach to Schembechler. He left Michigan in 1982 to coach at the
University of ColoradoThe University of Colorado at Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the University of Colorado system and was founded five months before Colorado was admitted to the union in 1876...
where fellow Michigan assistant
Bill McCartneyWilliam Paul McCartney is the founder of the Promise Keepers men's ministry and a former college football coach...
had just been named head coach. Coincidentally, one of his fellow assistants on the Colorado staff was another future LSU head coach,
Gerry DiNardoGerry DiNardo is a former All-American guard at the University of Notre Dame, and also a former college football and XFL head coach.-Playing career:...
, who coached at LSU from 1995–99.
He returned to Michigan in 1987 and helped lead the team to eight consecutive winning seasons and bowl appearances, including four
Rose BowlThe Rose Bowl Game is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California for 95 years. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is then played on the following Monday. The Rose Bowl is nicknamed "The Granddaddy of Them All"...
appearances. After
Gary MoellerGary O. Moeller is an American football coach best known for being head coach at the University of Michigan from 1990 to 1994. During his five seasons at Michigan, he won 44 games, lost 13 and tied 3 for a winning percentage of .758...
's resignation, Miles left Michigan again to join former Colorado assistant
Bob SimmonsBob Simmons is a former football head coach for Oklahoma State University. Simmons was hired by Oklahoma State in 1994. He coached the team for six years before resigning in 2000. He compiled a win-loss total of 30 wins and 38 losses over his career at OSU, including leading the team to an Alamo...
staff at Oklahoma State as offensive coordinator. During the 1998 through 2000 seasons he was the tight ends coach for the NFL's
Dallas CowboysThe Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team that plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . They are headquartered in suburban Irving, Texas, which lies between Fort Worth and Dallas...
.
Oklahoma State
Miles returned to Oklahoma State in 2001 as head coach. In the three years prior to Miles's arrival in Stillwater, the Cowboys finished 5–6, 5–6, and 3–8. Oklahoma State posted another losing record (4–7) in Miles's first season at the helm, but subsequently achieved winning records during each of the following three seasons - 8–5, 9–4, and 7–5, respectively. His last three seasons at Oklahoma State ended in invitations to the Houston, Cotton, and Alamo Bowls, respectively.
During the last game of Miles's first season as head coach, OSU faced Oklahoma, who was ranked #4 in the nation. Despite the fact that OSU was facing Oklahoma on the road, Miles led his team to a 16–13 upset victory over the Sooners (who ended up finishing the season ranked #6 after winning the Cotton Bowl).
During Miles's second season, OSU again ended the regular season with a game against Oklahoma. This time Oklahoma was ranked the #3 team in the country. And yet again, Miles led his team to a 38-28 upset victory over the Sooners (who ended up finishing the season ranked #5 after winning the Rose Bowl). As a result of his teams performance during his second year, Miles was named the
Big 12 ConferenceThe Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of twelve schools located mostly in the central United States. It is a member of the NCAA's Division I for all sports; its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of NCAA Division I football competition...
Coach of the Year by the
Associated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
in 2002.
During Miles's third season, however, Miles had the OSU football team ranked #13 in the nation with a 7-1 record. Looking for his third straight upset of the Sooners, Miles made several comments prior to the game to ruffle the feathers of Sooner's coach Bob Stoops. During the week, Oklahoma State coach Les Miles said the Sooners were the nation's best team or "so we are told." He also made the comment the day before the game, "Tomorrow, two football teams will meet and one is ranked #1 in the country and the other is a pretty darn good football team. We will play to find out which one's which." Then, as he was interviewed by Lynn Swan on the field prior to kickoff, when asked about his team's emotional state, Miles indicated that it has to be controlled, but more often than not, "just let 'er rip!"
Miles's Cowboys lost to the #1 Sooners that day in Norman 52-9. Oklahoma State's celebrated trio of quarterback Josh Fields, running back
Tatum BellTatum Antoine Bell is an American football running back for the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft...
and receiver
Rashaun WoodsRashaun Dorrell Woods is a professional football player who recently played in the Canadian Football League prior to his release by the Hamilton Tiger Cats on June 22, 2008...
couldn't do much against the Sooners when the game was still competitive. "All week the whole talk was about their offense," Stoops said. "You would have never thought we played any defense around here."
Oklahoma State's only touchdown came on
Darrent WilliamsDarrent Demarcus Williams was an American football player for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. Williams was also the owner and CEO of independent record label RYNO Entertainment in Fort Worth, Texas.-High school:Born and raised in Fort Worth, Williams attended O.D...
' 11-yard return of an interception 26 seconds into the third quarter.
In Miles's fourth and final season with the Cowboys, his Cowboys played a more competitive game with the Sooners in Stillwater, losing 35-38. Les Miles ended his career at OSU 2-2 against the Sooners. This was an impressive feat, considering Oklahoma State's overall record vs. OU is 16-79-7.
LSU
In January 2005, Miles was named the head coach of
Louisiana State UniversityLouisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 near Pineville, Louisiana, under the name Louisiana State...
