By SCOTT RABALAIS
Advocate sportswriter
Published: Dec 6, 2007 - Page: 1C
Michigan asked for permission to talk to Les Miles. Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin waited until Sunday, a day after LSU won the SEC Championship game and the same day the Tigers secured a trip to the BCS national championship game. By that time, the S.S. Miles had sailed out of Michigan’s grasp while Martin spent at least part of the weekend yachting in the Florida Keys.
Fundraising, Martin told the Ann Arbor News. And tacking hard to port in a strong easterly wind. Whatever Martin was doing, he certainly wasn’t dialing Les Miles or Miles’ agent, George Bass.
Miles is LSU’s man now, but one wonders what would have happened if Michigan’s timing had been better. What if Martin had waited until two days after the SEC title game to ask for permission to speak to Miles instead of three days before LSU played Tennessee?
Michigan’s handling of the coaching search as Miles is concerned says one of two things: it was poorly handled on Michigan’s end or Miles wasn’t really his alma mater’s top choice. There was always a split in Ann Arbor, pro- and anti-Miles factions. Maybe the anti-Miles crew led Martin to indecisiveness that cost him a chance at landing a coach who may win the national title next month (Hint: Michigan sure won’t be hiring Ohio State’s Jim Tressel).
Meanwhile LSU, facing a growing threat that Miles might be lured away by his dream job, speeded up the process of amending (to use LSU’s term) Miles’ contract. LSU showed interest and desire, while all Miles heard from his alma mater was silence. At least one call from Bass to Martin before the SEC title game went unreturned. Bass said there were two. Martin told the Ann Arbor News he was trying to respect LSU’s wishes that he not contact Miles, directly or indirectly, before Saturday. Again, either a convenient excuse or poorly handled.
So, Miles will have a new deal with LSU today while Michigan’s search has reportedly gone deep undercover — or stone cold, take your pick. It certainly hasn’t gone to Plan B. Will Michigan make one last desperate lunge for Miles’ services? Hard to say. But this won’t stop being a story until another man besides Miles is standing behind a podium wearing a blue cap with a gold “M” on it.
… USA Today’s list of college football coaches’ salaries in Wednesday’s edition is a good measuring stick for how much LSU will pay Miles. If he wins the national title, he gets at least as much as the nation’s third highest-paid coach (Florida’s Urban Meyer is No. 3 at $3,383,500). If not, Miles still gets as much as the third highest-paid SEC coach for winning the conference championship (Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville is No. 3 at $2,625,000).
… Here’s my Heisman Trophy final three: 1. Darren McFadden; 2. Tim Tebow; 3. Dorsey. Dorsey wasn’t one of the four invitees to New York, but I wanted to make sure he had a vote for the quality of player — and person — he is.