Story by Michale Rosenberg and Mark Snyder
Detroit Free Press
December 1, 2007

Louisiana State's Les Miles is the clear top candidate to
replace outgoing Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr,
multiple people with knowledge of the situation have told
the Free Press.

U-M athletic director Bill Martin has told people familiar
with the search that he plans to talk to a few coaches, not
just Miles. But one person characterized the job as "Miles'
to lose."

Miles and Martin have been in contact through
intermediaries, the Free Press has learned, and are
expected to meet early next week.

Miles has made it clear to friends that he wants the job,
and money is not expected to be a major hurdle in
negotiations. Conversations between Michigan's
representatives and Miles' intermediaries have progressed
to discussions of salary, years and terms of the deal,
which are all, according to the sources, substantially more
than Miles' $1.8-million annual salary or Carr's $1.5
million.

Yet his hiring is not a sure thing. Not everybody in the
university's power structure is on board with the hiring,
and president Mary Sue Coleman could potentially scuttle
it. Also, Martin must conduct his face-to-face interview
with Miles.

The meeting between Martin and Miles is expected to take
place at a neutral location--not Ann Arbor, Baton Rouge,
La., or Atlanta, site of today's SEC championship game
between LSU and Tennessee. Martin, who has avoided media
inquiries during the coaching search, is scheduled to be in
New York for Tuesday's National Football Foundation Hall of
Fame dinner, where he is on the board of directors.

Miles, 54, played for Michigan under Bo Schembechler in
1974-75. He came back to U-M as a graduate assistant in
1980-81 and as an assistant coach under Schembechler and
Gary Moeller in 1987-94.

At a news conference in Atlanta to discuss the SEC title
matchup, Miles said he would allow Michigan to contact him
after today's game. Miles, who spoke for about 20 minutes
at the Georgia Dome, said he told his team that he had not
been contacted by U-M.

He also said he had no firsthand knowledge that U-M had
asked LSU's athletic director for permission to speak to
him. He did say he had heard the reports.

"We will get beyond this game and we will see what
happens," he said.

Miles' boss, athletic director Skip Bertman, who revealed
publicly that Martin had asked for permission to talk with
Miles, has said LSU officials intend to meet with their
coach next week to discuss a new contract and a significant
raise.

Miles repeatedly has said speculation about whether he
would take the U-M job hasn't been a distraction to him or
his fifth-ranked team. He said it again Friday.

"It's not affected me," he said. "I've probably spent 15
minutes allowing a personal thought along those lines. I've
worked toward this championship fully. It's not something I
talk about. If you think it's a conversation I can have
with my wife, I can't."

Asked if a meeting with anyone from U-M already had been
set, he replied: "No."

Miles arrived at the mid-afternoon news conference after
taking the stage at a luncheon for fans held every year
before the SEC title game. The two coaches talk for 30
minutes or so about their season and what they expect to
happen in the game.

Miles made no mention of the Wolverines.

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