CC: Les Miles...Whispers Growing Louder?

Submitted by Cali Wolverine on
My LSU friends are getting nervous for the 3rd time in 7 years as they are hearing whispers of Les Miles to Michigan pending an end to our current tenuous coaching situation. They sent me this link: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/lsu-football/les-miles-michigan-rumors/ Personally, I thought he was the fit 7 years ago, but after the last two disasters I would be more than happy with an SEC coach that can recruit in the South and has won a National Championship.
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J.Madrox

October 3rd, 2014 at 9:07 PM ^

I just don't buy it. You can't really convince me that a true big time candidate who you offer the huge money to and proper control over the program will turn the job down because some older alumni don't think he is a "michigan man".

If the athletic department chooses not to go after those candidates that is one thing, but I don't see a coach like (just pulling these names out of nowhere, not saying they would ever come here) Mike Gundy or Kevin Sumlin would turn this job down becasue they don't fit some fans idealized vision of their head coach.

I could be wrong, and I appreciate the reasonable response, I just believe Michigan still carries enough national reputation that just about any coach would come here if Michigan offered the money necessary to get it done.

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MichiganSports

October 3rd, 2014 at 9:13 PM ^

Even with the whole Rich Rod debacle i don't think guys like Helfrich and Briles would turn the job down if they were actually interested. They may want assurances that they would be given a certain amount of time to install their system but I think most people realize RR screwed himself by not recruiting defensive talent and not finding the DC to install a good system.

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RJWolvie

October 3rd, 2014 at 9:56 PM ^

we got the cold shoulder from first two flirtations & first one or two flirtations. (If it's like my business--& to be sure it may not be--but in my business, institutions hire each other's top guns regularly; most flirtations don't get all the way to job offer & then get turned down. They start with quiet sussin's out, & conversations like some weird flirtatious romance, which the giant rumor mill (well, ours is not giant compared to one for big time college sports) learns about so you can follow the trial by the way the gossip moves through the profession.) following that trail of our coaching searches we got choice #3 and choice #2 or #3 last times around--and those are counting just the flirtations that got far enough to reach the crowd's sensors.

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J.Madrox

October 4th, 2014 at 8:38 AM ^

But I would argue the last two coaching searches were not handled well by the AD's. Bill Martin did a lot of good things for Michigan but his whole boat fiasco during the Rich Rod coaching serach is well documented and it seems pretty clear Dave Brandon had his sights set firmly on Brady Hoke when he fired Rich Rod.

So you are correct, the last two coaching searches have not been the most inspired efforts by Michigan. My hope it that it had more to do with the AD's performing the searches and when Brandon gets fired a new AD can perform a better coaching search then either of the last two.

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rob f

October 4th, 2014 at 12:45 AM ^

I do not trust Dave Brandon to be able (at this point and going forward) to bring in a good coach.  He has so poisoned the waters around himself that few top coaches are going to risk wading in.  Without going thru the entire list of dysfunctional things going on under Brandon, if only half of them were true it would be enough to make good coaches think long and hard as to whether it was worth the risk to their careers. 

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J.Madrox

October 4th, 2014 at 8:41 AM ^

I buy the argument Michigan will not get the best coach available as long as Brandon is running the search, I am just getting tired of people complaining that Michigan will never get a good head coach again because the fans on MGoBoard complain when the current coach doesn't perform up to their high standards.

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Mpfnfu Ford

October 4th, 2014 at 2:23 AM ^

thing is the most message board ish ever, and it's ALWAYS BS. Coaches take jobs that will pay them well and give them the highest chance to succeed......

 

....but nobody worth a damn is going to come work for Brandon. So as sucky as this is, if getting rid of Dave Brandon means letting him leave in 6 months on his "own terms" so he can run for office, or take a new CEO job, or begin his sex change or whatever the hell he wants to call it, that means one more year of Hoke. And that's tolerable to get rid of Brandon. Not ideal, but tolerable.

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Miles was right

October 3rd, 2014 at 8:38 PM ^

WHat dont you understand???? Brandon would have to leave FIRST...he WONT HIRE MILES. PERIOD. "Over his dead body".


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Willie Heston

October 3rd, 2014 at 10:44 PM ^

I agree with this.  In fact, I would posit to say he is already working on this angle.

If he can bring in a big fish, that might change the dialog about his job security.

 At this point he has  to have a home run lined up for immediate hire the split second Hoke is canned.

But there are some serious timing issues that make this seem improbable of actually being pulled off.  Mainly, would he still be around to do the hiring of a big name coach who most likely wouldnt be availbable until after a bowl game?   

Maybe a high profile coordinator would do the trick?  I know Michigan likes to hire coaches with prior HC experience, but the timing issues for a coordinator may not be as sticky.  I am not advocating any of this, just thinking aloud.

I have always felt that Hoke was a placeholder for a bigger hire to come later--but I am less sure of that now than I was a few years ago as I dont think winning football games is Brandon's main MO.

 

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M-Dog

October 4th, 2014 at 12:00 AM ^

Will you mind it if he's not winning ballgames?

If you think Hoke's quirks get on people's nerves when he's losing games, wait until you experience Les Miles.

His wierdness only works because he's been winning games on the bayou.  The man is barely coherent.  If he starts losing games, you'll want his head for being an imbecile posing as a coach.

What is entertaining now will become insulting schtick if he's not winning.

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MGoStu

October 4th, 2014 at 10:42 AM ^

If he does as much losing here as we are doing now, I'd want him gone regardless of his schtick. So, it's not even a consideration for me. Maybe for others, but not for me. I work with a lot of oddballs, so they don't bother me as long as they are competent.

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aratman

October 3rd, 2014 at 8:49 PM ^

But I think the name we should look at is Jim Tressell.  Yes he has a Show Cause, but that was for something that courts have said were bull shit rules.  I know Ohio State blah blah, mother won alot and may want to stick it to OSU.

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LSAClassOf2000

October 3rd, 2014 at 8:58 PM ^

I really don't think the idea of hiring a coach with a show cause penalty still in effect even sniffs this program's culture, if you will.  I don't foresee even Brandon or whoever may replace him wanting to deal with the administrative nightmare that would be the attempt to absolve themselves of the penalties which, as per the show cause punishment, could be transferred to them by merely hiring someone like Tressel. They would have to go before the Committe On Infractions to even do this without being penalized themselves. That, and "EWWWWW".

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BlueinLansing

October 3rd, 2014 at 8:52 PM ^

highly doubt it.  Dubious reports are he was offered more than his LSU salary by Michigan last time.

 

It was always my thought that offer was never real and it was just used to get Miles a better LSU deal which he did get.  That contract runs through 2017 and would carry a pretty hefty buyout I believe.

 

Miles is 62 and I think very happy at LSU.

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M-Dog

October 4th, 2014 at 12:18 AM ^

Man, he is one nutty fucker.

Very entertaining . . . when he's representing somebody else's school.  But would you really want him representing Michigan?  I cringe when he starts talking.  Watch the video.

Is his clown show going to wear thin if he's giving it after a couple of losses in a row?  Or is it only tolerable if he's winning 11+ games a season?

I'd be very cautious about hiring a coach that you can only tolerate when he's 11-1.

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