GeauxTo
01-11-2005, 12:58 PM
From the New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Miles Sounds Like a 'Tough Guy'
01/10/05
by Mike Triplett
New Orleans Times-Picayune
Reprinted with permission.
BATON ROUGE -- Les Miles talks tough.
Not the words. The voice. It's the first thing you notice about LSU's square-jawed new football coach. He sounds like a football coach, if not someone straight out of an old-time gangster film.
"I have no accent," Miles insists, trying to keep a straight face while squeezing in a 20-minute interview behind his new desk during one of the busiest weeks of his life. "I have no accent at all."
Well, maybe they don't consider it an accent in his hometown of Elyria, Ohio, or in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he earned his stripes as an offensive lineman and as a young football coach with the Big Ten's Wolverines.
But even in those places, they probably detected a distinct trace of "old-school tough guy" in his voice.
Though the 51-year-old coach speaks softly in settings like these, almost a whisper because of weakened vocal chords that cause him to lose his voice during every game, you still half-expect him to hop up on his desk and burst into a Knute Rockne speech.
"That's the influence that Bo had on him," said one of Miles' mentors, former Colorado coach Bill McCartney, speaking of the other mentor, former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler. "Bo was a throwback. Guys that come out of there, whether they realize it or not, they imitate that."
Miles' history is the tale of a stereotypical "tough guy."
Before he imitated Schembechler, he impressed the legendary coach, becoming a standout offensive lineman despite a frame of barely 200 pounds. You know the story, smallest guy on the field, worked harder than anybody else, hit harder than anybody else.
Miles was known as an equally aggressive recruiter at Michigan, Colorado and at Oklahoma State, where he got his first head coaching job in 2001. And he made his mark in that state by showing no fear of mighty rival Oklahoma.
Miles' Cowboys beat Oklahoma in each of his first two tries. And while trying to rile up some Oklahoma State fans at a Posse Club meeting after that first season, he riled up the entire state by saying, "We should've beat 'em by more."
That same year, Miles bounced back quickly after having a cyst removed from his brain on Christmas Eve. He squeezed in the procedure between recruiting visits.
But Miles' wife, Kathy, said her husband is a tough guy and a "softie."
She said people will often ask her if Sundays are hard around the house after a loss.
"But it's not like that," she said. "He takes a loss harder than anyone, but he's not slamming doors and ranting and raving. He just wants to be loved."
The Miles met at Michigan, where Kathy was an assistant women's basketball coach. Les was 40 when they got married. Now they have four kids, ages 10 and younger, emerging athletes themselves.
Les showed his "softie" side earlier this week at his introductory press conference, shedding tears when introducing Kathy to the crowd.
Miles' physical presence is something of a contradiction, as well. He is a stocky 6 feet 2 inches, with that distinguished jaw. But he seems to be fighting off a little smirk most of the time, even a half-smile. And his face is softened by a pair of pale blue eyes and a receding gray hair line.
One writer who covered Miles at Oklahoma State described him as "equal parts vanilla and charming." Another Oklahoma State writer said his players got a kick out of his "old-school" persona.
Miles, an offensive-minded coach, admitted he has a healthy dose of "old-school values" in him, but he said that's not how he would describe the brand of football he likes to play.
Change of plans.
Miles never intended on being a football coach.
He got a degree in economics and set out to "compete in the business world." He was doing pretty well, too, as a general manager of a small trucking company in Ohio, but he wasn't fulfilled.
"I didn't enjoy the goals of making money. It just didn't motivate me," Miles said. "There was no game. There was no game day.
"And I really think that once you go back to help young guys get their degree and play championship football and transition them into society as very productive people, that there's a little mission in that. And that's something that calls me."
Miles, who is a devout family man and a workaholic -- yet another contradiction -- likes to say that he doesn't have to set an alarm clock because he is so excited to wake up each day and do his job.
But it's a good thing Miles had some early success in the business field and was able to save some money. Because when he convinced Schembechler to let him become a graduate assistant at age 26, Miles took a pay cut from roughly $40,000 per year to less than $10,000.
McCartney said that Schembechler really made Miles "pay the price" when he started out, working him hard and making sure his heart was in it. Schembechler, who still keeps an office at Michigan, could not be reached for comment.
"I went back and begged Bo to take me back, and he told me, 'You shouldn't do it, you'll never make a living. It's a tough job. It's hard. Don't do it,' " Miles recalled. "And I wouldn't let him tell me that. And he said, 'OK, if you insist.' "
Miles was equally insistent on several stops along his coaching path. He asked McCartney, a fellow Michigan assistant, to let him tag along when McCartney got the head coaching job at Colorado. Miles became an offensive line coach there, then he went back to Michigan with the same title five years later.
Miles left Michigan in 1995 to become offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State.
Admittedly "young" and a little frustrated, Miles said he left Michigan because he wanted the title of offensive coordinator. At the time, Michigan did not have that position under head coach Gary Moeller.
Then after three years at Oklahoma State, Miles convinced a coaching friend, Chan Gailey, to hire him with the Dallas Cowboys as a tight ends coach.