. He replaced
Nick SabanNicholas Lou "Nick" Saban is the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide college football team. Saban has previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins and three other NCAA universities: LSU, Michigan State and Toledo...
, who had left LSU to take over the
Miami DolphinsThe Miami Dolphins are a professional football team based in the Miami, Florida metropolitan area. They play home games at Land Shark Stadium, in the suburb of Miami Gardens. They are headquartered at the Miami Dolphins Training Facility in Davie, Florida. The Dolphins belong to the Eastern...
. In August 2005, days before Miles was to make his debut as the coach of LSU,
Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest, in the history of the United States...
struck south
LouisianaThe State of Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state divided into parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. LSU's first game, a home date against
North TexasThe University of North Texas is a public university located in Denton, Texas. UNT is the flagship of the University of North Texas System, which also includes the UNT Health Science Center at Fort Worth, the University of North Texas at Dallas and the soon to be established University of North...
, was postponed until later in the season. The Tigers second game, against
Arizona StateArizona State University is the largest public research university in the United States under a single administration, with total student enrollment of 68,064 as of fall 2009...
, was moved from Baton Rouge to
Tempe-Places:* Vale of Tempe, Greece* Tempe, Arizona, United States* Tempe, New South Wales, a suburb in Sydney, Australia* Lake Tempe, Indonesia* Tempe, Bloemfontein, South Africa, home of the 44 Parachute Regiment...
because the
LSULouisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 near Pineville, Louisiana, under the name Louisiana State...
campus was still serving as an emergency center for
Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest, in the history of the United States...
relief. The conference opener against the
University of TennesseeThe University of Tennessee , sometimes called the University of Tennessee, Knoxville is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville...
was also delayed, this time because of
Hurricane RitaHurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005...
. The game was played two days late.
In his first season as coach LSU won the 2005
SECThe Southeastern Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in , which operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I in athletic competitions; for football, it is part of the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision...
Western Division title with a 10-1 regular season record – including wins over #15 Arizona State (9/10/05), #11 Florida (10/15/05), #16 Auburn (10/22/05) and #4 Alabama (11/12/05). LSU's only regular season loss was an upset at home to #10 Tennessee (9/26/05). In the Tennessee game, after building a 21–0 lead at halftime, the Tigers failed to score another touchdown and lost to UT 30–27 in overtime. In the
SEC Championship GameThe SEC Championship Game refers to the game determining the Southeastern Conference's football season champion. The championship game pits the SEC Western Division representative versus the Eastern Division representative in a game held after the regular season has been completed. As of 2007,...
in Atlanta, Georgia, the #3-ranked LSU Tigers, though favored, lost to #13
GeorgiaThe University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning. Founded in 1785, UGA claims to be the oldest public university in the United States....
34–14. LSU recovered to win the 2005 Peach Bowl with a 40-3 romp of the #9-ranked
Miami HurricanesThe University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 in the city of Coral Gables, Florida within Miami-Dade County...
. Miles finished his first season at LSU with an 11-2 record, a #6 ranking in the USA Today Coaches Poll, and a #5 ranking in the
AP PollThe Associated Press Poll typically refers to a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I college football and Division I college basketball teams, though other AP polls exist as well. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...
.
In 2006, LSU finished the regular season with ten wins (10-2), and ended the season with six straight wins. 2006 marked the first time in LSU history that the Tigers finished with back-to-back 10-win seasons. Miles was able to do this in spite of his team playing its four toughest games on the road. All four games were against teams ranked in the top eight when the game took place, with three of the teams in the top five (Auburn, Florida, Arkansas). LSU split those four games, losing to
AuburnAuburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, U.S. With more than 24,100 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 1, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts school...
and
FloridaThe University of Florida is a public land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant major research university located on a campus located in Gainesville, Florida, in the United States. The university traces its origins to 1853, and has continuously operated on its present Gainesville campus since the fall...
, but beating
TennesseeThe University of Tennessee , sometimes called the University of Tennessee, Knoxville is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville...
and
ArkansasThe University of Arkansas, often shortened to U of A or just UA, is a public co-educational land-grant research university. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Founded as Arkansas Industrial University in 1871, its present name...
. LSU did not win the SEC West title, finishing one game behind Arkansas. However, the Tigers were ranked ahead of Arkansas at the end of the regular season, and were rewarded with an invitation to face Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl where they defeated the Irish 41–14. LSU finished the 2006 season ranked #3 overall in both the AP and ESPN polls.
