Behind the Scenes at 2006 SEC Media Day
	Post-Practice Interview: Les Miles
	Les Miles on Reporting Day
	Les Miles on Football Media Day
	Les Miles Press Conference, Reporting Day
	The Les Miles Show - Week I (2005)
	The Les Miles Show - Week II (2005)
	The Les Miles Show

It has been said that LSU is in the midst of the Golden Era of football at the school and head coach Les Miles has been the driving force behind the Tigers’ continued dominance at the national level since his arrival in 2005.

In five years at LSU, Miles has led the charge in what has been the best run in the history of football at the school. Since taking over the program in January 2005, Miles has led LSU to a national title, a Southeastern Conference championship, two appearances in the SEC Championship Game, three-straight top-five finishes, and four bowl victories, two of which were BCS contests.

Throw in 51 victories and three seasons of at least 11 victories and that makes for the best five-year stretch of football in school history.

Miles goes into the Capital One Bowl one victory shy of leading LSU to a fourth-straight 10 win season, something that only had been accomplished six times in modern day school history prior to his arrival in 2005. Miles became the third-winningest coach in LSU history in 2009 with 51 victories, which moved him past Nick Saban (48 wins) and Paul Dietzel (46).

Miles’ record with the Tigers is an astonishing 51-14 with those victories representing the most by any LSU football coach over a five-year span. In addition to his 51 wins, some other notable accomplishments during his five years with the Tigers include: only coach in LSU history to beat Auburn, Florida and Alabama in same season - and he’s done it twice (2005 and 2007); only first-year coach in SEC history to lead team to league’s title game (2005); nine wins over coaches who have won national titles; only coach in LSU history to lead the Tigers to three-straight top-five final rankings (2005, ’06, ’07); and a perfect 4-0 record in bowl games, which includes wins in the BCS Championship Game and the Sugar Bowl. 

LSU’s success under Miles hasn’t been just on the playing field as the Tigers have also excelled in the classroom as well as being active participants within the community. With an approach that demands his players strive for excellence and pursue an education while representing the University in first-class fashion, the response by the players has been overwhelming. In addition to averaging more than 10 wins for the past five years, the Tigers have had 66 players earn a spot on the SEC Academic Honor Roll with another 91 earning their college diploma.

Ten players on the 2009 squad will have graduated by the time the Tigers line up to face Penn State on Jan. 1 in the Capital One Bowl with the remainder of the class on pace to graduate in either the spring or summer of 2010. Sixteen of the 18 seniors on the 2008 team have graduated, while 18 members of the 25-man senior class from the 2007 national championship team have earned their degree.

The Tigers also played an instrumental role in the recovery efforts following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, two of the most devastating natural disasters to hit the Louisiana coast.

On the field, the Tigers have produced 25 NFL Draft picks over the past four years, including a school-record four first-round picks in the 2007 draft. In 2007, senior defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey became the most decorated defender in school history, winning four national awards – the Lombardi, Outland, Nagurski and Lott Trophies – as well as being named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and a consensus All-American. A year later, Tyson Jackson became the highest drafted defensive player in LSU history, going No. 3 overall to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Now, with the Tigers becoming the first school in the country to have won two BCS National Championships, the foundation for the LSU football program continues to be solid. After 51 wins, including 18 over foes ranked among the nation’s top 25, and with four-straight recruiting classes tabbed among the top 10 in the country, including the nation’s No. 1 class in 2009, Miles and the Tigers have solidified their standing as one of college football’s premier programs.

The LSU Years

Les Miles was named LSU’s 32nd head football coach on Jan. 3, 2005, and his impact with the program was immediate as he directed the Tigers to an 11-2 mark in his first year. That 11-2 record in 2005 served as the starting point for the best five-year stretch of football in school history, one that has seen the Tigers win more games than all but one school in the SEC during that span.

Going into the 2010 Capital One Bowl, Miles’ record with LSU is 51-14, which includes a 27-13 mark in SEC regular season games. He’s also won 18 games against top 25 teams and eight against teams in the top 10. On 13 different occasions, Miles has led the Tigers to a comeback win in either the fourth quarter or overtime. 

