Les Miles: 10 Reasons He Should Bolt the Bayou for Michigan
Rich Rodriguez was officially fired as head coach of the University of Michigan earlier today after posting the worst win-loss record in team history. In a way, the coaching match was doomed from the start, as Michigan never warmed up to Rodriguez and Rodriguez never gave Michigan anything to get excited about, sans for a bit of Denard Robinson earlier this year.
Now, Michigan is looking for a new head coach, and more importantly, looking for a head coach who understands Michigan. As a result, Les Miles is a big name that's being thrown around and it's a move that makes a lot of sense.Here are ten reasons why it does.
He's a Michigan Man
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Perhaps most obvious is that Michigan wants a head coach familiar with their program, and Miles is a Michigan man. He played two years of college football with the Wolverines in the 1970s, and also served as offensive line coach for eight years. He would love to coach at his alma mater, and they would love to have him.
Easier Conference
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Les Miles has won a National Championship with LSU in 2007. The SEC is the toughest conference in football, and it would take a lot of effort to win there. If he coached in the Big Ten, it would be an easier group of players to beat—much easier to win conference titles there than in the SEC.
He Beats Rivals
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If there's one thing Les Miles can do, it's beat a school's rivals. In 2004 as coach of Oklahoma State, he led the Cowboys to a 16-13 upset victory over Oklahoma, who was a top five team at the time.
Rich Rodriguez went 0-6 against Michigan State and Ohio State these past three years; that will be unacceptable to Miles.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Michigan Really Wants Him
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After the retirement of Lloyd Carr at the end of the 2007 season, Les Miles was considered a frontrunner for the Michigan position. However, LSU was a championship team at the time, and Miles needed to concentrate on that.
Now, there's no national championship game he needs to worry about, and he can actually take a good look at the job.
Legacy
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We know that Les Miles can take an already very good team and make it great. LSU was a good program before Miles, so he wasn't necessarily a difference maker. Turning Michigan into a National Championship contender would be a much taller order, and would make his legacy that much greater.
Bo Schembechler
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Who did Les Miles play and coach under? Michigan's legendary Bo Schembechler. To be able to follow in his footsteps would be great for someone who has those Michigan ties, and bringing his name up could add some weight. I'm sure Bo would have loved to see him take over.
Nothing Left to Prove at LSU
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In his six years at LSU, Miles has a 61-17 record and has won ten games at least four of those seasons, never finishing worse than third in the conference. Unless his goal is a second national title, he's got nothing else to achieve there, so why not try and rebuild Michigan?
Feeling of Unappreciation
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While the degree varies depending on how the team is doing, Miles does seem to have felt unappreciated at times as LSU coach. Whether this is actually true or not is all up to speculation, but speculation could very well play a factor.
Continued Speculation
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Should Michigan end up choosing a different coach, and it ends up not working out, the speculation will pick up again, perhaps creating another distraction for Miles. Only solution to that is to give Michigan a shot.
The Opportunity Might Not Come Up Again
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Les Miles is 57 years old. Michigan could easily find a coach that stays with the team 15-20 years, and by then Miles could likely be retired. If he truly wants to coach Michigan, this will probably be the last chance he gets.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
