Welcome Coach Miles!

[Deleted User 183]

[Deleted User 183]

[holidaysmore]

Sounds like Les to ‘les’ money so he could have a deeper money pool for his assistants. I said that from Day 1 unless you have a large, talented staff nothing short of Nick Saban getting hired would this work.

[DCHawk1]

This reminds me.

Bill looks like he shed most of the belly over the summer.

That is all.

[Geezer]

Looks like 30 pounds or more.

[NewtonHawk11]

Sounds like Les to ‘les’ money so he could have a deeper money pool for his assistants. I said that from Day 1 unless you have a large, talented staff nothing short of Nick Saban getting hired would this work.

Yeah I think this is the case. I wouldn't be surprised to see the staff almost double from what they've had in the past.

But I believe Tait caught up with Les last night, and it seems like Les has about half of his staff already in place. He'll wait to hire other half until KU finishes this season and he'll interview the current staff.

Les has kept holdovers on previous staffs before. So don't be surprised to see a couple of guys stay. Hull and Ricker the OL coach better be 2 of them. OL has been much improved this year.

[holidaysmore]

Did anyone find last night’s press conference a bit awkward at times? Les seemed confused and disheveled at times.
Some of the questions were a bit difficult to answer concerning current players and staff.

[NewtonHawk11]

Did anyone find last night’s press conference a bit awkward at times? Les seemed confused and disheveled at times.
Some of the questions were a bit difficult to answer concerning current players and staff.

It did have some awkward moments. I think he was emotional because it's been a while for him. I think he was also a bit tired. He's been traveling a ton following his son play at UNC and has been in negotiations with LSU buyout and KU contract.

He was MUCH better on HawkTalk last night. Much better. Got in front of a crowd and he got going and was much more into it and aware of all going on and current player situations and all that. He's pumped up about Pooka though. I can tell you that just from listening to him.

David Beaty and Charlie Weis won their pressers. Hell, so did Turner Gill. And that worked out great.

[NewtonHawk11]

https://www.si.com/college-football/201 ... head-coach

I really liked this article. Especially the last line.

He's a pissed off Les Miles and he's cocksure about his new, damn strong team.

[NewtonHawk11]

http://www2.kusports.com/news/2018/nov/ ... ct-place-/

By the way, Smacker is really cute.

[Deleted User 183]

ESPN+ article

Adam Rittenberg
ESPN Staff Writer

On Sunday, Kansas football became interesting again. That's what you get with Les Miles, the singing, dancing, grass-eating, hat-wearing, fourth-down-gambling geyser of coaching personality hired to lead the Jayhawks program.

Because of Miles, people will pay attention to KU, beginning with Sunday's introductory news conference and lasting throughout the offseason.

But can Kansas do more with Les? That's not as clear. Miles is by far the most decorated coach Kansas has hired, boasting a national championship at LSU, two SEC championships and a .719 career winning percentage. But he's now leading a Kansas program that, since its Orange Bowl breakthrough in 2007, has the worst record of any FBS program (31-101). The Jayhawks haven't made a bowl game since 2008 and haven't won more than three games since 2009, Mark Mangino's final season as coach.

Miles is taking over a mess. And while he used to be an elite coach at an elite program, he hasn't been on the sideline since LSU fired him in September 2016. The reasons leading to Miles' dismissal create doubt about his ability to succeed at one of the toughest Power 5 jobs.

Will the Les Miles experiment work at KU? I spoke to several former Jayhawks coaches, as well as other coaches familiar with Miles and the Kansas program, to break down the hire and what challenges await the Mad Hatter in Lawrence.


Miles must follow excitement with results
"He'll sell tickets," one Kansas source said. "And that's what they need for sure because the fan support's just so dead. There's nobody here. And they have to do that. Before you can start getting recruits, you have to have a [full] stadium."

Energizing fans is an objective with every coaching hire, but the need is particularly acute at KU, which drew only 15,543 and 15,069 in paid attendance for its past two home games (against Iowa State and TCU), and fewer than 19,000 fans for every Big 12 game. Kansas averaged only 26,641 in average attendance in 2017, the lowest of any Power 5 school, which marked a slight increase from 25,828 in 2016. Contrast those numbers with the 2007 season, when Kansas averaged 46,784 for home games, which ranked 49th nationally, one spot behind rival Kansas State (47,383)

Miles should create an immediate bump in ticket sales for 2019. More importantly, he'll energize Kansas donors as the athletic department moves along in its five-year, $350 million fundraising campaign.

It includes a new football practice facility, set to open in the spring, and likely an eventual renovation of Memorial Stadium. Athletic director Jeff Long, speaking in August about six weeks after being hired, said when Kansas hired coach David Beaty for only $600,000 annually, the school "sent a message we don't care about football." Long hopes to send a different message both with the Miles hire at a market-appropriate contract (five years at $2.775 million annually), and increased support to the program.

