Les Miles’ Job is SAFE — For Now

In a turnabout many will find shocking after three weeks of rumor and gossip, Les Miles is staying on as the head coach at LSU. Athletic Director Joe Alleva made a brief statement to the media immediately following the Tigers win over Texas A&M. Alleva’s statement that, “Les Miles is Our Football Coach and He Will Continue to be Our Football Coach” surprised many.

National media and LSU fans have been assuming for weeks that Les Miles was gone, with most of the speculation centering on current Florida State and former LSU assistant Jimbo Fisher.

There will certainly be speculation that a Jimbo-to-LSU deal fell through at the eleventh hour like the Saban-to-Texas deal did last year.

That may be the case, but the timing may have been just bad enough on both sides to kill this one before it started. Jimbo Fisher has some newly publicized baggage remaining over the Jameis Winston allegations that would make his transition to LSU awkward.

Fisher is also currently embroiled in a lawsuit filed by Winston’s accuser and circling the FSU wagons may well have been in his best interest at this point.

Timing, as they say, is everything.

Nov 28, 2015; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Les Miles is picked up by his players after defeating the Texas A&M Aggies 19-7 at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports

LSU fans will not waste much time debating a Fisher hypothetical at this point.

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Les is back, he has a bowl game to prepare for, a #1 ranked recruiting class to shepherd down the stretch and some issues with coaching contracts to resolve before spring football starts again.

There was a football game tonight, and a pretty good one at that. Leonard Fournette broke the century mark again, and A&M is still 0-for-LSU since joining the SEC. All good news.

The standards at LSU remain high as Joe Alleva said in his comments:

With a tremendous amount of talent coming back and a possibly historic incoming freshman class in the works, Les Miles’ new hot seat will start as soon as his post bowl game press conference begins.

At LSU it’s “championship or bust”, again — and that is pretty much exactly how Les Miles likes it…..