Michigan contacted LSU coach Les Miles last week
LSU coach has phone discussion with university's president, athletic director
December 11, 2007

BY MARK SNYDER

FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

Louisiana State coach Les Miles appears to be a Michigan coaching candidate again.

Miles had a phone conversation Friday morning with Michigan athletic director Bill Martin and school president Mary Sue Coleman, according to several people with knowledge of the call.

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Michigan received permission Nov. 28 from LSU athletic director Skip Bertman to speak with Miles, as long as it was after the Dec. 1 SEC championship game. So asking LSU again for permission was not an issue; U-M is believed to have initiated Friday's call.

Bertman said Monday night he didn't know if Miles had had contact with Michigan. But he said he doubted anyone could sway Miles to leave LSU.

"He and Bo Schembechler were real close," Bertman said. "If Bo Schembechler were alive, I doubt he could have got him to go to Michigan. It's hard for people who don't live in the South to understand."

Miles played and coached under Schembechler at Michigan.

While the call between the two sides did not identify Miles as the leading candidate for the coaching vacancy, it did give them a chance to interact formally for the first time and to discuss a number of issues previously handled through intermediaries.

"We're not going to be discussing anything about recruiting (a new coach) until after the announcement is made," Coleman's spokesperson, Kelly Cunningham, said Monday.

Martin's representative, associate athletic director Bruce Madej, said U-M is not commenting on the search.

Miles' agent, George Bass also said he had no comment.

As the Free Press reported Dec. 1, discussions had occurred between Miles' side and Michigan representatives in the days leading up to the SEC championship game, enough to identify him as Michigan's leading candidate.

But Martin was unavailable when Bass, among others, tried to contact him that day. Miles eventually held two news conferences at the Georgia Dome -- one before the game, and one after winning it -- implying he would stay at LSU.

While Miles did sign an LSU contract extension late last week, adding a year to his deal, his yearly salary -- around $2.6 million if he loses the BCS national championship game and close to $3.4 million if he wins it -- remains unchanged. The $1.25-million buyout to leave for Michigan reportedly is still in place.

Bertman said Miles' amended contract includes free tuition for his children at LSU, academic incentives based on his players' achievements and a severe penalty -- paying off double the remaining years left -- if Miles is fired.

"Les made a decision he wanted to stay. He loves Michigan, but the truth is, for Les Miles at this time, this is probably a better place," Bertman said.

Yet those close to Miles insist he has always held Michigan as his dream job and there's no reason to believe that has changed, especially in light of Miles' recent national radio interviews, continually pointing out his love for U-M.

"He loves Michigan; he would never say anything bad about Michigan," Bertman said.

The reason for Michigan's reconnection with Miles is uncertain but, coming the same day that Rutgers coach Greg Schiano officially withdrew from consideration, the timing shows that Michigan is exploring all possible avenues.

A significant number of former players also made it known -- via e-mail, letters and phone calls to Martin, Coleman and the Board of Regents following the SEC title game -- that they wanted Miles hired.

Hiring Miles would be a bit more challenging for Michigan now, though. The morning of Dec. 1, the chances of Miles' LSU team playing for the national championship were distant. LSU had to win the SEC title game that afternoon and two teams ahead of the Tigers -- West Virginia and Missouri -- had to lose that night.

All three occurred.

Now, if Michigan is to hire Miles, it probably could not do so until after the Jan. 7 BCS title game, when LSU faces No. 1 Ohio State in New Orleans.

The two sides -- Miles and U-M -- are expected to speak again.

The known candidates for the coaching position, other than Miles, are Michigan's coordinators, Mike DeBord and Ron English. English is also reportedly a candidate at Arkansas.