Baton Rouge, LA – Les Miles has received a raise and extension at LSU, according to an Associated Press report. The new deal will see Miles sign a new seven-year contract at LSU where he has become one of the most successful coaches in the history of the Tigers’ football program.
Les Miles’ raise and extension will run through 2019, and Miles revealed on Wednesday he’s already looking beyond that:
“I’m a LSU head coach and will be a LSU head coach for as long as I can be. Hopefully, we’ll look up seven years from now and I’ll be looking for another seven-year extension.”
LSU athletic director Joe Alleva has said financial details are still being finalized but will be released after the Tigers play in a Sugar Bowl game that will close out the season.
According to an anonymous source close to the contract negotiations, Miles’ new annual salary would be “in the range” of $4.3 million. That’s a hefty raise from Miles’ previous contract, which was due to end in 2017 and paid $3.75 million annually.
The raise was Miles’ first since since 2008, though an extension and raises for assistants have been awarded more recently.
Although LSU’s last championship came in 2007, Alleva said:
“It is not all about winning championships. It’s about being in the hunt to win championships. Les Miles is one of the premier coaches in the country and has LSU in contention for championships year in and year out. Only two coaches in the 119-year history of LSU football have coached as many years at this school and only one has won more games.”
Since taking charge of the Tigers in 2005, Miles has amassed an impressive 85-20 record, while LSU’s victory over Arkansas last Friday sealed Miles’ fifth 10-win season at the school. Alleva added:
“The coaching business is a competitive one and it is important to compensate our coach for his accomplishments and his worth. [Miles] has continued to keep LSU on the national stage. Coach made a commitment to LSU and LSU made a commitment to coach.”
It’s suspected that Les Miles’ raise and extension is a reaction to an approach from the Arkansas Razorbacks. Miles told the Associated Press that representatives from Arkansas did reach out to him but rubbished reports of a five-year, $27.5 million offer to take over the Razorbacks:
“I have great respect for the AD [Jeff Long], a college friend of mine. My talks were very preliminary. They fell far short of being serious. I can tell you that this Miles family is awfully comfortable in southern Louisiana. I think home is what we call this place.”