Keeping a Coaching Staff is Hard to Do

I read this morning on ESPN and across message boards that Les Miles was going to be named Michigan's head coach.

Some reports even named which assistants would follow him to Ann Arbor.

Two hours before his team played for the SEC Championship, Coach Miles called a press conference to state he will return as the LSU head coach.

Miles turned down his dream job. At this point in time, he hasn't signed anything to stay with LSU, so he doesn't HAVE to stay with LSU. Every coach will lie as a ploy to get more leverage with their current program. He probably accepted the Michigan job, but when he made LSU sweat a little bit and had his pot sweetened, he changed his mind.

Tommy Tuberville is playing the same game right now. Auburn didn't want to increase his salary, so he said he was gonna go hunting in Arkansas, where there is a head coaching vacancy. Reports came out that Tuberville had accepted the Arkansas head coaching job. University officials have now said these reports are false, and that they are still talking with Coach Tuberville.

Smart move, Tubs. This gives Tuberville ALL the negotiating power.

The thing about both of these coaches is that they know how to hire and fire. Knowing how much LSU lost offensively in the 2006 NFL Draft, Miles brought in Gary Crowton as the offensive coordinator after Jimbo Fisher left for Florida State.

Crowton was the offensive mastermind of the Oregon Ducks. He capitalized on the Tigers' strengths and made his offense work with a power running game and simple passes.

The same thing goes for Tuberville and his staff. Al Borges has helped mold three first-round draft choices in Jason Campbell, Carnell Williams, and Ronnie Brown. This year his offense has been plagued by injuries and problems along the offensive line, so this is one of the first years in a long time he hasn't had a running back near the top of the SEC rushing leaders.

But there's one thing Auburn will never be without: A top-notch defensive coordinator. The Tigers have one of the fastest and most athletic defenses in the country. thanks to Will Muschamp, who was brought in for Gene Chizik after Chizik left to take the same job at the University of Texas. Muschamp helped shape the 2003 National Champions' defense, and continues to work his magic in Baton Rouge.