Les Miles’ Potential Coaching Jobs Will Be Power 5 Heavy


Les Miles’ potential coaching jobs could be Power 5 heavy now that he’s been fired by LSU.


A little over a decade after it began, the Les Miles era in Baton Rouge has abruptly ended. It probably should have happened last November, but that’s in hindsight. This time around, the administration was going to make sure the Mad Hatter didn’t have one more run of late-season heroics tucked under his cap.

Now, what’s next? For LSU, there are a few names that will be bandied about liberally. Regardless, the Tigers absolutely, positively must land a head guy with a proven track record for coaching up young quarterbacks and developing high-powered offenses — or at least more high-powered than what the Tigers have been accustomed to. There’ll be plenty of candidates to evaluate and no rush, the upside of an in-season sacking.

How about Miles? Where does he go from here?

Miles will be 63 in November — a relatively youthful 63 at that. If he wants to continue coaching, and the assumption is that he does, he’ll coach. He’s a proven commodity, with more than 100 wins as the quirky face of a SEC power. He’s well-liked and well-known, which sells well to recruits, families of recruits and those donors necessary to keep pace in the ever-escalating arm’s race of college athletics. For many schools, he’d be an upgrade, so he’s marketable.

Think Mark Richt after Georgia went in a new direction last December. It’s a new chapter, another chance to prove the old boss had it wrong. But where would Miles be a fit? He’s not going down a level to a Group of Five school. That would be beneath a coach of his caliber and with his resume. Another power program, like Baylor, or USC, or Texas, could be looking to make a change. Auburn may be in the market in a couple of months, but he burned that bridge with his recent run of mediocrity.

Think of a Power 5 school that’s struggling on Saturdays and in need of a veteran coach who’d bring instant credibility, energy and attention to a campus that rarely generates much football pub. Think Kentucky, or Vanderbilt, or Purdue, or NC State, each of which could make a splash with the addition of Miles. And each of those could instantly upgrade its coaching staff and its overall profile by reaching out to the deposed coach’s agent — like first thing tomorrow.

Miles no longer has value in Baton Rouge. That shipped has sailed, and it’s time to turn the page. However, Miles still has tremendous value to a program clinging to the hope of climbing a rung higher. He’s an upgrade from Mark Stoops, and Derek Mason, and Darrell Hazell, and Dave Doeren, in ways that transcend the simplicity of Xs and Os.

Mark it down. Miles is going to coach again in 2017, refreshed following a couple of months with family and away from the rigors of trying to escape the hot seat. And he’s going to coach for a Power 5 school out of the SEC, ACC or Big Ten that’s desperate to make an attention-grabbing splash. Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Purdue and NC State all make sense on different levels. Let’s sit back and see if the ADs from the aforementioned schools share the vision of taking a chance on an aging coach with a ton of big wins and considerable coaching fire still rumbling in the belly.

MORE: LSU Football Recruiting Update Following Les Miles’ Firing