Les Miles the next Head Coach at Kansas

[956 Worldwide 34444]

3 minutes ago, Richard Kimball said:

 

Let me open up this one by asking, "When was the last time Kansas made a GOOD decision in hiring a football coach?"

Right now, KU is probably one of the least desirable P5 coaching positions. 

Here's where desperate people do desperate things, and college revenue sports, specifically men's football and basketball, are some of the dirtiest institutions around. If someone can generate wins on the field or the court, schools will do back flips to maintain plausible deniability about misconduct. I'd put the over/under at about 30% of P5 colleges that have run prostitution rings out of the athletic department for recruiting purposes. 

Prior to Kansas, Miles had coached 16 years, been to 15 bowl games, and had won a national championship. He should have been gold when he left LSU, but he didn't coach for two years, and took less than the contract required on his buyout from LSU. Absolutely agree there were rumors out there about him or somebody would have jumped on him immediately. 

So LSU attempted to avoid a scandal by separating from Miles in as low profile a method as possible, which meant instead of firing for cause, they pretended a 2-2 start to a season was enough to let him go. 

Kansas thought they could grab a national championship coach on the cheap, and there probably wouldn't be any blowback, cause the LSU stuff hadn't hit the press, and it had been two years. 

I absolutely think that KU heard the rumors, likely Long himself. But I also think that in the ugly world of paper trails and investigations, KU likely does have the type of plausible deniability that would get them through separating Les for cause. LSU absolutely does not have any defense for their behavior and almost certainly struck a deal with Les to bury their half assed investigation in exchange for a lower buyout and for keeping quiet when a potential employer came calling. Because once they were in for a penny, they were in for a pound on that coverup. 

[JOSEYWALES66 1790]

22 hours ago, Doc Reeves said:

Hahahaha... holy shit.

I started on pg 53. Good reading.

Starting on page 61 Dameyune Craig is discussed trying to have a complainant fired.  

[Richard Kimball 1492]

2 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

I absolutely think that KU heard the rumors, likely Long himself. But I also think that in the ugly world of paper trails and investigations, KU likely does have the type of plausible deniability that would get them through separating Les for cause. LSU absolutely does not have any defense for their behavior and almost certainly struck a deal with Les to bury their half assed investigation in exchange for a lower buyout and for keeping quiet when a potential employer came calling. Because once they were in for a penny, they were in for a pound on that coverup. 

Yeah, and LSU hasn't cleaned up their act either. When they let go of OC Matt Canada in 2019, both sides signed a non-disclosure agreement. There's more to that than Orgeron and him didn't get along. 

[956 Worldwide 34444]

2 minutes ago, Richard Kimball said:

Yeah, and LSU hasn't cleaned up their act either. When they let go of OC Matt Canada in 2019, both sides signed a non-disclosure agreement. There's more to that than Orgeron and him didn't get along. 

I really don’t think NDAs should be legal if you’re employed at a government institution. For either side.  

[Jhawk 1075]

Whatever happens here I can only guarantee long will fuck it up. 
 

I don’t think you fire Les because of something that happened 6-9 years ago but he should have never been hired because of this. That’s on Jeff Long. More interesting, look at the whole scenario. Firing miles will be a nuclear bomb to the program and roster. What is actually a pretty rebuilt roster going into 2021. We’d likely have to hire a D2 coach or maybe a mid-major assistant. We’d have massive roster turnover and be starting from scratch. We haven’t had a winning season in 12 years. That streak could easily extend to 20 if we lose the roster we have. 
 

Secondly, look at the athletic department. We’re bleeding money. We have a women’s basketball coach that needs to be fired. We have a baseball coach that needs to be fired. We have awful football facilities. We have a head basketball coach that needs a new contract. Oh and we have the NCAA about to go in deep on us. Now... given that long should be fired for hiring miles who in the fuck would want to take on the AD job??? Further, we are paying $1.5M a year to Long because of solely the ncaa investigation. We’d have to pay someone $5M a year if they negotiate on all of the above points. If KU basketball gets wiped out we are looking at becoming SMU. 

Edited March 6, 2021 by Jhawk

[Brothahorn 10085]

2 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

Yep.  I have worked in HR for a large organization (not my favorite gig).  You are EXTREMELY limited in whatever you say, and if it’s not backed up by paper......You say nothing.  You’re itching for a lawsuit. 
 