The Tigers capped a sub-par 2008 regular season by LSU standards with a 38-3 win over 14th-ranked Georgia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, setting the stage for a 9-win regular season in 2009. The Tigers managed to win nine games, highlighted by its first road win over Georgia since 1987 and a 31-10 trouncing over Auburn, in the rugged SEC despite losing their top three running backs at various points during the season to injury. With a first-year starter at quarterback, LSU won its first five games and climbed as high as No. 4 in the nation in 2009. Of LSU’s three losses, two came against teams ranked No’s. 1 and 3 in the country.

After two of the most successful seasons in school history in 2005 and 2006, Miles again led the Tigers to a season of firsts in 2007. LSU became the first school in the Bowl Championship Series era to claim a second BCS National Title with its 38-24 win over Ohio State. LSU’s first BCS title came in 2003 when the Tigers beat Oklahoma, 21-14.

With a 12-2 final record in 2007, the Tigers became the first team in school history to win at least 10 games in three-straight years. The 2007 Tigers also set the school record for wins over top 25 teams (7), won the SEC Championship with a backup quarterback and were ranked No. 1 in the BCS Standings during the regular season for the first time in school history. LSU finished the year ranked No. 1 in the nation in both the USA Today Coaches Poll and the AP Poll.

The road to the 2007 SEC title was anything but easy for the Tigers as LSU faced a total of seven top 25 teams, winning six of those games. After spending most of the season ranked among the top three teams in the nation, including a four-week stay at No. 1, the Tigers quickly found out that they had a target on their back each week. Time after time, week after week, LSU was getting the best shot from their opponents.

It didn’t help matters that LSU played key stretches of its season with injuries to standout players. Star wideout Early Doucet missed five games; quarterback Matt Flynn wasn’t healthy for close to a month; and All-American Glenn Dorsey played hurt for the final five games of the regular season. Still, LSU, with outstanding depth and a will to overcome adversity, found a way to win. Four times in 2007 the Tigers had to come from behind in the fourth quarter to win games, including its 21-14 victory over Tennessee in the SEC Championship Game.

LSU scored a touchdown with a second left to beat Auburn at home and then followed that by scoring two touchdowns in the final three minutes of the Alabama game to record a comeback win over the Crimson Tide.

Against top 10-ranked Florida, LSU scored with just over a minute left, capping a drive that saw the Tigers convert on a pair of fourth down attempts, to beat the defending national champions, 28-24, in Tiger Stadium. Perhaps its best game of the season came in week 2 when a completely healthy LSU squad dominated No. 9 Virginia Tech in all phases of a 48-7 victory.

LSU didn’t lose a game in regulation during the 2007 regular season, falling to both Kentucky and Arkansas in triple overtime. 

When it mattered most, playing without an injured Flynn, the Tigers overcame the adversity that followed in the wake of week-long media speculation leading up to the SEC Championship Game about Miles perhaps leaving LSU to take the head coaching position at Michigan. In the end, Miles remained true to his word, staying at LSU and leading the Tigers to a 21-14 win over Tennessee in the SEC title game, a victory that helped propel LSU into the BCS National Championship contest. In the BCS Championship Game, the Tigers spotted top-ranked Ohio State an early 10-0 lead, but LSU came roaring back to take a convincing win over the Buckeyes by a 38-24 count. The win gave LSU its third national title and it also marked the fourth time this decade that the Tigers were victorious in a BCS bowl, the most of any SEC school.

After leading LSU to an 11-2 mark and a top five national ranking in his first year as LSU’s head coach in 2005, many wondered just what Miles would do for an encore. His second year with the Tigers proved to be another year full of milestones and firsts as he guided the Tigers to another 11-2 overall record, culminating with a 41-14 dismantling of 11th-ranked Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.

The Tigers finished their second year under the direction of Miles ranked No. 3 in the nation, marking the first time since the 1958-59 seasons that LSU was ranked in the top five in the country in back-to-back years.

LSU’s at-large berth in a BCS bowl was a first in school history and also represented the third time this decade that the Tigers ended their season in the Sugar Bowl. 

In 2006, Miles became the first coach in LSU history to lead the Tigers to back-to-back 10-win seasons, something that he added to with another 10-plus win season in 2007.

He became the first LSU coach since Jerry Stovall in 1982 to beat two top 10-ranked teams on the road in the same season as the Tigers posted a 28-24 win over No. 8 Tennessee in Knoxville followed by a 31-26 victory over No. 5 Arkansas in Little Rock.  All four of LSU’s road game opponents were ranked in the top 10 at the time of the game, a first in school history.

