Les Miles has no reason to leave LSU

Let’s get this out of the way quickly: Les Miles should not leave LSU to take over as the head coach at his alma mater, Michigan.

The narratives are great, but the move simply wouldn’t make any sense. Miles turned the Wolverines down in 2007, he turned them down again in 2011, and he should do the same this year.

Miles has built something special with the football program in Baton Rouge. In 10 years at LSU, Miles has already won 102 games, the best decade-long stretch in the program’s history. Miles’ personality can be seen all over the last decade, with wild wins to match the coach’s quirky personality.

The Tigers are already set up for their next run after what can be considered a rebuilding year, one in which Miles did a good job managing a young, inexperienced team to an 8-4 record. With half of the team’s starters either freshmen or sophomores, Miles did a remarkable job making the team competitive in the brutal SEC West. The Tigers knocked off Ole Miss and nearly upended Alabama as well.

Miles has a recruiting pipeline in Louisiana that few can touch. Each year, he brings in top notch defensive talent, offensive skill position players and linemen. He barely has to lift a finger to have a top-10 recruiting class every offseason. He might find better quarterbacks in the Midwest, but Miles has proven he can win without a gunslinger under center. Hell, he might even prefer to have a game-managing type, much to the chagrin of LSU fans.

No matter how or when his tenure at LSU ends, Miles time in the Bayou will be considered a success. He’s only 30-odd wins away from the school’s all-time wins mark, and he’s delivered a national championship and two conference titles.

Miles would be expected to rescue a program that has fallen into disrepair since long-time coach Lloyd Carr retired in 2007. At 61 years old, one would have to assume that if Miles did leave LSU for Michigan, the Wolverines would be his last coaching stop. Would Miles want to go back to a place where expectations are always sky high, despite the program’s fall from grace?

No one knows how long Miles wants to continue coaching for, although he does seem far more energetic than your average 61-year-old man. How long of a leash would Michigan give Miles, considering the lack of patience they showed when Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke didn’t bring back immediate results? Miles certainly wouldn’t want to end his career on a failure, and who knows if Michigan would give him the time needed to fix the program.

If you think for a second that the fan base’s near-constant annoyance with Miles would drive him out of town, think again. The coach told reporters a few weeks ago he doesn’t even read the newspaper, so it’s hard to believe he sees the tweets and Facebook comments bashing his coaching style. If he couldn’t even hear a stadium chanting “Eff You, Saban,” he probably doesn’t hear the voices on the internet, either.

Doing what Miles has done in his decade at LSU is not easily replicated. Miles has to know that. Michigan may be a dream job, but the program that plays in the Big House these days isn’t the same Maize and Blue that Miles once played and coached for. Miles has a pretty dreamy situation in Baton Rouge as is, one that shines brightly in comparison to Michigan.

When the Wolverines inevitably call, Miles shouldn’t have a problem politely saying, “no, thanks.”