“So, you told my client’s potential employer that he engaged in sexual misconduct while in your institution’s employ. Can you please show us where that’s documented and how your institution disciplined him?”
 

My take is that this is all on LSU. If anything, KU might have a case against them, but sovereign immunity. 

I thought you were only able to say if they are eligible for rehire or not.

[CooterBrown 17913]

I thought you were only able to say if they are eligible for rehire or not.

Yep. IIRC, rehire eligibility, dates of employment, and salary are the only things that can be provided without risk of being sued.

[Laxtonto 11934]

19 minutes ago, Jhawk said:

Whatever happens here I can only guarantee long will fuck it up. 
 

I don’t think you fire Les because of something that happened 6-9 years ago but he should have never been hired because of this. That’s on Jeff Long. More interesting, look at the whole scenario. Firing miles will be a nuclear bomb to the program and roster. What is actually a pretty rebuilt roster going into 2021. We’d likely have to hire a D2 coach or maybe a mid-major assistant. We’d have massive roster turnover and be starting from scratch. We haven’t had a winning season in 12 years. That streak could easily extend to 20 if we lose the roster we have. 
 

Secondly, look at the athletic department. We’re bleeding money. We have a women’s basketball coach that needs to be fired. We have a baseball coach that needs to be fired. We have awful football facilities. We have a head basketball coach that needs a new contract. Oh and we have the NCAA about to go in deep on us. Now... given that long should be fired for hiring miles who in the fuck would want to take on the AD job??? Further, we are paying $1.5M a year to Long because of solely the ncaa investigation. We’d have to pay someone $5M a year if they negotiate on all of the above points. If KU basketball gets wiped out we are looking at becoming SMU. 

[956 Worldwide 34444]

10 minutes ago, Brothahorn said:

I thought you were only able to say if they are eligible for rehire or not.

That’s a rule a lot of employers follow because it’s extremely safe but in nearly all states you can go plenty further.

If you get fired, an employer can say so and can give the reason for your termination. Truth  is a defense to defamation. “We had to let him go because he failed three drug tests” is completely above board as long as you have documentation. So is “he was released because an internal investigation concluded that he violated our sexual harassment policies.”

In fact, it’s not good practice to avoid informing about stuff that’s criminal, or sexual harassment, or substance abuse. At that point you’re also opening yourself up to potential suits from other companies and definitely aren’t helping your reputation.

[jw4381 3063]

5 hours ago, Blotto said:

KU couldn't ask for a more experienced AD to shepherd them through a coaching sex scandal. Jeff Long is probably going to hire a eunuch for the next coach. 

So Mangino then?

[JFKFC 4878]

1 hour ago, jw4381 said:

So Mangino then?

http://www.guppylake.com/~nsb/headjob.html

[markstanco 12509]

The experiment failed. BOR sent in the whores.

[Jkwellborn 6653]

So Jeff Long was at Arkansas for Petrino, and now KU for Les...
I would call him Lester the Molester but his real name is Leslie.  
 
 

He’s gonna start going by Pete Jones.

[RPM 26229]

23 hours ago, Dennis Taylor said:

I would call him Lester the Molester but his real name is Leslie.  

Leslie Molestee

[Mitch Cumsteen 18523]

22 hours ago, Richard Kimball said:

 

Prior to Kansas, Miles had coached 16 years, been to 15 bowl games, and had won a national championship. He should have been gold when he left LSU, but he didn't coach for two years, and took less than the contract required on his buyout from LSU. Absolutely agree there were rumors out there about him or somebody would have jumped on him immediately. 

So LSU attempted to avoid a scandal by separating from Miles in as low profile a method as possible, which meant instead of firing for cause, they pretended a 2-2 start to a season was enough to let him go. 

Kansas thought they could grab a national championship coach on the cheap, and there probably wouldn't be any blowback, cause the LSU stuff hadn't hit the press, and it had been two years. 

They had been trying to get rid of Miles for a few years and it had nothing to do with the scandal. I'm too lazy to look at the timeline but it's my understanding that all of his creepy shit that he got reprimanded for happened long before he got fired. If I'm wrong, correct me please. 