Miles said he is a college guy, that it's in his blood. But he wanted to learn the strategy of the game at the highest level. And it was those three years in the NFL, McCartney said, that shaped Miles' balanced and potent offensive attack. He learned the ground game at Michigan, the air attack in the pros.
In 2001, Miles took the job at Oklahoma State, and he turned around a program that had reached one bowl game in 12 years. During his tenure, Miles led the Cowboys to three consecutive bowls. They set school records for attendance, and fund raising increased 35-40 percent.
"He came into a program where expectations were not the same as what they are at LSU," said former Oklahoma State athletic director Terry Don Phillips, who now is at Clemson. "But I'll tell you what he has done. He has raised the expectations at Oklahoma State."
The last stop?
Until now, Miles said, every time he took a new job, he would leave his family behind for a few months so the kids could finish their school year and he would buy a house and get settled.
Not this time, Miles said. Kathy and the kids arrive Monday -- the first time he will have seen them in more than a week. The family is hoping to put down roots here.
"I hope this is my very last move. A 12-, 15-year stay, national championships, SEC championships. I don't want to move again. That's not me," said Miles, who explained that he took the LSU job because he believes the program is set up for that kind of long-term success. "I have to be honest. I could have stayed at the last one until the end of my career. They set the contract up for that (through 2011).
"But this is the first one where we could stay, if we get it going and have success and sustain it over time, it has everything. We're in the South. It's sweet. It's warm. You can go right over here to New Orleans, right over here to Florida. It has everything."
Said Kathy: "I would love to see the kids graduate from Baton Rouge high schools. All of 'em."
As ready-made as the LSU job is for success, the Miles are aware that expectations will be high and Nick Saban will be a tough act to follow. But Kathy said she does most of the worrying in that department.
"Les is not an ego guy," she said, explaining that her husband doesn't see it as himself following Saban, but rather him joining a team.
LSU athletic director Skip Bertman said those circumstances made this a "fit job," and that Miles was the right fit.
"Not just anybody can coach at LSU, in my opinion, at this level because of the media glare," Bertman said. "It has to do with the right blend of leadership and characteristics.
"We looked real hard, we did. We spoke to many people. Throughout the football community, Les Miles is extraordinarily well-respected."
McCartney, Phillips, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and others all seemed to hold Miles and his family in the same high regard. Each one of them talked about how the Miles would become part of the community.
"He's more than just a football coach. He'll be a great representative of LSU," Phillips said. "You will see him and his wife at women's basketball, you'll see 'em at softball."
Miles won't be hard to pick out of the crowd. Not with that voice.
Mike Triplett can be reached at mtriplett@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3381.
;)
Miles Sounds Like a 'Tough Guy'
01/10/05
by Mike Triplett
New Orleans Times-Picayune
Reprinted with permission.
BATON ROUGE -- Les Miles talks tough.
Not the words. The voice. It's the first thing you notice about LSU's square-jawed new football coach. He sounds like a football coach, if not someone straight out of an old-time gangster film.
"I have no accent," Miles insists, trying to keep a straight face while squeezing in a 20-minute interview behind his new desk during one of the busiest weeks of his life. "I have no accent at all."
Well, maybe they don't consider it an accent in his hometown of Elyria, Ohio, or in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he earned his stripes as an offensive lineman and as a young football coach with the Big Ten's Wolverines.
But even in those places, they probably detected a distinct trace of "old-school tough guy" in his voice.
Though the 51-year-old coach speaks softly in settings like these, almost a whisper because of weakened vocal chords that cause him to lose his voice during every game, you still half-expect him to hop up on his desk and burst into a Knute Rockne speech.
"That's the influence that Bo had on him," said one of Miles' mentors, former Colorado coach Bill McCartney, speaking of the other mentor, former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler. "Bo was a throwback. Guys that come out of there, whether they realize it or not, they imitate that."
Miles' history is the tale of a stereotypical "tough guy."
Before he imitated Schembechler, he impressed the legendary coach, becoming a standout offensive lineman despite a frame of barely 200 pounds. You know the story, smallest guy on the field, worked harder than anybody else, hit harder than anybody else.
Miles was known as an equally aggressive recruiter at Michigan, Colorado and at Oklahoma State, where he got his first head coaching job in 2001. And he made his mark in that state by showing no fear of mighty rival Oklahoma.
Miles' Cowboys beat Oklahoma in each of his first two tries. And while trying to rile up some Oklahoma State fans at a Posse Club meeting after that first season, he riled up the entire state by saying, "We should've beat 'em by more."
That same year, Miles bounced back quickly after having a cyst removed from his brain on Christmas Eve. He squeezed in the procedure between recruiting visits.
But Miles' wife, Kathy, said her husband is a tough guy and a "softie."
She said people will often ask her if Sundays are hard around the house after a loss.
"But it's not like that," she said. "He takes a loss harder than anyone, but he's not slamming doors and ranting and raving. He just wants to be loved."
The Miles met at Michigan, where Kathy was an assistant women's basketball coach. Les was 40 when they got married. Now they have four kids, ages 10 and younger, emerging athletes themselves.
