Larry Brown Sports

LSU announced on Wednesday that Les Miles will remain at the school as head coach of the football team, and that he will receive a raise and contract extension.

The new contract and raise comes a day after it was reported that Arkansas was heavily pursuing Miles to be their next head coach, offering him $27.5 million over five years. LSU Director of Athletics Joe Alleva confirmed that the interest from Arkansas played a role in the timing of the extension and raise.

“Our intent was to address his contract following this year’s bowl game, but speculation about other job opportunities accelerated our process a little,” Alleva said in a press release. “I think we have accomplished the important step of securing Les Miles as our head coach for the long-term good of the program.”

Miles confirmed in a news conference on Wednesday that he did speak with Arkansas.

“Our conversation were very preliminary and fell short of any major major interest,” Miles said. “I kind of recommended other candidates. I spoke with [athletic director Jeff Long]. I did not speak to Jerry Jones.”

Miles also said the reported $27.5 million figure Arkansas reportedly was offering him was incorrect.

“I’m an LSU head coach and will be an LSU head coach as long as I can be.”

Terms of the contract extension and pay raise are still being negotiated, and will be announced at a later date, the schools says.

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Arkansas reportedly is aiming very high in its pursuit of a new head football coach, and reportedly has made a huge offer to LSU coach Les Miles.

Our friend Sports by Brooks reported the news over Twitter on Tuesday that Arkansas has made a five-year, $27.5 million deal to Miles.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune confirmed that Miles has an offer from Arkansas. They also reported that Miles is meeting with the Arkansas athletic director.

LSU’s sports information director says Miles was shown Brooks’ report “and he didn’t have anything to say.”

Miles currently makes $3.75 million per season, not including bonuses. He has the Tigers at 10-2 this season and ranked No. 7 in the BCS standings. Miles has gone 85-20 over eight seasons as head coach of the Tigers. He has reached two BCS National Championship games and won one.

Miles could very well be talking with Arkansas to gain leverage in discussions with LSU. Smart Football believes he may be trying to leverage LSU into paying his coaching staff more money. Miles was also pursued by Michigan in 2011 but reportedly turned down offers for a pay raise on two occasions.

Arkansas has one of the most passionate fan bases in college football, so I don’t doubt that they are willing to pay Miles that kind of money. Truthfully, this sort of money would make almost any college football coach seriously consider a move.

UPDATE: Miles will receive a contract extension and raise to remain at LSU. He confirmed he spoke with Arkansas about their vacancy.

Photo credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

If Bobby Hebert disappeared off the face of the earth, I highly doubt LSU coach Les Miles would shed a tear. Hebert is a die-hard Tigers fan but also one of the biggest Miles critics going, and he was back at it again during a recent interview with Les Carpenter of Yahoo! Sports.

Hebert is a former New Orleans Saints quarterback and has a son, T. Bob Hebert, who played for LSU last season. After the Tigers lost to Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game last year, Hebert went off on Miles during his postgame press conference for calling conservative plays when his team was trailing by multiple scores. Bobby stands by that criticism, to say the least.

“I know this and I actually believe this, and people say ‘Oh come on;’ but I know I’ve forgotten more football than Les Miles knows,” Hebert told Yahoo! Sports. “If you could bring me down and call plays and know what you’re doing. I would never make that statement about Sean Payton. Come on, I know. But I know when the defense is doing this and blitzing how are you going to attack it? What do you need to do?

“Like its 3rd-and-10 against Alabama, you’re going to run the option? Come on. You can get away with that against Washington. When you’re playing Alabama and you have 15 NFL players, well so do they. And you got to have some imagination.”

Earlier this season, Hebert was ejected from the press box for cheering LSU too loudly during their most recent loss to Alabama. At least you know his heart is in the right place. After bashing Miles for not knowing as much as him about the game, Hebert then seemed to take a full 180-degree turn.

“With the success that Les Miles has had he is probably in the history of football the most successful unloved coach I have ever seen,” he said. “To dominate and as much as he has had success [to] have people not think he walks on water? No, it’s unbelievable.”