The real reason he got fired is because the LSU power brokers got tired of only scoring 9 points against Bama. Les inherited Saban's machine at LSU and he, along with their in state network and their ability to churn out draft picks + Tommy Moffitt, was a good enough recruiter to keep it running. But Les did incomprehensible things on the field like not knowing how game stoppages work, wack decisions on fourth down and just general head scratching shit on a weekly basis. Plus he came off as a punch line. And he never adapted his offense. That's why nobody jumped on this "national title winning coach." We're talking about the SEC here. You think they would fire a coach that they believed could beat Saban because of what he did? 

One thing that is really interesting in all of this is his buyout. Lsu owed him $12. 9 million when they canned him and he settled for $1.5. I guess we know the reason why now. 

[Tex Long 4348]

6 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

One thing that is really interesting in all of this is his buyout. Lsu owed him $12. 9 million when they canned him and he settled for $1.5. I guess we know the reason why now. 

Waitaminnit, who we talkin' about, here? I thought you said "Miles", but now it sounds more like "Briles" - which is it?

[Richard Kimball 1492]

17 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

They had been trying to get rid of Miles for a few years and it had nothing to do with the scandal. I'm too lazy to look at the timeline but it's my understanding that all of his creepy shit that he got reprimanded for happened long before he got fired. If I'm wrong, correct me please. 

The real reason he got fired is because the LSU power brokers got tired of only scoring 9 points against Bama. Les inherited Saban's machine at LSU and he, along with their in state network and their ability to churn out draft picks + Tommy Moffitt, was a good enough recruiter to keep it running. But Les did incomprehensible things on the field like not knowing how game stoppages work, wack decisions on fourth down and just general head scratching shit on a weekly basis. Plus he came off as a punch line. And he never adapted his offense. That's why nobody jumped on this "national title winning coach." We're talking about the SEC here. You think they would fire a coach that they believed could beat Saban because of what he did? 

One thing that is really interesting in all of this is his buyout. Lsu owed him $12. 9 million when they canned him and he settled for $1.5. I guess we know the reason why now. 

I've gotten to interview a lot of B12 coaches at the summer media days, and the only two that had me sitting there after the interview going "what the ever loving fuck?" were Les Miles and Tom Herman. Non-sequitur answers and totally off the wall comments that made little sense. 

Not that anyone cares, but my general impression from interviews with other B12 coaches:

Gary Patterson -- perpetually butt hurt, acts like someone tried to take the last long john out of the donut box just to spite him.

Charlie Strong -- Damn that dude is short. In over his head. Had a few canned responses, but got in trouble answering specific questions. 

Lincoln Riley -- Good stage presence, has media figured out. Knows how to give a good quote line that won't come back and bite him in the ass.

Matt Campbell -- hard ass. Let's get this media shit over so I can get back to coaching. OK interview, but doesn't want to be there.

Bill Snyder -- Was elder statesman, got handled with kid gloves by press, and knew how to take advantage of it.

Anyway, no doubt there were other issues with Miles. 

[Richard Kimball 1492]

30 minutes ago, Tex Long said:

Waitaminnit, who we talkin' about, here? I thought you said "Miles", but now it sounds more like "Briles" - which is it?

Briles got something like $15 million on his payout. He did some wrong shit, but like with LSU, a lot of it was also on the admin. Baylor tried to use him as a Judas goat, gave him "shut up" money, and hoped the scandals would leave with him. 

[El Diablo 4232]

On 3/6/2021 at 6:55 AM, Blotto said:

KU couldn't ask for a more experienced AD to shepherd them through a coaching sex scandal. Jeff Long is probably going to hire a eunuch for the next coach. 

I don't believe Jeff is there for long. With what KU has going on already with the bball program and now this? 

[Richard Kimball 1492]

49 minutes ago, El Diablo said:

I don't believe Jeff is there for long. With what KU has going on already with the bball program and now this? 

They might dump him over the Miles hiring, but Self has been with Kansas since 2003 and Long just got there in 2018. Any basketball shenanigans started way before Long got there. 

Also, Long might be Self's supervisor in title, but I doubt he can tell him much. 

[El Diablo 4232]

I think he was hired in part to shepherd KU thru the bball mess, I'm pretty sure they knew it was potentially coming when he was chosen as AD. He,  imho, also had to have overlooked rumors among those in the know of Les at LSU. I could see a whole housecleaning happening. 