The Tigers capped the 2006 season with a 41-14 win over an overmatched Notre Dame team in the Sugar Bowl, giving the Tigers their third win in a BCS game since the 2001 season.

With a makeshift offensive line that featured three first-time starters and a pair of true freshmen running backs having to plug holes in a depleted backfield, the Tigers still managed to lead the SEC in total offense (411 yards per game) and scoring offense (33.7 points per game), while ranking No. 2 in the league in rushing offense (165 yards per game). Defensively, the Tigers, despite losing three defensive linemen to the NFL Draft the year before, ranked among the top four in the nation in scoring defense, total defense and pass defense. 

In all, the Tigers fashioned their 11-2 record against seven teams who went on to play in bowl games as LSU’s schedule was ranked as the 12th toughest in the nation according to the NCAA. 

Even though the Tigers had to go on the road to face four top 10-ranked teams in 2006, year two under Miles seemed somewhat ordinary compared to what the Tigers had to endure during his first year in Baton Rouge. 

In Miles’ inaugural season at LSU, he led the Tigers to only the third 11-win season in school history, a top five national ranking and a berth in the SEC Championship Game, despite numerous distractions that covered most of the months of September and October. 

The Tigers, playing without starting quarterback and future No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick JaMarcus Russell, put an exclamation point on the year with a 40-3 win over No. 9 Miami in the Peach Bowl to finish with an 11-2 overall mark and a No. 5 national ranking.

To appreciate just how adverse the conditions that Miles and the Tigers had to overcome in 2005, you have to go back to late August and Hurricane Katrina, the first of two storms to devastate Louisiana during the fall. 

Days before LSU’s originally scheduled season opener against North Texas in Tiger Stadium, Hurricane Katrina blew ashore, packing tremendous winds, and turned the state, in particular New Orleans and southeastern Louisiana, upside down.

Massive flooding followed in the wake of the storm as more than 30 LSU players had their families and their homes affected by the hurricane and Miles’ first game in Tiger Stadium against North Texas was postponed. With the LSU campus serving as the recovery center for those sick, homeless and displaced due to Hurricane Katrina, football seemed to be the farthest thing from most people’s minds. However, Miles was able to successfully manage a delicate situation, one that saw his team and coaching staff volunteer time to those in need, while still attempting to focus on football for at least two hours a day.

After a week of trying to minimize the distractions for a football team that had their apartments and dorm rooms filled with displaced family members and friends due to the storm, it appeared that the Tigers would finally get to play a home game, this time against 15th-ranked Arizona State.

However, just as the Tigers began to prepare for the Sun Devils and the season opener in Tiger Stadium, it was learned that the devastation to New Orleans was much greater than originally thought. With the Maravich Center on the LSU campus serving as what would become the largest field triage unit in United States history, it was mutually decided to move the LSU-Arizona State game to Tempe.

With many in Louisiana under the distress of Hurricane Katrina, the Tigers were going to have to take to the desert to face a powerful offense in their first game of the season.

These were certainly trying times for everyone in the state of Louisiana, but even more so for a football coach who now had his team carrying the banner for a state in need of a diversion. LSU football had become a release for those consumed with the hurricane. LSU even re-stated its team goals, putting playing for the state of Louisiana at the top of the list.

The Tigers didn’t disappoint as Miles and his LSU team used a 28-point fourth-quarter rally to come back to beat Arizona State, 35-31, in Tempe.

Now with the Arizona State game behind them, it looked as if things for the LSU football team would gradually get back to normal as the Tigers had a week off before facing Tennessee in Tiger Stadium on Sept. 24.

Then, the unthinkable happened. Another storm, this one named Rita, hit southwest Louisiana, causing severe damage to more homes, leaving thousands without electricity and displacing even more Louisiana natives. The combination of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita forced LSU to again shuffle its schedule. Instead of playing Tennessee on a Saturday night in Tiger Stadium, the Tigers would now be forced to face the Volunteers on a Monday night. An emotionally drained LSU team saw a 21-0 halftime lead evaporate into a 30-27 overtime loss to the Vols.

There was no coaching handbook for Miles to refer to when it came to dealing with the hurricanes and preparing a team for competition during extreme adverse conditions. Miles was on his own, forced to navigate his LSU team through a treacherous stretch of games, while also being sympathetic to those still affected by the natural disasters.