So wait, does this guy love Miles or hate him? Chances are not even he knows the answer.

H/T The Big Lead

Les Miles may be a proud coach who stands up for his players, but he also may have a screw or two loose. LSU came away with a dramatic victory over Ole Miss on Saturday during which it erased a 35-28 deficit in the fourth quarter. The Tigers never led in the second half before freshman running back Jeremy Hill ran for a touchdown with 15 seconds remaining to give LSU a hard-fought 41-35 win.

As you may have gathered from the video above, Miles was pleased with his team after the game. He went ballistic in praising his players and even told any females out there to give them a kiss right on the lips when they see them. He also dropped an f-bomb when emphasizing how proud he was of the Tigers for not packing it in.

This is not the first time we have seen an animated Miles. Remember, this is also the same guy who has admitted to eating cow tongue and inspired other coaches to eat grass. Saturday’s rant, however, is definitely up there with some of the best Les moments of all time.

Being a coach in the SEC isn’t easy. Aside from all the pressure that comes with having to figure out the X’s and O’s of coaching against some of the toughest competition in the country, there are also the challenges of recruiting. And with recruiting comes sitting down to dinner at a recruit’s house, which can lead to having to scoff down some pretty strange stuff.

As part of their Playbook SEC Coaches’ Questionnaire for the upcoming college season, ESPN asked every head coach in the SEC what the weirdest thing they have been served during a recruiting visit was. Most said they have enjoyed all of their meals or enjoyed watching their assistants struggle through them, but LSU head coach Les Miles had a story that stood out.

“I had cow tongue,” Miles said. “It was a dessert, and it was in Louisiana. It was pickled. And it looked just like a cow tongue. In fact, it was cow tongue and cow lips, for that matter. Everybody took a little sliver. Kind of chopped it up good. And… it tasted pretty good. It really wasn’t all that bad. It was kind of a little briny. But, you know, I kind of enjoyed it.”

You know how jokes can sometimes write themselves? If you remember, this is the same guy who has admitted he eats grass and has inspired other college coaches to try it. Of course he enjoyed eating pickled cow tongue.

H/T Lost Lettermen
Photo credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

The sea was angry last night my friends. Like an old man trying to send soup back at a deli, Bobby Hebert’s rant towards Les Miles commanded the media’s attention.

First, we need a little background. Hebert is the former Saints and Falcons quarterback. He’s a current sports talk radio host in New Orleans, and his son, T. Bob Hebert, is the center on LSU’s team.

So not only is Hebert one of those shouting sports talk hosts, but he’s also a parent. Keep that in mind.

Bobby was the first person to address Les Miles in the coach’s postgame press conference, and rather than asking a question, he ranted like an angry sports talk radio caller.

Here’s what was said:

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Jarrett Lee was LSU’s leading passer during the season, throwing for 1,306 yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions, but he did not see the field in the National Championship Game. Lee struggled in the November 5th win over Alabama, getting pulled after going 3/7 for 24 yards and two interceptions. Fellow senior quarterback Jordan Jefferson finished the game going 6-10 for 67 yards. He also ran for 43 on 11 carries in the 9-6 victory.

Even though Jefferson was awful against Alabama in the National Championship Game, the first meeting between the teams must have been enough to convince coach Les Miles that Lee was unsuited to face the Crimson Tide. Miles never pulled Jefferson Monday no matter how much the quarterback struggled.

He explained his decision after the loss.

“We felt like with Jordan Jefferson’s feet and ability to move and get out of the rush, it was fair that he finished,” he told ESPN’s Erin Andrews.

Miles repeated the same idea to the rest of the media.

“We did consider Jarrett Lee, but with the pass rush…we needed a mobile quarterback,” Miles said.

The calls for Jarrett Lee to play came during halftime. They were incessant late in the third and fourth quarter when the Tigers weren’t doing much. But I understood why Miles stuck with Jefferson.

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