Gruden, Muschamp to replace Les Miles At LSU?

LSU will start 5-0 and there will still be people calling for the head of Les Miles. Now you would think that a coach who has won 51 games and a national championship in five seasons would be in pretty decent shape with his alumni. But down on the Bayou there is still this nagging sense that the program has begun to slip since Nick Saban’s players all finished in 2007, the national championship season. (LSU is 8-8 in SEC play the past two seasons.) If LSU can beat North Carolina in Atlanta on Saturday, the Tigers should be 5-0 when they go to Florida on Oct. 9. They won’t win in the Swamp and then the complaints will start. You will hear the name of Jon Gruden. You will also hear the name of Will Muschamp. – CBS Sports

Les Miles on Hot Seat at LSU

I know what you’re thinking. “Didn’t Les Miles win a national title like three years ago?” Yes, he did, but with the tools and the talent in Baton Rouge, the recent struggles — and Miles’ curious clock management and in-game decisions — have left the natives restless. “This is a big year coming up for Les and the football program,” LSU athletic director Joe Alleva told the Baton Rouge Advocate. Alleva stopped short of handing Miles an ultimatum, but the message seems pretty clear. – Times Free-Press

LSU’s Les Miles against SEC expansion

As far as expansion in the conference, LSU’s Les Miles, for one, seemed to oppose the idea. “I don’t know that the (Southeastern Conference) needs expansion in the fact that they have a pretty good format for a championship game,” Miles said. “I think the teams we have are certainly very competitive and when you go to expanding a 12-team conference, what team are you going to bring in that will bring with it a strength, a financial package and a strength of following that will add to the conference? “And really, you are looking at two teams you need to bring in and I think that’s going to be a difficult order for the SEC.” Miles indicated any expansion likely will come from leagues that don’t currently have a championship game, like the SEC. “It would put them in a position to play for postseason honors,” he said. “It’s always a difficult thing to expand and make scheduling fair.” – The Advocate

Emmert charged with saving NCAA

Mark Emmert enters the NCAA at a time where conference expansion and the NCAA Tournament could redefine college sports. More than raising money, now his job will be to manage it — or more accurately, to help set a course for college athletics that keeps schools from a vast sinkhole created by fiscal irresponsibility rampant nationwide. Good luck with that. As NCAA president, Emmert’s job description is to be visionary, to lead, to shape reform and try to steer college sports away from the cliff where it often appears to be headed. – Seattle Times

LSU hires Steve Ensminger

Steve Ensminger, a former starting quarterback for LSU, has been named the school’s tight ends coach, head coach Les Miles announced on Thursday. Ensminger, a 1982 graduate of LSU, played quarterback for the Tigers under head coach Charlie McClendon from 1976-79. Ensminger played in three bowl games at LSU and has followed that by coaching in 10 bowl games as an assistant. “We’re excited about having Steve join our staff,” Miles said. “He comes to LSU with a great deal of coaching experience in the SEC and he knows Louisiana very well. He’s demonstrated expertise in coaching on the offensive side of the ball and he gives us a coach who will be very valuable in recruiting. “He’s also an LSU guy, which just reinforces that this is the right hire for us.” Ensminger comes to LSU after serving as an assistant coach at Auburn from 2003-08. Ensminger spent the 2009 season as the passing game coordinator at Smiths Station High School in Auburn, Ala. – Bayou Bengal Insider

Les Miles on LSU Hot Seat?

Skip Bertman was asked before speaking at the Louisiana State University at Alexandria athletics banquet Monday night if it was fair to say that LSU football coach Les Miles is on the “hot seat” for the 2010 season. “No,” said Bertman, the Tigers’ former baseball coaching legend and former athletics director. “Criticism? Absolutely, positively, because he’s making a lot of money. But hot seat? No.” Before speaking to the LSUA baseball and softball teams, other school officials and fans, Bertman tried to put in perspective the most recent decade of extraordinary success in LSU football compared to, say, the 11 previous years when LSU’s record was 58-65. “Then came (Nick) Saban, and then came Miles,” he said. “These are the best 10 years we have ever had — five years with Saban and five with Miles. When you win two national championships and you’re winning 10, 11, 12 or 13 games a season, the fans expect that annually. “And the problem with the (Southeastern Conference) today is that it’s better than it was 10 years ago. Not to take anything away from Saban, but when Nick did it, it was easier to do than when Les did it. All the schools in the league have expectations that are so high so that you’ve got schools paying coaches $3 and $4 million, and they all have better facilities.” Miles’s salary is $3.95 million, and he has drawn criticism from fans, media and former LSU players over the last two seasons, when the Tigers went 8-8 in the SEC. Much of the criticism has been for time management problems and persistent offensive penalties. – Town Talk