"I would suspect [Long] will give the next head coach what he needs to be successful, but Kansas has a history of, they'll go so far and they'll invest what they think is appropriate, and then that's it, you're on your own the rest of the way," said Mangino, who went 50-48 at Kansas with four bowl appearances between 2002 and 2009. "I don't think Jeff will adopt that philosophy, but it's what he can do, too. The freedom they give him is just as important as what he's able to give his head coach."

While most agree Miles can sell a unique combination of personality and past success, any revenue spike he generates must soon be followed with results.

"It's like another Charlie Weis," said an FBS assistant with ties to Kansas. "We'll see how that goes. Is [Miles] that much of a personality to sell tickets?

Several people asked about the Miles hire brought up Weis, whom Kansas hired in December 2011 after the team went 5-19 under Turner Gill. Weis arrived after coordinator stints with Florida and the Kansas City Chiefs, but he had built his reputation as Notre Dame's coach and as the New England Patriots' offensive coordinator for three Super Bowl champion teams. Weis went 4-20 in his first two years at Kansas, and was fired after a 2-2 start in 2014.

The excitement from a "name" hire, is "just temporary," said Glen Mason, who coached Kansas from 1988 to 1996 and recorded four winning seasons, including a 10-win campaign in 1995.

"It might initially do it," Mason continued, "but unless you see credibility on the field, improvement on the field, success on the field, that's not going to be the case."

Several years into Mason's tenure, he stood on the field with Kansas State coach Bill Snyder, hired in 1989 to revive the woeful Wildcats program. Mason and Snyder surveyed the bipartisan crowd at KU's Memorial Stadium, and Mason said, "Bill, if we can be proud of one thing, look at this place. It's packed."

"Prior to that, people were embarrassed to say they were going to the KU-K-State game," Mason continued. "So at least initially, sure, you hire Les Miles, a guy that's a known entity, a guy that's won a national championship, that's going to be a lot better as far as winning the press conference than some unknown guy where everybody is saying, 'Who is that?'"

Miles has something to prove
The two biggest criticisms of the Miles hire relate to the same thing: Age. Miles turned 65 on Nov. 10. Only six FBS coaches are older, and the only two in the Power 5, Bill Snyder and Alabama's Nick Saban, have led their respective programs for years.

Mason was just 37 when he came to Kansas, which had gone 4-17 in the two seasons before his arrival. He went 1-10 in 1988 and struggled through two more seasons before going on a nice run between 1991 and 1995.

"You had to scratch, fight, crawl, do everything -- and I didn't have the name of Les Miles -- just to get [recruits] to visit," Mason recalled. "Every day, literally, was a struggle with everything in the program. I know Les and I've got a tremendous amount of respect for him. I just know the situation that's there now. I'm not sure it's for a 60-year-old guy rather than a 30-something guy who really wants to make a name for himself."

Miles isn't a typical 65-year-old. Anyone who has followed his post-football activities, from acting to podcasting to social media videos, sees that he hasn't lost any of his typical charisma.

"He's got the energy, a proven plan, and most of all, the relationships with the right people, namely the players," said Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, who held the same post at LSU under Miles in 2015. "They love playing for him and play hard for him. Les also has the leadership qualities that stretch throughout the program from the equipment room, to the training staff, to the people in the recruiting office, to the coaches. You see that in the way he's recruited because it comes through loud and clear, that unity, any time recruits are around."

Former Florida coach Steve Spurrier, who returned to the sideline at South Carolina in 2005 after a year away from football, thinks Miles will be even more energized at a place like Kansas.

"A lot of us coaches who get out and then get back in love that challenge of doing it at a place where everybody says it can't be done," Spurrier said. "I know I did when I got back in at South Carolina."

Several current and former coaches pointed to the relationship between Miles and Long -- they worked together at the University of Michigan in the late 1980s and early 1990s -- as a strong indicator of success.

"I think coaches that have been fired, when they have another chance, they usually feel like the relationship with the athletic director is most important," said Gerry DiNardo, the former LSU, Vanderbilt and Indiana coach who worked with Miles on Bill McCartney's staffs at Colorado in the 1980s. "I'm guessing that the fact that Les and Jeff have history together, they're of similar age, and both maybe have something to prove since they've both been fired, [there's] a lot of potential to go up, not a lot of risk to going down.

"It makes it maybe a perfect fit for Les at Kansas."

The other belief Miles must address is that his offense became old and painfully outdated. LSU's offensive struggles and quarterback mismanagement triggered Miles' firing more than any other factors. A former offensive lineman for Bo Schembechler at Michigan, Miles emphasized traditional offensive sets, ball control and a run-heavy scheme.

He re-enters a league where only Kansas averages fewer than 24 points a game and half of the teams average more than 70 plays per game. Miles knows the league from his time at Oklahoma State, but he will have to adjust his approach after 14 years away.

It will take a level of creativity Miles was either unable to unwilling to show at the end of his LSU tenure.

