Miles said today he will remain the school's football coach rather than consider a move to Michigan.
He said -- quote -- ``I am the head coach at L-S-U. I will be the head coach at L-S-U. I have no interest in talking to anybody else.''
Miles said an erroneous E-S-P-N report that he was going to Michigan prompted him to speak to his players and the media. He said it was -- quote -- ``unfortunate'' -- that he had to talk to his team about it this morning.
The announcement came hours before the fifth-ranked Tigers played Number 14 Tennessee in the Southeastern Conference championship game.
In an offseason that has seen several big moves, Miles did not want to jump on the coaching carousel. L-S-U athletic director Skip Bertman said the school and Miles have worked out a contract but it has NOT been signed yet.
Speculation swirled throughout the week that Miles would leave L-S-U and return to Michigan, where he played and coached. The Wolverines' job became vacant when Lloyd Carr announced his retirement.
Many had expected Miles to return to Michigan, where he played and coached for the late-great Bo Schembechler and met his wife, long before Lloyd Carr announced the bowl game would end his 13-year career as head coach.
L-S-U saw the possibility coming, too.
The school put a specific clause in his contract on July 1, 2006, that made it expensive for Miles to go back to Ann Arbor.
Miles went 11-2 during each of his first two seasons, finishing his first campaign with a lopsided Peach Bowl victory over Miami and his second with a blowout against Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.
LSU was 10-2 going into the S-E-C championship game.
AP Sports Writers Brett Martel in New Orleans and Larry Lage in Detroit contributed to this report.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
http://accesswdun.com/article/2007/12/204522