Report: Miles’ final game with LSU on Saturday
Nov 27, 2015
LSU head coach Les Miles indicated Friday that the game against Texas A&M on Saturday night will be his last with the Tigers, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Speaking to the LSU Gridiron Club, Miles didn’t come out and say it but let the booster organization know that Saturday’s game will be his last, two sources who attended the luncheon told the newspaper.
“He didn’t use those words but he made it clear that Saturday is his last game,” one Gridiron club member said.
Miles regularly speaks to the club at lunch on Fridays before all home games.
“He said, ‘We’re a second family to him and he’s going to miss us, he appreciates his real friends, and then he told us good-bye,'” the source told Times-Picayune. “It was very emotional but in control.”
Miles left to a standing ovation, according to the report.
Another newspaper source said Miles told the group he “wouldn’t be seeing them at the bowl game,” he would “always be a Tiger” and “thanks for a great 11 years.”
Miles, with rumors of his impending dismissal swirling for weeks, on Monday said he is “going to go on to work” and not considering retirement when he spoke at his weekly press conference.
LSU gave a dismal effort in a 38-17 loss to Ole Miss last Saturday that fueled more speculation about Miles’ job status. The third straight loss dropped the Tigers to 7-3 this season.
Miles said Monday that he would not address his future until after the regular season.
Miles has a 110-32 record in 11 seasons with the Tigers and has won 10 or more games seven times. He won the BCS National Championship in 2007 and lost in the national title game in 2011.
Miles’ team started 7-0 this season behind the success of star running back Leonard Fournette. But a loss to Alabama on Nov. 7 started a three-game losing streak and LSU has been outscored 99-47 during the skid.
LSU athletic director Joe Alleva has declined to comment on the reports of Miles’ ouster.
Sources told the Times-Picayune that influential boosters had put together enough money to buy out Miles’ contract, which runs through 2019.
The $15 million buyout is payable over eight years and includes an additional $2 million total payable to assistant coaches who have a “Les Miles clause” in their deals.