Les Miles to make triumphant return to Tiger Stadium on Saturday
Les Miles will be back on the field at Tiger Stadium on Saturday.
LSU will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of its 2007 national championship team coached by Miles at halftime of its game against Auburn. It will be Miles’ first time at Tiger Stadium since he was unceremoniously fired after four games in 2016. Coincidentally, his firing by athletic director Joe Alleva (who will also be in the house Saturday) came after LSU lost 18-13 at Auburn. His last home game as LSU head coach was a 23-20 win over Mississippi State on Sept. 17, 2016.
The former LSU coach will be part of the program’s celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the 2007 national championship team. Miles is scheduled to join players from that ’07 team during a reunion on the field at halftime of the Tigers’ game against Auburn, he confirmed in a message Monday night. Miles, 63, still lives in Baton Rouge and remains an avid supporter of the program he led for nearly 12 years.
After he was fired, Miles wasn’t able to land another coaching job for the 2017 season. In the meantime — he still intends to return to coaching — he has taken work in media as a college football analyst for both ESPN and Fox and started a podcast. He’ll also spend Nov. 4 as a guest studio analyst for CBS.
Meanwhile, LSU elevated Miles’ defensive line coach, Ed Orgeron, from interim coach to full-time head coach. He’s had a bit of a shaky start, but the Tigers got back on track with a road win over No. 21 Florida on Saturday. LSU (4-2, 2-1 SEC) will face a bigger challenge with No. 10 Auburn (5-1, 3-0) coming to Baton Rouge for a 3:30 p.m. ET kick.
Overall at LSU, Miles had a 114-34 record (64-28 SEC), won two SEC crowns and the 2007 national championship. The Tigers won at least 10 games in seven of his first nine seasons, but the school controversially decided to go in another direction when 2016’s 2-2 start followed records of 8-5 and 9-3 in 2014 and 2015. Miles’ 114 wins is second in LSU history.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
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