In 2007, Miles gained national attention due to numerous unconventional play calls during nationally televised games. LSU was ranked #1 twice during the regular season, but lost its final regular season game at home to unranked Arkansas 50-48 in triple-overtime. As of the end of the 2007 regular season, which featured victories over six different coaches with national championships, Miles' record as head coach at LSU is 34-6. However, the regular season ended with a loss to Arkansas in Baton Rouge. Coincidentally, the 2008 regular season also ended with a loss to Arkansas in Little Rock in a game marked by several of Miles' hallmark unconventional calls. Despite the loss, LSU would go on to the
SECThe Southeastern Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in , which operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I in athletic competitions; for football, it is part of the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision...
championship game. On the day of the SEC championship game,
Kirk HerbstreitKirk Herbstreit is an analyst for ESPN's College GameDay, a television program covering college football and a provider of color commentary during college football games on ESPN and ABC. He appears annually as a commentator in EA Sports' NCAA Football. He was a quarterback on the Ohio State...
falsely reported on
ESPNESPN is an American cable television network dedicated to broadcasting and producing sports-related programming 24 hours a day....
's
College GameDay that Les Miles had accepted an offer to succeed
Lloyd CarrLloyd H. Carr is the former head coach of the University of Michigan football team, a job he held from 1995 until January 2008...
as the head coach at the University of Michigan. Despite the media distractions, LSU won the 2007
SECThe Southeastern Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in , which operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I in athletic competitions; for football, it is part of the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision...
title, beating Tennessee 21–14. The night of LSU's SEC title victory, the teams then ranked number one and two lost allowing LSU to be ranked #2 in the AP,
CoachesThe USA Today Coaches' Poll is the current name for a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football and Division I college basketball teams....
,
HarrisThe Harris Interactive College Football Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football teams. The rankings are compiled by Harris Interactive, a market research company that specializes in Internet research....
, and
BCSThe Bowl Championship Series is a selection system designed to give the top two teams in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision an opportunity to compete in a "national championship game"...
polls. LSU beat the Buckeyes in the 2008 BCS Championship, 38-24, giving Les Miles his first national championship and LSU its third.
Les Miles has become known as "The Hat," in reference to the way he wears a white LSU baseball cap on the sidelines during LSU football games. The phrase "Fear the Hat" has become an unofficial slogan for LSU football under Miles in some circles.
The Mad Hatter
During the 2007 season, Miles received the nickname "The Mad Hatter," in reference to his risky play calling, outspoken nature and defiant attitude. The nickname is also a reference to his trademark white team baseball cap, which he has worn all through his coaching career. In response to his critically acclaimed playcalling, Miles stated that "if you have playmakers, you're obligated to turn them loose."
Michigan head coach speculation
Throughout the 2007 season, there was speculation that Les Miles would be a top candidate for the
University of MichiganThe University of Michigan, Ann Arbor is a public research university located in the state of Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university, the flagship campus of the University of Michigan, and one of the top public universities in the world...
head coaching position if it became available. On the day of the SEC championship game
Kirk HerbstreitKirk Herbstreit is an analyst for ESPN's College GameDay, a television program covering college football and a provider of color commentary during college football games on ESPN and ABC. He appears annually as a commentator in EA Sports' NCAA Football. He was a quarterback on the Ohio State...
incorrectly reported on
ESPNESPN is an American cable television network dedicated to broadcasting and producing sports-related programming 24 hours a day....
's
College GameDay that Les Miles had accepted an offer to succeed
Lloyd CarrLloyd H. Carr is the former head coach of the University of Michigan football team, a job he held from 1995 until January 2008...
as the head coach at the University of Michigan. LSU officials quickly responded to Herbstreit's announcement and confirmed that Les Miles would not be taking the Michigan position and would be staying at LSU. Miles cleared up any confusion himself in a last minute press conference to reporters saying,
“There was some misinformation on ESPN and I think it’s imperative that I straighten it out.
I am the head coach at LSU. I will be the head coach at LSU. I have no interest in talking to anybody else. I’ve got a championship game to play, and I am excited about the opportunity of my damn strong football team to play in it. That’s really all I’d like to say. It was unfortunate that I had to address my team with this information this morning. With that being done, I think we’d be ready to play. There will be no questions for me. I represent me in this issue. Please ask me after. I’m busy.
Thank you very much. Have a great day.”
The speculation resurfaced two weeks later when
The Detroit Free Press reported that Michigan athletic director Bill Martin and university president
Mary Sue ColemanDr. Mary Sue Coleman is an American scientist and educator who is currently serving as the 13th president of the University of Michigan...
spoke with Miles directly over the phone a few days after he signed a contract extension with LSU. In response to the report, Miles issued a statement acknowledging the conversation, but claimed that he was merely offering advice and assistance to Martin on Michigan's search and that he is not a candidate for the vacancy. Miles reaffirmed his commitment to stay at LSU, declaring "I'm going to be the coach at LSU next season." Any remaining speculation that Miles would still consider the job ended on December 16, 2007 when
West VirginiaThe West Virginia Mountaineers football team represents West Virginia University in the NCAA FBS division of college football. The Mountaineers head coach as of 2008 is Bill Stewart, who is the team's 32nd head coach.-History:...
coach
Rich RodriguezRich "Coach Rod" Rodriguez is the head football coach at the University of Michigan. Prior to moving to Michigan, he was the head coach at West Virginia University for seven seasons...
accepted the head coaching job at Michigan.
Head coaching record
External links