Les Miles says he was ‘beyond’ fighting for LSU job, wants to coach again

Fired LSU coach Les Miles was very conciliatory toward the school in his first interview since being relieved of his duties on Sunday.

Miles said he was “beyond” fighting for his job, comfortable with anything LSU did if they felt it helped the program, and does hope to coach again.

“It was beyond fighting,” Miles told Monday’s Dan Patrick Show, via Chris Vannini of CoachingSearch.com. “The enjoyment of being here, the enjoyment of the community, the experiences my family’s had, it was too important for me to fight over. It’s history, it’s what we are. If they see a change makes the Tigers better, then I’m for them.”

Miles couldn’t — or wouldn’t — say if he was being undermined.

“If it was there, I was beyond it,” Miles said. “I enjoyed going in my room, seeing the young men I recruited and coached. I was fortunate to be with a great coaching staff that worked hard. If there was an undercurrent, it did not exist in that building. That building was about football and football opinion and the best way to win. It was a cultural divide. What goes on outside the building just didn’t matter.”

Miles did say that coaching is the only thing he knows.

“I don’t golf,” Miles said. “I play no tennis. I enjoy shooting the gun, but I don’t point it at animals. I play cards not very well. What I have done for probably 12-14 hours a day for the last number of years is coach football. I would have a difficult time not being involved in the game or being a coach.”

Miles was fired on Sunday after a 2-2 start to the season. It’s probably only a matter of time before he finds another job elsewhere.