Les showed his "softie" side earlier this week at his introductory press conference, shedding tears when introducing Kathy to the crowd.
Miles' physical presence is something of a contradiction, as well. He is a stocky 6 feet 2 inches, with that distinguished jaw. But he seems to be fighting off a little smirk most of the time, even a half-smile. And his face is softened by a pair of pale blue eyes and a receding gray hair line.
One writer who covered Miles at Oklahoma State described him as "equal parts vanilla and charming." Another Oklahoma State writer said his players got a kick out of his "old-school" persona.
Miles, an offensive-minded coach, admitted he has a healthy dose of "old-school values" in him, but he said that's not how he would describe the brand of football he likes to play.
Change of plans.
Miles never intended on being a football coach.
He got a degree in economics and set out to "compete in the business world." He was doing pretty well, too, as a general manager of a small trucking company in Ohio, but he wasn't fulfilled.
"I didn't enjoy the goals of making money. It just didn't motivate me," Miles said. "There was no game. There was no game day.
"And I really think that once you go back to help young guys get their degree and play championship football and transition them into society as very productive people, that there's a little mission in that. And that's something that calls me."
Miles, who is a devout family man and a workaholic -- yet another contradiction -- likes to say that he doesn't have to set an alarm clock because he is so excited to wake up each day and do his job.
But it's a good thing Miles had some early success in the business field and was able to save some money. Because when he convinced Schembechler to let him become a graduate assistant at age 26, Miles took a pay cut from roughly $40,000 per year to less than $10,000.
McCartney said that Schembechler really made Miles "pay the price" when he started out, working him hard and making sure his heart was in it. Schembechler, who still keeps an office at Michigan, could not be reached for comment.
"I went back and begged Bo to take me back, and he told me, 'You shouldn't do it, you'll never make a living. It's a tough job. It's hard. Don't do it,' " Miles recalled. "And I wouldn't let him tell me that. And he said, 'OK, if you insist.' "
Miles was equally insistent on several stops along his coaching path. He asked McCartney, a fellow Michigan assistant, to let him tag along when McCartney got the head coaching job at Colorado. Miles became an offensive line coach there, then he went back to Michigan with the same title five years later.
Miles left Michigan in 1995 to become offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State.
Admittedly "young" and a little frustrated, Miles said he left Michigan because he wanted the title of offensive coordinator. At the time, Michigan did not have that position under head coach Gary Moeller.
Then after three years at Oklahoma State, Miles convinced a coaching friend, Chan Gailey, to hire him with the Dallas Cowboys as a tight ends coach.
Miles said he is a college guy, that it's in his blood. But he wanted to learn the strategy of the game at the highest level. And it was those three years in the NFL, McCartney said, that shaped Miles' balanced and potent offensive attack. He learned the ground game at Michigan, the air attack in the pros.
In 2001, Miles took the job at Oklahoma State, and he turned around a program that had reached one bowl game in 12 years. During his tenure, Miles led the Cowboys to three consecutive bowls. They set school records for attendance, and fund raising increased 35-40 percent.
"He came into a program where expectations were not the same as what they are at LSU," said former Oklahoma State athletic director Terry Don Phillips, who now is at Clemson. "But I'll tell you what he has done. He has raised the expectations at Oklahoma State."
The last stop?
Until now, Miles said, every time he took a new job, he would leave his family behind for a few months so the kids could finish their school year and he would buy a house and get settled.
Not this time, Miles said. Kathy and the kids arrive Monday -- the first time he will have seen them in more than a week. The family is hoping to put down roots here.
"I hope this is my very last move. A 12-, 15-year stay, national championships, SEC championships. I don't want to move again. That's not me," said Miles, who explained that he took the LSU job because he believes the program is set up for that kind of long-term success. "I have to be honest. I could have stayed at the last one until the end of my career. They set the contract up for that (through 2011).
"But this is the first one where we could stay, if we get it going and have success and sustain it over time, it has everything. We're in the South. It's sweet. It's warm. You can go right over here to New Orleans, right over here to Florida. It has everything."
Said Kathy: "I would love to see the kids graduate from Baton Rouge high schools. All of 'em."
As ready-made as the LSU job is for success, the Miles are aware that expectations will be high and Nick Saban will be a tough act to follow. But Kathy said she does most of the worrying in that department.
"Les is not an ego guy," she said, explaining that her husband doesn't see it as himself following Saban, but rather him joining a team.
LSU athletic director Skip Bertman said those circumstances made this a "fit job," and that Miles was the right fit.
"Not just anybody can coach at LSU, in my opinion, at this level because of the media glare," Bertman said. "It has to do with the right blend of leadership and characteristics.
"We looked real hard, we did. We spoke to many people. Throughout the football community, Les Miles is extraordinarily well-respected."
McCartney, Phillips, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and others all seemed to hold Miles and his family in the same high regard. Each one of them talked about how the Miles would become part of the community.
"He's more than just a football coach. He'll be a great representative of LSU," Phillips said. "You will see him and his wife at women's basketball, you'll see 'em at softball."
Miles won't be hard to pick out of the crowd. Not with that voice.
Mike Triplett can be reached at mtriplett@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3381.
;)