With just five days between the Tennessee loss and the Mississippi State game, Miles and the Tigers were obviously dealt an unfair hand. However, he asked his team to respond and they did. The Mississippi State contest was the starting point for a stretch of games for the Tigers that saw LSU win nine contests in nine-straight weeks of play. The 37-7 win over the Bulldogs was followed by a 34-6 road victory over Vanderbilt as the Tigers had re-established themselves as one of the nation’s elite on the football field.

During what would be 11-consecutive weeks of play, the Tigers posted a win over Florida, along with overtime victories against Auburn and Alabama. In all, the Tigers beat four teams ranked among the top 15 in the nation, then a school-record four regular season victories over ranked opponents.

After ten-straight weeks of play during the regular season, the Tigers fashioned a 7-1 conference mark and earned a berth in the SEC title game. 

Miles became the only coach in his first year in the SEC to lead his squad to the league’s title game. He also became the first coach in LSU history to beat Alabama, Auburn and Florida in the same season.

Following a loss to Georgia in the league’s title game, Miles and the Tigers re-grouped, this time to beat No. 9 Miami, 40-3, in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The win gave the Tigers 11 victories for the year, making Miles the winningest first-year coach in school history.

Oklahoma State Years

In four short years, Miles turned the Oklahoma State football program into one that was nationally competitive, despite competing in-state against one of the country’s dominant programs.

Miles honed his head coaching skills at Oklahoma State. Under Miles’ direction, the Cowboys were the only team in the nation to beat Oklahoma twice in the four-year period, and he was also the first coach in Oklahoma State history to post wins over Nebraska and Oklahoma in the same season.

Miles led the Cowboys to three-straight bowl appearances, an accomplishment Oklahoma State had not achieved since Jimmy Johnson started a string of three-straight post-season games beginning in 1983. In addition, Oklahoma State’s appearance in the Cotton Bowl to cap the 2003 season marked the first time in 55 years that the Cowboys appeared in a January bowl game.

Miles’ success as a collegiate head coach came by combining an explosive offensive system with that of a sound defensive scheme. In his last two years at Oklahoma State, Miles’ offenses put up a total of 857 points for an average of 34.3 points per game.

As head coach at Oklahoma State, he built a consistent winner out of a program that had recorded only one winning season since 1988, and had posted a record of 13-20 in the three years prior to his arrival at OSU.  After going 4-7 in his first year as head coach in 2001, he took the Cowboys to consecutive winning marks of 8-5 in 2002, 9-4 in 2003 and 7-5 in 2004.

Miles led Oklahoma State to a four-year record of 28-21 for a winning percentage of 57.1, the best career winning percentage for an OSU coach since Jim Lookabaugh ended his career in Stillwater in 1949.

In 2004, Miles took Oklahoma State as high as No. 15 in the country with five wins to open the season.  The 2004 season included road wins at UCLA, Colorado and Missouri, as the Cowboys never lost to a team outside of the top 25. In addition, his 2004 Cowboys ranked 12th in the nation in rushing, averaging 237 yards per game, and Oklahoma State was among the national leaders in scoring offense with 32.3 points a contest. 

Oklahoma State’s 2003 season was highlighted by victories over eventual Big 12 Champion Kansas State and a bowl-bound Texas Tech squad. Miles and his Cowboys won seven straight in 2003 after a season opening loss at Nebraska, and finished the season with back-to-back victories. The seven consecutive victories marked the longest winning streak by an Oklahoma State team since 1949 when the Cowboys posted a perfect 9-0 record. 

Miles’ 2003 Oklahoma State team featured one NFL First Round Draft pick in wide receiver Rashaun Woods and second round selection in running back Tatum Bell as the Cowboy offensive attack featured both a 1,000-yard rusher (Bell) and a 1,000-yard receiver (Woods). 

Miles was the 2002 Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year after directing his second Oklahoma State team to an 8-5 record and the school’s first bowl appearance since 1997. In 2002, Miles’ Cowboy offense set the school standard for passing offense (259 yards per game), while averaging 403.3 yards of offense per game, the fourth-highest total at the school.

The Cowboys, who averaged 34.4 points per game, closed the 2002 season with wins in six of their last seven games, including a 38-28 victory over then-No. 3 ranked Oklahoma in the regular-season finale. The Cowboys capped the 2002 season with a 33-23 win over Southern Miss in the Houston Bowl. 