LSU holds onto John Chavis

Mark Richt made a good run, but John Chavis has decided to stay put at LSU. LSU officials confirmed Thursday that Chavis’ deal at LSU will be sweetened after hammering out a new agreement with Chavis on Wednesday night. Georgia had offered Chavis a three-year deal worth at least $600,000 annually to be the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator. LSU athletic director Joe Alleva said Thursday that the Tigers did what they needed to to keep Chavis, who earned $450,000 in salary this season — his first at LSU. Keeping Chavis is a coup for the Tigers, whose defense improved substantially on his watch this season. They’re ranked 12th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 16 points per game. But more importantly, they regained their edge under Chavis, a no-frills guy who’s done it at a high level now in the SEC for the better part of the last two decades. – ESPN

John Chavis doesn’t refute Georgia rumors

How serious is LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis about the Georgia defensive coordinator’s job? Well, he’s not really saying. At least, not with the Tigers set to take on Penn State in two days in the Capital One Bowl. Chavis was asked two different times Wednesday at a Capital One Bowl press conference about his interest in the Georgia job and/or whether or not he expected to be at LSU next year. Both times, he essentially gave a lengthy no comment and certainly did nothing to distance himself from the Georgia job. “I’ll be happy to talk about our players and about this bowl game,” Chavis said. “Beyond that, I really want to leave it like it is.” Several people close to the situation contend that Chavis has emerged as Mark Richt’s top choice and that it’s his job if he wants it. The Bulldogs are prepared to pay $600,000 or more per year and would give Chavis a three-year contract. He earned $450,000 this season at LSU. – ESPN

Larry Porter Leads Memphis Search?

Well placed sources at Memphis tell Football Rumor Mill that LSU running backs coach Larry Porter has emerged at the leader in Memphis’s search for a new coach to replace the fired Tommy West.

In the early stages, it appeared MTSU coach Rick Stockstill would land the job. However, he pulled out and decided to stay in Murfreesboro. In the meantime, a schism developed among the powers at Memphis. It seems AD R.C. Johnson wanted Porter, while other prominent boosters wanted to move in another direction.

Sources indicate this morning that it appears Johnson is winning the battle. More to come from Football Rumor Mill…

Rodriguez likely okay at Michigan, but what if he’s not?

I agree, he’s not a good fit. From nearly the day Rodriguez arrived in Ann Arbor, a significant faction of Wolverines fans simply hasn’t liked him, whether because he’s not a “Michigan Man” like Les Miles, or because he runs that new-fangled spread offense, or because he’s got a “twang.” Throw in all the backlash from West Virginia, the lawsuits, the potential NCAA infractions, and it’s clear there was only one way he could have won people over: to start winning, and in a hurry. That has not happened. That said, I’m still 90 percent certain he’ll get another year. AD Bill Martin has been outspoken in his support, albeit in sometimes bizarre context. (Paul Johnson? Not a good comparison. Though SI appreciates Martin’s readership.) Martin has already announced he’s retiring next September, and I doubt he or school president Mary Sue Coleman will want to stick his successor with a brand-new coach not of that person’s choosing. Furthermore, many of Michigan’s present problems can be directly attributed to the high amount of attrition that occurred during the transition from Lloyd Carr to Rodriguez. Another coaching change would only prompt more defections. As for Harbaugh, there’s no doubt he’d be a great hire, but I’m hearing the Michigan brass hasn’t yet forgiven him for taking shots at his alma mater’s academic standards two years ago. However, if this time next year Michigan still sits in the bottom half of the Big Ten, a call will almost certainly go out to one of its own — if not Harbaugh, then the formerly coveted Miles, who, in SEC life-span years, may well have worn out his welcome at LSU by then. – SI.com

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