Just two years ago, Les Miles started the college football season as the head coach of the LSU Tigers.
Two years later, Les Miles is doing beer commercials for Dos Equis and the new “Fansville” television commercials for Dr. Pepper.
In addition, Miles still collects $133,000/month through the year 2022 from his last contract with LSU after he was dismissed following the fourth game of the 2016 football season.
I’ve always liked Les Miles – the person. He is personable with the media, loyal to his employer, and seems to be a very loving father and family man. He can laugh at himself. He enjoys jokes made about his unusual habit of chewing on blades of grass at LSU’s Tiger Stadium.
Then, there is Les Miles – the coach.
He will always be remembered as the coach of LSU’s 2007 national championship football team.
As a recruiter, Les Miles circled the wagons around Louisiana, kept the best football talent at home on the bayou, and plucked gems from other states as well. LSU was a permanent resident of the recruiting top-5 during his eleven year tenure with the Tigers.
As a motivator, there was little doubt that LSU football players gave their all for their coach with the fiery personality and oversized white coach’s cap.
Unfortunately, Les Miles, the on-field general, had become, at times, Captain Clue-Les. He is from Ohio, played at Michigan for Bo Schembechler, and was quite happy to win games in the SEC with his Big Ten-styled run-oriented offenses and tough defenses.
As other SEC teams began to throw the football more frequently and operate with a more fast-paced offense, Les Miles’ teams kept plodding along (run on first down, run on second down, and, if needed, throw the ball on third down) and, for the most part, winning more games than they lost.
In the incredibly-tough SEC West division, LSU fans saw their beloved Tigers start to finish in third and fourth place. After becoming accustomed to playing for national championships, LSU fans were asked to buy tickets for bowl games in Tampa, Nashville, and Houston (not bad places, by any means) instead of being part of the BCS championship showcase.
In a nutshell, LSU and its rabid fans felt like their team was sliding under the leadership of Coach Les Miles. In addition to his plodding offenses, LSU’s lovable football coach was now being questioned about his on-field time management, his rambling and odd quotes to media outlets, and the constant turnover of offensive coordinators that Miles hired at LSU with a previous track record of success.
Les Miles was fired after losing to Auburn in Game 4 of 2016. After his firing, LSU’s contract with the coach stated he will be paid nearly $10 million (did I say he receives $133,000 every month under the terms of his contract?) through 2022 unless Coach Miles finds another head coaching gig at another school.
Two years later, Les Miles (now 64) is still not back on the sidelines coaching a college football team. He and his family still reside in Baton Rouge, and Coach Miles still loves his LSU Tigers.
With a career coaching record of 144-55, it is very surprising that Les Miles is not back in coaching.
In that doesn’t happen soon, I believe Coach Miles might make a dandy replacement for Lee Corso (whenever the beloved Coach Corso retires, that is) on the set of ESPN’s College Football GameDay show.
In the meantime, Les waits and chews on another blade of Louisiana grass while cashing his checks.