LSU coach Les Miles was focused on celebrating his team’s 41-24 victory against Texas A&M in the 75th AT&T Cotton Bowl on Friday, not wanting to discuss rumors swirling about his possible candidacy for the Michigan head coaching job.
 ”I don’t want to talk about me. It’s really about an LSU team, not about the coach’s issues,” Miles said. “Coaches’ issues are nonexistent. I absolutely did (talk with the team). I told them I had not had any conversations with Michigan, and if I did, I would communicate with them very effectively.”
Joe Alleva, LSU’s vice chancellor and athletic director, released a statement today.
“I have not been contacted by anyone from the University of Michigan about Les Miles,” Alleva said in the statement. “Les Miles is LSU’s head coach, and we are going to do everything we can to keep it that way.  He has had great success here, and we plan to keep enjoying that success under his leadership.”
ESPN reporter Joe Schad reported Saturday night that Michigan wants to interview Miles for the coaching job and quoted a source close to Miles saying Miles would be interested in listening to Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon. Schad also reported Miles would give LSU 24 hours notice before interviewing with Michigan, and that had not yet occurred, according to a source.
Michigan’s interest in Miles may have heightened Saturday when the San Francisco 49ers officially introduced former Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh as its new head coach. Harbaugh, a former Michigan quarterback, had been the school’s leading candidate to replace the recently fired Rich Rodriguez.
San Diego State coach Brady Hoke, a former Michigan defensive line coach, is another possible candidate for Michigan. 
LSU junior quarterback Jordan Jefferson said after the Cotton Bowl he feels sure Miles will not leave the Tigers despite being pursued again by his alma mater. When former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr retired after the 2007 season, Miles’ name was in the running before the Wolverines hired Rodriguez, who went 15-22 in his tenure and was fired Jan. 5.
“He said, ‘They have rumors going around about (me) going to Michigan, but it’s not true,'” Jefferson said. “‘It’s nonsense.’ He said hasn’t spoken to anybody, anything about Michigan. We’re going to stick with that and get ready for next year.”
“I’m not worried. Les Miles loves this team. He loves all the work that we do for him. He loves working with us. I feel he’s not going anywhere. I’m positive he’s not going anywhere.”
Jefferson nearly equaled his previous season total in touchdown passes Friday, tossing three to senior wide receiver Terrence Toliver and recorded just one interception on LSU’s opening drive.
Toliver finished his final game as a Tiger with one of the better performances of his career, including a 42-yard touchdown from Jefferson in the first quarter, Toliver’s longest reception of the season.
On the defensive side, LSU junior cornerback Patrick Peterson may have played his final college game in the Cotton Bowl, but he says he is confident that young players can take the reins in seasons to come.
True freshmen Tyrann Mathieu, Tharold Simon and Eric Reid all gave Peterson reason to believe that with their performances Friday. Each player had an interception, and Mathieu led the team with 6.5 tackles and a sack and forced fumble.
 ”Tyrann Mathieu is a tremendously instinctive player,” Miles said. “His ball skills- I was watching him warm up- there was a ball you could not catch one-handed; I said, ‘stop showing off.’
“There are some good freshmen in the secondary. We’ll have a very good football team again next year.”
With the win in the Cotton Bowl, Miles is 62-17 in six seasons at the helm at LSU. He has led the Tigers to four 11-win seasons and is the fastest coach in team history to reach 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 victories.
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