Assistant Coach Years

Prior to his tenure as head coach at Oklahoma State, Miles was the tight ends coach for the Dallas Cowboys for three seasons from 1998-2000. During his three years with the Cowboys, Dallas won one divisional title while participating in the playoffs twice. In Dallas, Miles learned of LSU and the charm of the school from tight end David LaFleur, who starred for the Tigers in the 1990s. In three years of coaching tight ends for the Cowboys, Miles’ players combined for 136 receptions for 1,287 yards and 16 touchdowns. LaFleur, a former LSU All-America selection, had his best year under Miles in 1999, starting 16 games and catching 35 passes for 322 yards and seven touchdowns. 

Before going to Dallas, Miles served as Oklahoma State’s Offensive Coordinator for three seasons from 1995-97, including an 8-3 season and Alamo Bowl berth in 1997.

Miles’ college playing and coaching career includes experience under some of the most noted coaches in college football. At Michigan, he played for legendary coach Bo Schembechler and later served on Schembechler’s staff. He also worked with Gary Moeller at Michigan and Bill McCartney at Colorado.

Success has followed Miles at every stop of both his playing and professional career. He was a two-year letterman at Michigan (1974-75). During those two seasons, Michigan was a combined 18-3-2, had final Associated Press national rankings in the top 10 and participated in the Orange Bowl.

He joined Schembechler’s Michigan coaching staff in 1980 for the first of two stints as a coach in Ann Arbor. In 1980 and 1981, Michigan combined for 19 wins and just five losses, won the Big 10 title in 1980 and played in the Rose and Bluebonnet Bowls, respectively. Miles left Michigan for Colorado, where he served on McCartney’s staff from 1982 through 1986. In his final two years at Colorado, the Buffs earned bids to the Freedom Bowl and Bluebonnet Bowl.

In 1987, he returned to Michigan, where he would spend the next eight years as part of one of the most successful eras in Michigan football history. From 1987 to 1994, Michigan won 71 games, made eight straight bowl appearances, including four trips to the Rose Bowl, and finished no lower than No. 21 in final Associated Press national rankings.

The 1989 Michigan squad finished 10-2, won the Big 10 championship and finished ranked No. 7 in the country. That would be Coach Bo Schembechler’s final season as Michigan’s head coach.

When Moeller took over the Michigan program prior to the 1990 season, Miles remained on the staff. The 1990 team finished 9-3, winning the Big 10 title and the Gator Bowl. The following season (1991), Michigan finished 10-2 and with a No. 6 national ranking. Miles coached some of the best players to wear the Michigan uniform, including eight first-team All-Americans, 10 total All-Americans and 12 players from Wolverine offensive lines that were NFL draftees.

Philanthropist At Heart

One of Les Miles’ most impressive qualities is that of the time he spends giving to and helping causes that benefit others. Each year, Miles and his wife Kathy host an event that raises close to $100,000 for the Children’s Miracle Network. In addition, he is active in other community service events such as the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center annual fundraiser, the Special Olympics and the Baton Rouge Children’s Advocacy Center Celebrity Waiter Event.

Miles spent a week in June of 2006 taking part in the USO Tour, where the Tiger head coach visited American Troops serving in Kuwait and Iraq.  Miles was joined on the tour, which serves as a morale booster for the troops serving abroad, by former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz and Tampa Bay Devil Rays former owner Vincent Naimoli.

The week-long trip took Miles to several U.S. bases in Kuwait and then on to Iraq, where he visited with hundreds of American troops and even flew over the city of Baghdad in a Black Hawk helicopter.

The Family Man

When Miles isn’t overseeing his LSU football family, he can most likely be found in the bleachers supporting his wife and kids at their sporting events. His oldest daughter Kathryn, who is commonly referred to as “Smacker”, is one of the top junior swimmers in the nation, while his two sons – Manny and Ben – are avid athletes who participate in everything from football to baseball to wrestling. Coach Miles also gets his share of time with the youngest of the Miles family, 6-year old Macy Grace.

Coach Miles’ wife Kathy, who is a former assistant women’s basketball coach at the collegiate level, spends time serving as a coach for Smacker’s AAU basketball team.

Les Miles Year-by-Year

Les Miles vs. All-Opponents

2009 Opponents in bold