"My hope is he has spent two years studying offense and has a plan that will fit what he wants to do," DiNardo said.

"When you're trying to get Kansas up and running, you've got to take some risks, you know?" Mangino said.

Not in Baton Rouge any more
In announcing the hire Sunday, Long praised Miles for having a "national reputation as a great recruiter." Miles' final four classes at LSU ranked No. 3, No. 10, No. 2 and No. 7, according to ESPN.

But LSU also is arguably the nation's most advantageous recruiting job, the flagship school in a state filled with talent and lacking another Power 5 program. The recruiting challenges at Kansas are much greater.

"Guys who have risen to the top of the mountain, and for whatever reason it doesn't work out, and they land with another job, but it's not near at the top of the mountain, it's a tough adjustment," a former college coach told me. "I still remember when Fred Akers got fired at Texas and he came to the Big Ten at Purdue, and you could just tell from the day he got there, he just wasn't happy. He thought, 'This isn't Texas.' Yeah, it's not Texas. It's Purdue."

Miles likely will have to choose how much he wants to emphasize junior-college recruiting, as juco ball is huge within the state. Snyder built Kansas State largely on junior-college players.

Mason decided not to push juco recruiting and instead focused on high school players. He wanted to make Kansas a top developmental program rather than one turning over its roster every two years.

Mangino also understood the need for player development at Kansas, but didn't shy away from jucos. He recruited Texas for years and focused on the state, as Miles undoubtedly will do. Most of Miles' last few LSU teams included 10-15 players from Texas. Miles also must mine Kansas City and other areas like Florida, where he had success finding players for LSU.

DiNardo is confident that once Miles settles on his recruiting plan, he and his staff will attack it and have success. As young coaches, both DiNardo and Miles learned from McCartney that everyone on staff -- young and old, scheme guru or not -- has to recruit.

Miles also faces unique roster challenges at Kansas, as the Jayhawks remain short of the 85 allotted scholarships.

"He's going to have some work to do on the roster," a KU source said of Miles.

Mason faced a similar situation with a KU team that had just 51 scholarship players.

"I thought, 'Well, I'll probably be selling insurance in three years,'" Mason said. "But we were able to turn the program around through recruiting. I know the program's really down [now], but I think that Les has probably got more things going for him than I did when I first went there."

What seems clear: Miles is about to embark on the biggest challenge of his coaching career.

"Whether it's Les or anybody else, it's still Kansas," a longtime college coach said. "The football is shaped a little bit differently there. It doesn't always bounce back to you."

Miles must make his own breaks at KU. If he does, he'll remind college football exactly what it has been missing.

[Soklous]

This reminds me.

Bill looks like he shed most of the belly over the summer.

That is all.

I think he credited his hernia surgery. Not hard work like David McCormack.

[CrimsonNBlue]

Did anyone find last night’s press conference a bit awkward at times? Les seemed confused and disheveled at times.
Some of the questions were a bit difficult to answer concerning current players and staff.

It did have some awkward moments. I think he was emotional because it's been a while for him. I think he was also a bit tired. He's been traveling a ton following his son play at UNC and has been in negotiations with LSU buyout and KU contract.

He was MUCH better on HawkTalk last night. Much better. Got in front of a crowd and he got going and was much more into it and aware of all going on and current player situations and all that. He's pumped up about Pooka though. I can tell you that just from listening to him.

David Beaty and Charlie Weis won their pressers. Hell, so did Turner Gill. And that worked out great.

Les was rusty. That's also not his kind of setting. Suit and tie, having to give PC answers.

I went to HawkTalk and he was visibly much more comfortable. Once the convo hit football, he wanted to own the room. Shook hands while Jeff Long was speaking (who is a great public speaker).

[holidaysmore]

All good points presented about the presser. Wasn't a big issue to me but more of a discussion point and 810 or 610 was talking about it as well. Speaking of does anyone have the audio from HawkTalk last night?

I'm ecstatic they signed Les. Seems to be in good health and you know the energy is going to be there. I wonder if he is going to have former players out to games...OBJ, Guice, Landry, and Fournette...

[seahawk]

So, we get the answer to why no one hired Les Miles for the past two years.

[Deleted User 89]

do tell, pessimistic patty

[CrimsonNBlue]

Pay no attention to the Miserables.

The Coordinator candidates being thrown around are exciting.

We should all be rooting for Tulsa to lose its last game.

[seahawk]

do tell, pessimistic patty

When the new fan base is trying to explain why the newly hired coach doesn't sound like he's in early dementia, that doesn't seem like a great start.

[Deleted User 89]

wut?

[hartjack8]

We hired an ex-SEC AD who then hired an ex-SEC football coach. Overall you have to admit this is going to be a lot more exciting than the past. I actually like the "Mad Hatter" and I believe this will be his last harrah so he will be energized to making KU relevant in Football. I think Les is going to have a chip on his shoulder so to speak for what happened at LSU and since then getting passed over multiple times. KU should benefit from all of this.