Nov 14, 2015; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Les Miles before a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU has reached perhaps the lowest point in Les Miles’ tenure as head coach and that could well mean his 11th season will be his last.
The Tigers have lost three consecutive games for the first time since 1999, which has led to speculation that the school is seriously considering firing Miles.
“I don’t know anything other than let’s go to work; let’s rally the troops; let’s enjoy the men that I’ve hired and the young men that I’ve recruited. Let’s coach them hard and go away with victory,” Miles said Monday.
“This will always be about our players and the team. I’m a separate piece. I orchestrate and move with and hopefully am successful. That’s the only away I know how to do it.”
The Tigers (7-3, 4-3 in the SEC) finish the regular season at home against Texas A&M (8-3, 4-3) on Saturday. Miles’ future figures to be settled one way or another before LSU gets to a yet-to-be-determined bowl.
“I’m a nonfactor,” he said Monday. “LSU has been, always will be about the team.”
Miles’ contract runs through 2019, and his buyout, before Jan. 1, is $15 million. The buyout drops to $12.9 million on Jan. 1.
LSU is 8-7 in SEC play over the past two years and 13-10 in the past three.
“I don’t want to talk about that,” defensive tackle Christian LaCouture said of the Miles speculation. “Coach Miles is our coach. We love him to death. We love him.”
The Tigers were No. 2 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings before losing consecutive games against Alabama, Arkansas and Ole Miss by a combined 55 points. They never led in any of the three games.
The loss to the Rebels was especially ugly as the Tigers fell behind 24-0 and committed 13 penalties on its way to a 38-17 defeat.
The LSU defense was ranked in the top 15 nationally in fewest yards allowed before the losing streak, but it has given up 30 or more points and 400-plus yards in each of the three losses.
“Got to keep our heads up and keep clawing to the end of the year,” linebacker Deion Jones said.
