Don’t be naïve, LSU fans. Interim Michigan athletic director Jim Hackett will come calling.
If Hackett’s smart, his call to LSU coach Les Miles will be the second one he makes, just after he hangs up with Miles’ fellow Michigan man and 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh and the 49ers have been at a well-publicized crossroads, and many reports suggest he won’t return.
But Adam Schefter — perhaps the most well-connected journalist in football — told ESPN Radio’s “Mike and Mike” that Harbaugh would prefer to stay in the professional rankings.
“I’m not going to tell you he can’t [go to Michigan],” Schefter told the radio show, according to MLive.com. “But based on everything I’ve been told and heard, I do not see that happening.”
We went down this road in Baton Rouge after Lloyd Carr’s retirement in 2007. Again, it was supposed to be Miles. Kirk Herbstreit even told the world it was Miles when, in fact, the job was never even offered to him.
Miles stayed, and the Tigers won a national championship a few weeks later. All was well. Have a great day.
Michigan athletic director Bill Martin eventually settled on Rich Rodriguez, who was canned three seasons later. The speculations ran rampant, again pitting Harbaugh against Miles for the chance to coach their alma mater, this time with more validity.
In January 2011, LSU sports information director Michael Bonnette confirmed to ESPN a meeting occurred between Miles and now-departed Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon about the job.
It wasn’t enough. Miles remained in Baton Rouge, and Brady Hoke took the gig.
Hoke’s tumultuous tenure is done, again after a three-year stint. Is the third time the charm for bringing Miles home to Ann Arbor?
Maybe.
You couldn’t tell from looking, but Miles is 61 years old. A spry 61, but 61 nonetheless. His passion hasn’t wavered, and he’s just as energetic today as he was when he stepped on campus in 2005.
Miles hasn’t directly answered how long he’d like to coach, but age can’t be overlooked here. If he really wants the Michigan job, this could be his final opportunity.
Whatever decision Miles makes, he’ll consult the family.
It doesn’t take a beat writer or someone around the program to know how devout Miles is to his family. Drive to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Friday around 4:00 p.m. Manny Miles will be warming up on the field for his University High team’s state championship showdown with Parkview Baptist. Les won’t be far away, smiling broadly at his son’s success. The same is seen at Catholic High football games and wrestling tournaments, where his youngest son, Ben, competes.
Search Miles’ opening statements from his last three Southeastern Conference Media Days. They all begin with a 10-minute Miles family update, complete with Smacker’s swimming successes, Macy’s fast-pitch softball league and a harrowing family vacation to Austin.
Manny, a senior at U-High, has expressed interest in attending Michigan. Les has reciprocated, telling the Detroit News, “I would love to see him at Michigan.”
“The first place that I took him to tour was Michigan, and he fell in love with the place,” Les told the paper. “He said, ‘Dad, I know why you went here.’”
It’s too early to speculate the finality of Miles’ LSU career. The only certainty here is Miles will be a candidate in Ann Arbor, a place of which he’s tweeted and talked so fondly in his 10 seasons in Baton Rouge, including routinely chiding media members who wear the dreaded Ohio State red.
Perusing Michigan’s roster, it graduates six combined starters on offense, defense and special teams. Hoke isn’t leaving the well dry for his successor. This isn’t a rebuilding job, just a rejuvenation job.
Hackett took Twitter by storm Tuesday when he sought to eliminate the term “Michigan man.” I can’t help but agree. Hackett should target the best available coach who would be interested in listening.
And if Hackett doubles the $2.8 million offer Hoke made to Miles, who knows what will happen. I think Miles would listen. I think he’d consider it.
But I also remember the offseason, when Miles gushed over his family’s love for Baton Rouge on numerous occasions.
I watch the Tiger Stadium jumbotron during “Callin’ Baton Rouge,” the camera panning to Miles as he extends his hands and mouths the chorus to the sky.
And I struggle to see him running out of the tunnel with any other team in the nation, even his beloved alma mater.
Chandler Rome is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Baton Rouge. You can reach him on Twitter @Chandler_Rome.