[Radical Larry 28529]

 

[clapclapclap 9000]

Goodnight, Robert Frost.

Edited March 9, 2021 by clapclapclap
"...and Miles to go before I sleep."

[Jhawk 1075]

Well color me shocked. Miles is done. 

[pops 6974]

Any idea on why LSU was chasing this 8 years later?  Looking to claw back some of the money they paid him and call it firing for cause (though that doesn't seem plausible)?

Or just fuck you,  les, because we can?  

[Hook1997 5289]

So Les got fired for chasing college tail 10 plus years ago?   Am I missing something I haven’t read up on this but if it’s him trying to get laid as a HC on campus so what?   Even if he’s a creepy fuck in general.  If he was Cliff K would this be a story?

[Machinator 32097]

1 minute ago, Hook1997 said:

So Les got fired for chasing college tail 10 plus years ago?   Am I missing something I haven’t read up on this but if it’s him trying to get laid as a HC on campus so what?   Even if he’s a creepy fuck in general.  If he was Cliff K would this be a story?

Sexual misconduct is a fireable offense, believe it or not.

[LonghornSean 3942]

I doubt Les actually wanted to stay in this job anyway. Who would?

[Jhawk 1075]

On 3/7/2021 at 5:41 PM, El Diablo said:

I think he was hired in part to shepherd KU thru the bball mess, I'm pretty sure they knew it was potentially coming when he was chosen as AD. He,  imho, also had to have overlooked rumors among those in the know of Les at LSU. I could see a whole housecleaning happening. 

This is correct. He has an auto renewal in his contract for whatever amount of years our penalty from the ncaa might be. Which complicates firing him. It also makes a lot of KU fans wonder where his heart is on the appeal. He has made some suspect moves, against HCBS’s wishes, that have hurt us in our case. 

[4th_and_18 687]

Still not against policy as long as the student isn't in your class or in a subordinate work role.

At UT, no faculty or staff can be in a relationship with an undergrad. It’s the Kearney-Applewhite rule.

[Hook1997 5289]

11 minutes ago, Machinator said:

Sexual misconduct is a fireable offense, believe it or not.

So as a head coach of a big school, asking a of age girl to come back to your place is sexual misconduct?  But in the sugar daddy thread even younger is fine?? I’ve lost where the line is now for a fireable offense here?   If he just asked girls over ten years ago  how is that a fireable offense now?

[Teryor 4423]

3 minutes ago, Hook1997 said:

So as a head coach of a big school, asking a of age girl to come back to your place is sexual misconduct?  But in the sugar daddy thread even younger is fine?? I’ve lost where the line is now for a fireable offense here?   If he just asked girls over ten years ago  how is that a fireable offense now?

I wasn't aware that forcing yourself on girls and harassing them was the same as asking them out but maybe we just were raised differently

[Teryor 4423]

By the way the statement by Long is hilarious, he literally just says "we have a lot of talent, we have to win games" because that's what this circus is all about

 

It'd be an absolute embarrassment if they let him make it through the coaching search

[Hook1997 5289]

15 minutes ago, Teryor said:

I wasn't aware that forcing yourself on girls and harassing them was the same as asking them out but maybe we just were raised differently

From what I’ve read there’s no forcing himself on anyone...   I’m not standing up for the guy but this is from girls that sa made them feel uncomfortable.  That could be just asking a girl out or over to his house, I don’t see where he forced anything.  Like I said maybe I’m missing something and I don’t like the guy but just asking girls over or being suggestive is not misconduct or abuse.   I don’t like the guy but how about you l look at the facts come out before you say someone forced anyone to do anything?

Edited March 9, 2021 by Hook1997

[UDontKnow 10439]

1 minute ago, Hook1997 said:

From what I’ve read there’s no forcing himself on anyone...   I’m not standing up for the guy but this is from girls that say he made them feel uncomfortable.  That could be just asking a girl out or over to his house, I don’t see where he forced anything.  Like I said maybe I’m missing something and I don’t like the guy but just asking girls over or being suggestive is not misconduct or abuse.

Maybe some 'morality' clause in his contract? Maybe these incidents at LSU were not disclosed prior to him being tendered the contract? 

