Why UM Should Hire Les Miles As Head Coach

Background

Les Miles started his coaching career in 1980 working at his alma mater of Michigan as a position coach. After two seasons on Bo Schembechler's staff he decided to take a detour and work his trade at Colorado University. After a successful five year run at Colorado he again went home to Michigan to assist their offensive unit for the next eight seasons. During the second stint, the Wolverines played in eight bowl games and won four of them.

After his eighth season on the Michigan staff he decided to jump to Oklahoma State for three seasons and then later took his talents to the pro level with the Dallas Cowboys as their tight ends coach for another three seasons. During his time as the position coach for the Cowboys he was able to help contribute to one NFC East division title.

Once the college football season concluded in 2000, Oklahoma State came calling again, this time they wanted Miles to become their Head Football Coach and he jumped at the opportunity. During his four seasons leading the Pokes he built them into a contender with not just the middle tier teams in the Big 12 but the power programs too and the national media took notice.

At the end of the 2004 season when Nick Saban left to be the Head Coach of the Miami Dolphins the LSU Tigers wanted to make a splash with their next hire and set their sights on the offensive mastermind. After his interview he was offered the position and he immediately hit the ground running. During his ten years at LSU he recorded the following notable achievements:

Overall Record through 10 seasons at LSU: 103-29

NFL Draft Picks since 2006: 64 (most in the SEC)

Record versus unranked teams: 64-8

Record versus Top 25: 39-21

Record in Bowl Games: 6-4

Record in BCS Bowl Games: 2-1

National Championship: 1

The resume speaks for itself but why is he possibly a coaching candidate for the Miami vacancy? The answer is simple: Miles has lost three games in a row this season and the LSU fan base has grown restless. Before the losing skid LSU was ranked in the top five in most college football polls but for whatever reason whether it be misguided clock management or a stale offensive scheme, the Tigers have simply been throttled each of the last three weeks by Alabama, Arkansas and Ole Miss. In their last game of the season LSU plays Texas A&M at home and if there's another poor showing, rumor has it Miles could be gone. If Miles is relinquished of his duties, he's almost near unanimously the top available coach in America, period.

Strengths:

He wins. Just look at the resume listed above. He has a national title, he has a winning record versus the Top 25 and he's battled and succeeded in the toughest conference in America, the SEC.

Develops young men into NFL talent. In the 2013 and 2014 NFL Drafts he had 9 players selected each season. Let's repeat that.. In two of the most recent drafts (not counting last season) he's had a combined 18 players taken. Does he get sterling talent when it comes to four and five star recruits? Sure, but more times than not they're developing through his system and heading to the next level.

Instantly is the face of the Program. This may seem obvious but whoever the next Head Coach will be for the Hurricanes will have to be a leader of men. Looking back at some of the other candidates, you may not truly know if they can do it again (Davis) if they can do it at all (Cristoball) or if the players will want to follow him/can relate to him (Schiano). With Miles, due to his winning and all other traits, he instantly has credibility among his fellow coaches and players.

He's awesome with the media:

Weakness:

Needs to have a solid staff built around him. One of the reasons Miles' in the predicament he's in now is because the current defensive coordinator, Kevin Steele, who replaced highly regarded John Chavis has simply not meshed with the current players. Also, the current Offensive Coordinator, Cam Cameron is running a system that many in the college football world can best be described as "bland." Miles will need to bring in innovative minds to help make sure the above situation doesn't happen again.

Overall Conclusion:

As I said at the end of the background section, Les Miles, if he is fired at LSU, is the number one coach out on the open market for all vacancies. He's won a national title and he's shown that at a big program he can win at a torrid rate with the big expectations heaped on his shoulders year in and out. Miami would be very, very blessed if they could hire him. Then again, so would every other program in America..