Then, LSU athletic director Joe Alleva – who has been painfully silent over the last two weeks – announced that Miles would be staying.
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As the clock expired and firework were fired from the south endzone, LSU head coach Les Miles was carried by Christian LaCouture and Vadal Alexander from midfield to the northwest corner of the stadium where the Golden Band from Tigerland played the LSU Alma Mater.
Miles found out for sure that he would return next season only after leaving the team’s on-field victory celebration Saturday, so he likely needed time to digest the events of a whirlwind week before moving on to formal staff evaluations. “I had no suggestion that this was going to be my last game in Tiger Stadium”, said Miles, speaking of the booster meeting.
Les Miles looked to his right, beyond a crowd of reporters to where his wife, Kathy, and their four children had been waiting anxiously for the 62-year-old coach to emerge from LSU’s locker room.
“King Alexander came up and said, ‘I want you to be our coach, ‘” Miles said. Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher appeared to not be one.
Leonard Fournette ran for 159 yards and a touchdown.
Following a five yard offsides penalty against the Aggies, two plays later, Fournette burst up the middle for eight more yards to pick up another LSU first down at the Texas A&M 20.
Magnificent, indeed. It was a magnificent moment, for a magnificent man who quite honestly has done a stellar job in his 11 years at LSU; compiling a 111-32 record that most coaches would KILL for.
When have you seen a team part with a successful coach so clearly revered by his fans and players?
Alleva echoed Jacobs’ statement when he took the podium before Miles after the Tigers improved to 8-3 overall and 5-3 in the SEC with the win. Guice appeared to be on fire as he returned the opening kickoff of the second half 75 yards to the Aggies’ 25-yard line, breaking tackles along the way and refusing with a vengeance to go down. “LSU played very well on defense”. Brandon Harris was 7 of 21 for 83 yards, no touchdowns and an interception.
Texas A&M (8-4) managed just one touchdown – an 8-yard slant from quarterback Kyle Allen to receiver Ricky Seals-Jones.
However, the drive came up empty when Domingue’s 50 yard attempt sailed wide left. The Tigers settled for 32 yard Trent Domingue field goal, giving them their first lead in the month of November 3-0 with 10:58 to play in the first quarter.
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In reality, there were essentially three categories of LSU fans: those who absolutely wanted Miles gone, those who appreciated Miles’ contributions to the program but thought it was time for change, and those who believed Miles deserved at least another year. Its defense held A&M to a mere 250 total yards.