[Beau Vine 54003]

11 minutes ago, Teryor said:

By the way the statement by Long is hilarious, he literally just says "we have a lot of talent, we have to win games" because that's what this circus is all about

 

It'd be an absolute embarrassment if they let him make it through the coaching search

His last four football hires are Petrino, John L. Smith, Bielema, and Les.  I think Long will be sitting this one out.

[Beau Vine 54003]

6 minutes ago, Hook1997 said:

From what I’ve read there’s no forcing himself on anyone...   I’m not standing up for the guy but this is from girls that say he made them feel uncomfortable.  That could be just asking a girl out or over to his house, I don’t see where he forced anything.  Like I said maybe I’m missing something and I don’t like the guy but just asking girls over or being suggestive is not misconduct or abuse.

Miles was told by his AD not to text, phone, or be alone with any of the student workers in the office, and he went out and did all those things.

And for fuck's sake, he's not asking female tenured professors out or to come over to his house, he's asking 20-year-old student workers in the football office.

[Nueces River Rat 5529]

Dos Equis has their guy back

[clapclapclap 9000]

40 minutes ago, 4th_and_18 said:

At UT, no faculty or staff can be in a relationship with an undergrad. It’s the Kearney-Applewhite rule.

I think Louisiana used to have a Dead Girl, Live Boy rule.

Edited March 9, 2021 by clapclapclap
Napoleonic Code or something

[Teryor 4423]

9 minutes ago, Hook1997 said:

From what I’ve read there’s no forcing himself on anyone...   I’m not standing up for the guy but this is from girls that sa made them feel uncomfortable.  That could be just asking a girl out or over to his house, I don’t see where he forced anything.  Like I said maybe I’m missing something and I don’t like the guy but just asking girls over or being suggestive is not misconduct or abuse.   I don’t like the guy but how about you l look at the facts come out before you say someone forced anyone to do anything?

Sure let's go with these quotes from USAToday

Quote

At the height of his fame as Louisiana State University’s head football coach, Les Miles was accused of texting female students, taking them to his condo alone, making them feel uncomfortable and, on at least one occasion, kissing a student, according to an internal investigative report released by LSU on Thursday.

Quote

But that mischaracterizes the findings of the report, which said “we are unable to determine what occurred” in Miles' car, where the woman said Miles had kissed her twice. Moreover, as a result of the investigation’s findings, LSU issued Miles a letter of reprimand and required him to sign forms stating that he had read and understood the school’s policies.

The university also ordered him to stop hiring student employees to babysit, cease being alone with them, and attend eight, one-hour sessions with an attorney and pay for it out of his own pocket.

At the very least, he's using a position of power to take advantage of these women. And he used his position in order to create these situations with the women. The uncomfortable part is obviously vague but the reason this became an issue is that the women reported their issues with Mils to the LSU Title IX office and that Miles tried to make sure this never was made public. 

[Hook1997 5289]

8 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

Miles was told by his AD not to text, phone, or be alone with any of the student workers in the office, and he went out and did all those things.

And for fuck's sake, he's not asking female tenured professors out or to come over to his house, he's asking 20-year-old student workers in the football office.

Where did you see he was told that?  Also was it before or after the incident?  I didn’t see where it’s office workers.   

[Burt Macklin 18998]

1 hour ago, Radical Larry said:

 

It’a pretty hilarious to think of the number of assistant coaches across the country that would turn this job down. They’re gonna have to hire another position coach, or a 1AA HC, or maybe go for a completely washed up guy. Maybe someone like...

Spoiler

 

 

[Nueces River Rat 5529]

4 minutes ago, Teryor said:

Sure let's go with these quotes from USAToday

At the very least, he's using a position of power to take advantage of these women. And he used his position in order to create these situations with the women. The uncomfortable part is obviously vague but the reason this became an issue is that the women reported their issues with Mils to the LSU Title IX office and that Miles tried to make sure this never was made public. 

Yup... it’s not too hard to see which way the school will go with this.  #metoo still has staying power on college campuses and the administrations rather cut their loses instead of letting due process take its course. 

[Beau Vine 54003]

6 minutes ago, Hook1997 said:

Where did you see he was told that?  Also was it before or after the incident?  I didn’t see where it’s office workers.   

