Les Miles is known to most as the "Mad Hatter" of college football and once again he earned that moniker as he parlayed talk of him moving to rival Arkansas into another contract extension and more money to stay as the head coach at LSU – a school where he's 85-20 and has won one national championship (2007).
Don't believe me that the speculation of Arkansas making Miles an offer had anything to do with it? Well, the words of LSU athletic director Joe Alleva should assuage your concern.
"Our intent was to address his contract following this year's bowl game, but speculation about other job opportunities accelerated our process a little," Alleva said. "I think we have accomplished the important step of securing Les Miles as our head coach for the long-term good of the program."
According to the release the final details of the contract haven't been finalized and are also subject to the final approval of the LSU Board of Supervisors. Miles' old contract paid him $3.75 million through 2017 and the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported yesterday that Arkansas had made an offer of five years and $27.5 million.
Doing the math on that Miles would've made $5.5 million a year and you'd have to expect that he will receive somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 million per year to stay on at LSU at the very least.
Perhaps this was the plan for the "Mad Hatter" or his agent all along? Either way LSU fans have to be breathing a major sigh of relief as the second winningest coach in the schools 119 years of football will be staying put.
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