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    Les Miles Turned Down Michigan Head Coaching Job in 2011, According to Ex-LSU AD

    Adam Wells@adamwells1985X.com LogoFeatured ColumnistSeptember 29, 2016

    FILE - This Sept. 17, 2016 file photo shows LSU head coach Les Miles watching from the sideline in the second half of an NCAA college football game against Mississippi State in Baton Rouge, La. Two people familiar with the decision say LSU has fired Miles and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and promoted defensive line coach Ed Orgeron to interim head coach. The person spoke to The Associated Press on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016 on condition of anonymity because no announcement has been made. Miles firing comes one day after LSU lost 18-13 at Auburn. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, file)
    Gerald Herbert/Associated Press

    The stories of Les Miles and the Michigan Wolverines in 2016 couldn't be more different, but the former LSU Tigers head coach apparently turned down a chance to lead the program in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

    In an interview with ESPN Radio 104.5 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (via ESPN.com's David Ching), on Wednesday, former LSU athletic director Skip Bertman said Miles rejected an offer from the Wolverines in 2011.

    "Les Miles turned that job down for more money at Michigan. He turned it down," Bertman said. "He would never say that because he's a very humble guy. But I was there; he turned it down."

    Miles was fired as LSU's head coach Sunday following a 2-2 start to the season, with his last game being an 18-13 defeat against Auburn after LSU thought it had scored the game-winning touchdown with no time left:

    Les Miles Turned Down Michigan Head Coaching Job in 2011, According to Ex-LSU AD
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    The Wolverines fired former head coach Rich Rodriguez after the team's Gator Bowl loss against Mississippi State on New Year's Day in 2011 after going 15-22 in three seasons. 

    Miles' name immediately came up as a candidate to take over at Michigan because he played on the Wolverines offensive line from 1974 to 1975 and coached the offensive line from 1987 to 1994. 

    Bertman expanded on the situation that led Miles to turn down the Michigan job:

    LSU had just given him this new contract, and the president of Domino's Pizza flew down on a Domino's plane and offered him [the Michigan job], and he says, 'You've got to tell me tonight, Les, because if you don't say yes, I'm going to get Brady Hoke.' And sure enough, he took off and the next day you read in the paper that he hired Brady Hoke.

    Dave Brandon, the former CEO of Domino's Pizza, was Michigan's athletic director at the time. Miles signed a seven-year extension at LSU in January 2011. He led the Tigers to the BCS National Championship Game the following season before Alabama shut them out 21-0.

    Michigan eventually hired Hoke, who made an impact in his first season, earning an 11-2 record and a Sugar Bowl win over Virginia Tech, but he went 20-18 over the next three years.

    The Wolverines, who hired current head coach Jim Harbaugh prior to the 2015 season, are 4-0 this season and rank fourth in the Associated Press Top 25.

    Miles continued to succeed at LSU before his dismissal. The Tigers won 37 games from 2012 to 2015 but have not been in the national title conversation since losing to Alabama five years ago.

    Hindsight being what it is, perhaps Miles should have given more consideration to the Michigan job. LSU was one of the best jobs in the country, though, and it proved to be difficult for him to walk away.