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/email-shows-former-lsu-ad-joe-alleva-pushed-incoming-president-to-fire-les-miles-in-2013-for-cause/

You didn't see where it's office workers?  Have you read anything in this thread, or are you just replying blindly like Rocko?

[Nueces River Rat 5529]

2 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

It’a pretty hilarious to think of the number of assistant coaches across the country that would turn this job down. They’re gonna have to hire another position coach, or a 1AA HC, or maybe go for a completely washed up guy. Maybe someone like...

  Hide contents

 

 

Or. 

[Teryor 4423]

Just now, Burt Macklin said:

It’a pretty hilarious to think of the number of assistant coaches across the country that would turn this job down. They’re gonna have to hire another position coach, or a 1AA HC, or maybe go for a completely washed up guy. Maybe someone like...

  Hide contents

 

 

It's fascinating seeing the names being thrown out, I don't think most would even consider the position

 

Here's Feldman 

Spoiler

Kansas and Les Miles announced on Monday night they had mutually agreed to part ways. Miles had a dismal two-year run as the Jayhawks’ head coach that came to an abrupt end after investigations into his improper conduct with female student employees during his time at LSU were revealed.

Miles’ run at Kansas was a mess, and whoever takes over this program will find it in worse shape than when the former LSU coach arrived in 2018. The Jayhawks went 1-16 in Big 12 play and 3-18 overall. They only had one Big 12 game last year that was decided by less than 21 points: a 16-13 loss to Texas Tech.

Given the circumstances the Kansas football program is now dealing with, you’d think the school will look to find a proven head coach who can bring some stability, rather than gamble on a first-time head coach. Yes, Miles was a proven winner when Kansas hired him, but he was also a coach that a bunch of programs had passed on because they didn’t buy that he was capable of fixing Jayhawks football at this stage of his career.

The timing to go find a new head coach, as many programs are already deep into their offseason programs, is rough. But we expect there will still be a few proven Group of Five coaches who will at least listen.

The most viable option for Kansas, based on what we’ve heard from industry sources, is Buffalo’s Lance Leipold. The 56-year-old has strong Midwest ties, knows the Big 12 footprint, and is a proven winner, having won six Division III national titles at Wisconsin-Whitewater. He left for Buffalo, one of the toughest places to win in the FBS, and has won there, too. In his fourth season, the Bulls went 10-4. They are 24-10 over the last three years, and that includes a top-25 finish in 2020. Leipold, a two-time MAC Coach of the Year, keeps finding and developing big-time players. He also spent over a decade coaching in Nebraska and worked three seasons on Frank Solich’s staff with the Cornhuskers.

Nevada’s Jay Norvell also knows the Big 12 very well. He’s been the offensive coordinator at both Nebraska and Oklahoma and was an assistant at Texas and Iowa State. The former Iowa player has also done a very impressive job working with limited resources in the Mountain West. The Wolf Pack are 22-13 over the past three years. The 57-year-old has been in the mix for some other Power 5 jobs and might listen, given his ties to the area.

Army’s Jeff Monken and his offensive system might be very tempting at a place where being conventional seems like too much of an uphill climb. Monken’s option attack has been remarkably efficient. The 53-year-old Illinois native is 43-21 in his last five seasons at Army. In 2018, he led Army to its best season in 60 years. In 2019, his team took No. 7 Michigan to double-overtime before losing 24-21. In 208, Army took No. 5 Oklahoma to OT before losing 28-21 and then beat Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl … by 56 points. Keep in mind the Black Knights had one winning season in the 17 years before he arrived. This is a coach who knows all about turnaround jobs.

A MAC head coach that might draw some interest from Kansas is Ball State’s Mike Neu, 50, who had an amazing season leading the Cardinals to the league title and then whipping San Jose State in a bowl game to earn a top-25 finish. Neu has been at every level of football. He played in the CFL and in the Arena Football League before coaching there. He then was an NFL scout and an assistant with the New Orleans Saints. He also has made some very shrewd hires in Muncie.

Tulane’s Willie Fritz, a former defensive back at Pittsburg State in Kansas, has spent a lot of years in the state. He’s also won a lot of games as a college coach, going 97-47 at Central Missouri, 40-15 at Sam Houston State, 17-7 at Georgia Southern and now has upgraded the Tulane program into respectability. The 60-year-old has been very good everywhere he’s been.

