Goal Line Stand: Miles puts on a show

And the 2007 Oscar for Best Dramatic Performance by a Football Coach goes to…Les Miles, Louisiana State University.

That was some job Miles did last Saturday, when he appeared in his sharp suit and LSU purple tie to spew venom at ESPN and other assembled media. Now, it’s never a bad thing when ESPN gets killed, since the network has single-handedly transformed sports into a highlight festival and emphasized the marketing of its own product over true news gathering. For that, Miles should be lauded.

Indeed, it was odd to see ESPN go so strongly on a scoop, especially letting its lead analyst, Kirk Herbstreit, take credit for the report, and then be so totally inaccurate. Again, no tears here. The network has on several occasions glommed on to someone else’s work and “reported” it as its own, simply by having someone make a call to confirm something. If there were some casualties in Bristol, good.

ESPN may have been bad, but Miles was worse. Much worse. For him to stand there and make himself and his players (don’t you love it when coaches try to hide behind their young adult players, as if they are helpless waifs?) out to be victims was reprehensible, especially when his agent had been speaking with Michigan all week, and by all accounts, had an agreement with the school. Had LSU not swooped in with a better offer, Miles would have been hoisting the Block M flag Sunday afternoon during an Ann Arbor press conference/pep rally. To make ESPN and everybody else who was reporting Miles’ departure seem utterly irresponsible was manipulative and disingenuous.

Don’t get me wrong; every coach should have the opportunity to look for a new job. People often get mad at these men for trying to move on or upgrade their positions, but in a field where people can be fired for any number of reasons, coaches need the protection of seeking new employment. Miles was certainly within his rights to explore the Michigan job.

What made his situation different, however, was his indignation last Saturday. He had clearly been considering the job, even when he was getting the Tigers ready to play Tennessee in the SEC title game. And, talking to coaches who have been in the position before, there can be nothing more distracting to a team than knowing its coach is out there looking for another gig. That has nothing to do with the media. Everybody knew Miles was considering Michigan, including his players. Once he decided to return to LSU, the coach needed to make a stand to show his team he was still their man. Again, that’s nobody else’s fault but Miles’

If he really “cared” about his team and its ability to focus on the Vols, he would have had his agent tell the Wolverines – as well as LSU – to wait until after the contest to start talking. That way, there would have been no distractions and no need to play the anger card in the made-for-TV “press conference.” Miles’ sin was not his interest in the Michigan job, because that’s his home and his dream job. His sin was in negotiating through his agent and then getting angry when a deal was reported before he could go back to his bosses in Baton Rouge for a counteroffer.

Miles should have waited until the die had been cast for his team and then decide whether he wanted to pursue other employment. If he did, then he could have acted in early December, not late November. Instead, he went after it and got burned. His nastiness and contrived anger were not necessary, especially when his intentions had been so clear.

The collateral damage reached to Ann Arbor, where the suddenly coachless Wolverines had their hopes of a quick, neatly-packaged search-and-find mission quashed. U-M is still looking for a coach, and its two main candidates do little to inspire the school’s community. Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz was hot for a while, but the Hawkeyes have stumbled in recent seasons, and he is no longer coveted throughout the land. Still, he was born in Michigan, has a Big Ten pedigree and is respected for his clean program. Not sexy but hardly a bad choice. Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly is still in play, but he has coached three different schools in four years (Grand Valley State, Central Michigan, UC) and is viewed by some as too brusque to handle the job. Some (including me) worry that hiring him at Michigan would bring him too far too fast.

The wild card is Rutgers’ Greg Schiano, who was everybody’s darling last year when the Scarlet Knights burst onto the national scene. He is respected for taking a rotten program and turning into a three-time bowl participant, no mean feat. But Rutgers stepped back some this year, to 7-5, and finished in a fifth-place Big East tie. Plus, there are those who believe his dream job is in State College, and if JoePa were to call it quits in the next couple years, it would be hard for Schiano to resist.

Michigan should make its decision soon, and it could be any of those three. Or, perhaps a mystery candidate will emerge. Remember, few knew very much about Bo Schembechler before the school hired him after the ’68 campaign. We do know one thing: It won’t be Les Miles. He’s too busy working on his acceptance speech.

“I’d like to thank the Academy…”

GAME OF THE YEAR: Ohio State vs. LSU, January 7, 2008
This is about as distasteful as a spoonful of castor oil chased by musty tequila, but that’s what we have in college football. There won’t be a playoff, perhaps ever, so the BCS continues to foist itself on brainwashed fans, who believe the “every week counts” baloney spewed by TV talking heads. So, while Oklahoma, USC, Virginia Tech and Georgia stew, and Missouri tries to figure out how Kansas is in a BCS bowl, and it isn’t, the Buckeyes and Tigers play for the “national championship.” Last year, OSU embarrassed itself, Woody Hayes, the Big Ten and the entire Midwest with its miserable showing against Florida. The temptation is to predict another blowout, but this isn’t the same Ohio State team, and LSU is not the ’06 Gators. This time, the Buckeye defense is better suited to shine, in part because of its penurious front seven and LSU’s somewhat shaky passing game. OSU’s offense isn’t overwhelming, but it has good balance, and Beanie Wells is a front line back. It makes no sense, but the feeling here is that the Buckeyes are looking for serious retribution, and that will be a big factor.
Ohio State 24, LSU 21

BUMPS AND RUNS:
What a weekend it was for former UCLA coach Karl Dorrell. Had he beaten USC, and if Arizona had knocked off ASU, he would have taken the Bruins to the Rose Bowl. Because he lost, he was fired. And you wonder why coaches are almost always looking for that next job.

Had Miles gone to Michigan, the most interesting name mentioned for the LSU spot was Steve Spurrier. Can you imagine the Ball Coach going after Nick Saban? That would have been wild.

If you think Randy Edsall made a bad move staying at Connecticut, instead of going to Georgia Tech, he didn’t. It’s easier to win at UConn that at Tech, and that’s what keeps coaches in their jobs.

One man’s Heisman ballot: Tim Tebow, Florida; Darren McFadden, Arkansas; Colt Brennan, Hawaii.

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