LSU Reportedly Negotiated with Jimbo Fisher Prior to Retaining Les Miles

LSU reportedly entered contract negotiations with Florida State head football coach Jimbo Fisher before determining the high cost of making a change combined with the wave of support behind current coach Les Miles was too much to overcome.

Ross Dellenger and Elizabeth Crisp of the Advocate report discussions with Fisher were ongoing last week when the plan began falling apart for multiple reasons. One of the biggest was a projected cost of around $30 million to fire Miles and hire the Seminoles coach.

Along with that astronomical figure, which the report notes "shocked" school president F. King Alexander, the amount of support made it even more of an uphill battle.

Not only did a portion of the fanbase rally behind Miles as his status started to come into question, but he also received high-profile support. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal called officials at the school to discuss keeping Miles, according to the Advocate.

LSU athletic director Joe Alleva came out following the hectic stretch to announce Miles was staying on after a 19-7 victory over Texas A&M in the regular-season finale, as noted by ESPN.com.

"The season's complete, and I want to make it very clear and positive that Les Miles is our football coach and he will continue to be our football coach," Alleva said. "I'm looking forward to working with Coach Miles as he leads this team to a bowl game and another great recruiting class."

It's unclear how close the Tigers and Fisher were to reaching an agreement before the surrounding circumstances forced them to change course. The report does lend credence to the speculation that Miles found himself firmly on the hot seat heading into the final weeks.

Moving forward, the question is whether Miles is once again firmly entrenched in the position or if he remains on the fringe. He's the second-winningest coach in school history and clearly has plenty of support from every corner of the support base.

He likely needs to get the program back into the national title picture in the near future, however, if he wants to fully remove himself from the hot seat.