Wyoming’s Craig Bohl is another proven winner with Big 12-area roots. A 62-year-old Nebraska native, who played defensive back for the Cornhuskers and later coached at Nebraska, Bohl spent a decade as the head coach at North Dakota State, where he won three national titles before boosting the Wyoming program. NDSU had gone 2-8 the year before he arrived in Fargo. He’s spent seven years with the Cowboys and is 38-44 but has had three eight-win seasons. They had only had three winning seasons in the prior 14 years.

These coaches are all solid options, especially under the circumstances. None had the cache that Miles had when he was hired, but they’re all more capable at this stage of their career in light of the effort and organization it will take to rebuild.

 

Thamel

Spoiler

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Les Miles' departure from Kansas feels inevitable. Who might replace him?

Pete Thamel

Sat, March 6, 2021, 1:32 PM·7 min read

More content below

Les Miles

The University of Kansas placed coach Les Miles on administrative leave on Friday night, the first step in a departure that appears inevitable.

A series of untoward allegations arose against Miles during his time coaching at LSU, which include unwelcome advances to multiple student employees and ignoring his athletic director’s orders to not contact student workers.

Miles is 3-18 in two seasons at Kansas and the allegations against him leave no clear path to returning to the sideline. Miles has denied the allegations, and his attorney released a statement Saturday to The Advocate saying Kansas had "significant information" about the 2013 sexual harassment investigation and labeled the events of the last 24 hours as "deeply disturbing."

When Miles departs, the first question will be who’ll make the next hire. Athletic director Jeff Long has bungled nearly every move since arriving at Kansas, including getting legally smacked down in court in the school’s attempt to avoid David Beaty’s buyout. He's also tagged with the Miles hire, which has been an epic failure on the field and showed a lack of due diligence by Long.

It’s unclear whether Kansas’ administration would decide on an interim coach for a season, or run a full-on search during a time when most programs are either running spring practice or poised to start. If Kansas can get its act together — a huge if considering the school’s recent football history — it could land a much better coach this spring than if it waits until November and faces open-market competition. But if Kansas fires Long and needs to hire an athletic director before a coach, that’s a ponderous process.

Here’s what’s known: No school over the past decade-plus has failed more miserably in hiring coaches than Kansas, which since 2010 has brought in a conga line of flops: Turner Gill, Charlie Weis, David Beaty and Miles. The school’s record over that time is 21-108 with a pair of winless seasons and no season with more than three victories.

Who could replace Les Miles as Kansas head coach? It depends greatly on who's making the hire. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

The big X-factor here is whether Long will be around to make the hire. (The fact he also hired Bobby Petrino at Arkansas will likely loom here, too.) On campus, Long doesn’t have a ton of support. And his handling of assistant coach contracts has given him a bad reputation within the industry and hurt Kansas’ ability to recruit and retain top talent. Long’s insistence on inordinately high buyouts and one-sided deals has made staffing at one of the Power 5’s hardest jobs even harder.

Here’s a look at potential successors for Miles at Kansas when the job opens and if the school looks to the outside. (We also examine a potential interim situation.)

1. Willie Fritz, Tulane

Fritz, 60, is the closest thing Kansas could bring in to a sure thing. He’s got deep roots in the region, as he played college ball and later coached high school and junior college in the state. Fritz has proven to be a relentless winner at every level, which gives his candidacy a high floor. His Tulane tenure includes three straight bowl games at a place that had been to three bowls in the previous 20 years.

2. Lance Leipold, Buffalo

Leipold, 56, emerged as a hot candidate in the past cycle, as his name emerged at Vanderbilt, Illinois and Tennessee. He’s led Buffalo to both bowl wins in program history and twice won MAC Coach of the Year. He also won six Division III national titles and went 109-6 at Wisconsin-Whitewater. A similar proven winner with a high floor.

3. Skip Holtz, Louisiana Tech

Holtz, 56, has proven a paragon of consistency, reaching bowl games in each of the past seven seasons. His ability to put together staffs after a constant churn of turnover and to identify, recruit and develop strong rosters every year in an adjacent footprint would be attractive at Kansas. In 21 seasons as a head coach at hard jobs — UConn, ECU, USF and La Tech — he’s had just six losing seasons.

