All of the speculation surrounding Les Miles and the possibility of him leaving LSU to coach at Arkansas came to an abrupt end on Wednesday.
The Mad Hatter signed a new seven-year contract with LSU that will keep the coach in Baton Rouge until 2019, according to Gary Laney of ESPN.com. Miles has led LSU to an 85-20 record since becoming the head man in 2005 and won a national title in 2007, so it makes sense that athletic director Joe Alleva wanted to extend his contract. And keep him away from Arkansas.
“It’s been my plan all along to give [Miles] a raise and an extension, and that’s what we’re doing,” Alleva said. “You can talk all you want about winning championships. It’s really not always about winning championships. It’s about being in the hunt to win championships, and [Miles] has shown that he’s consistently in the hunt to win championships.”
LSU currently sits in the No. 7 spot in this year’s BCS rankings and the team has been among the top 10 five times during Miles’ tenure. The Fighting Tigers expect to find themselves in a top bowl game this season, but a tough 21-17 loss to Alabama will keep them out of the SEC title game and squandered their hopes of returning to the national championship game.
With Miles at the helm for seven more seasons, LSU will certainly have plenty more opportunities to take home The Coaches’ Trophy.
Thumbnail photo via Facebook/Les Miles