4. Troy Calhoun, Air Force

Calhoun, 54, has turned down a handful of Power 5 jobs over the years. Perhaps this is the right fit. He’s led Air Force to 10 bowl games in 14 years and won more than 58 percent of his games. He’s got the background from the NFL and his time at Wake Forest to evolve the offense.

Is Kansas the right job to finally lure Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun into the Power 5? (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

5. Jay Norvell, Nevada

The Wolf Pack will be loaded next season, which means Norvell will be one of the hottest candidates in the 2021 cycle. Norvell, 57, has extensive Big 12 experience coaching at Iowa State, Nebraska, Texas and Oklahoma. He’s 22-13 the last three years with three bowl appearances.

6. Mike Elko, Texas A&M defensive coordinator

This is a tall task for an assistant, but Elko, 44, has shown the chops as part of reviving the programs at both Wake Forest and Notre Dame as an assistant. Elko projects as one of the most coveted assistants in the next cycle after fielding the SEC’s top defense in 2020. He’s the caliber of coach they’d struggle to land in a more competitive market.

7. Jeff Monken, Army

He drew interest from both Vanderbilt and South Carolina this cycle. His high school roots in Illinois give him a natural Midwestern presence. Another proven winner and rebuilder who’d provide an upgrade.

8. Sean Lewis, Kent State

His name has come in searches the past two cycles, including at UCF this year. Kent led the nation in scoring offense this season (49.8 ppg), although they only played four games. After leading Kent to the program’s first-ever bowl win, Lewis has shown the ability to execute in the most difficult circumstances.

9. Ken Niumatalolo, Navy

Another proven winner at a difficult job, Niumatalolo would instill discipline and identity in a program that’s lacked both since Mark Mangino left town. Niumatalolo, 55, has gone 101-67 with 11 bowl games in 14 seasons. Those are results worth considering.

10. Jason Candle, Toledo

He’s won 65 percent of his games, a MAC title and appeared to solve the program’s defensive issues with a savvy DC hire last year in Vince Kehres. Candle interviewed at Missouri and Boston College two years ago, and his offense and play-calling pedigree would fit well in the wide-open Big 12.

11. Mike Neu, Ball State

The MAC champions from 2020 have a great chance to repeat, returning 20 of 22 starters on a roster that projects 16 so-called “Super Seniors.” Neu brings a dynamic passing game from his time with the New Orleans Saints and just showed the patience to endure a long rebuild at Ball State.

Interim Kansas candidates

The school hasn’t named an interim coach, though sources told Yahoo Sports that Long has tabbed new offensive coordinator Mike DeBord as the point person for the program for now.

DeBord’s chances at the interim job would depend on who is in charge, as he has a close relationship with both Miles and Long. That could hurt him if Long ends up in the crosshairs. Also, DeBord was hired a month ago and hasn’t had time to build strong relationships with the players.

If Kansas decides to fire Long, hire a new AD and then run a search after the 2021 season, the most likely internal candidate would be defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot. He enters his ninth season as a DC at a Power 5 school, including stints at Kentucky and Colorado. Of the returning coaches, he has by far the best résumé.

 

I don't see why 80% of these names would go for one of the few worst P5 jobs in the country, especially right now, and especially with Long still in place for some reason

[Radical Larry 28529]

9 minutes ago, Nueces River Rat said:

Or. 

He mentioned a completely washed up guy. 

[Blotto 23434]

They should hire Hugh Freeze and throw the NCAA off Self's trail.

[HtownHorn 14488]

Oh please oh please let them hire Mike Elko.

[MaybeACoordinator 8349]

53 minutes ago, Teryor said:

Wyoming’s Craig Bohl is another proven winner with Big 12-area roots. A 62-year-old Nebraska native, who played defensive back for the Cornhuskers and later coached at Nebraska, Bohl spent a decade as the head coach at North Dakota State, where he won three national titles before boosting the Wyoming program. NDSU had gone 2-8 the year before he arrived in Fargo. He’s spent seven years with the Cowboys and is 38-44 but has had three eight-win seasons. They had only had three winning seasons in the prior 14 years.

Ain't happening. He's an even bigger hound than Miles.