 "Photo: Wesley Taylor")
The LSU football team emerged from its walk-through and chapel portions in preparation for the Southeastern Conference championship Saturday morning, and questions abounded for the Tigers.
Would Les Miles accept the advances of his alma mater, Michigan, a school where he played on the offensive line and later served as an assistant coach for 10 years?
Had Miles already agreed to a deal with Michigan before the Tigers took the field at the Georgia Dome?
Would Miles bolt from LSU after the SEC title game, leaving the Tigers to fend for themselves in an upcoming bowl appearance?
The LSU coach answered all these questions with a resounding, emphatic and definite response: No.
"I go down to chapel. When [my players] see me, they're sitting there going, 'Coach, sounds like you're catching a plane Monday,'" Miles said. "That's not true. I had to tell them."
Miles first told his team, then the media, that he would indeed stay at LSU and not accept the head coaching position at Michigan.
"There are not many places in America as good as this one [at LSU]," Miles said. "It's got everything: a great school, great campus, great state. I'm home."
LSU offensive coordinator Gary Crowton, who joined Miles in January 2007, said Miles' announcement to the team stirred the hearts of the Tiger coaches and players.
"It was emotional when coach came over and just said, 'Look, just so you guys know, I'm here for this team. I love it here at LSU,'" Crowton said. "It was very motivating for me and the players."
One player who drew strength from Miles' pledge was senior linebacker Luke Sanders, who said the announcement galvanized the Tigers to play for their coach.
"He told us he was going to be here through the rest of these seniors' careers, and that's one thing that made us work hard," Sanders said.
But Miles said he does not think his words of commitment to LSU provided the Tigers an edge against Tennessee.
"The coach is just a coach," Miles said. "I felt like if there was a distraction, I had to remove it, but I don't really think it was all that big a deal. I think they could handle it."
One player who shared these sentiments was senior safety Craig Steltz. The veteran said the Tigers were primed to play, regardless of their head coach's status in the future.
"The guys were focused enough to go out and play the game," Steltz said. "We knew that [Miles] was running out with the LSU hat [Saturday]. So no matter what happened, whether he was leaving or staying, we were going to play our butts off [Saturday]."
And Steltz did just that, recording a team-high eight tackles for the Tigers.
Another Tiger who shone on the SEC's supreme stage was sophomore wide receiver Brandon LaFell, who had struggled catching passes earlier this season.
LaFell caught sophomore quarterback Ryan Perrilloux's longest pass Saturday, a 48-yard bomb that set the table for the Tigers' only offensive touchdown of the day.
LaFell said he has always trusted Miles, and Saturday was no different for the sophomore receiver.
"[Miles] came and told us like a man that he wasn't leaving," LaFell said. "Since I've been here, he's never lied to me, so I took his word. We all took his word, and we just went out and played for ourselves."
LaFell has two more years of eligibility remaining at LSU. He said continuing to be instructed by the coach who landed him at LSU is meaningful.
"[Miles] is one of the guys that recruited me and brought me in, came and sat in my house and ate with my family," LaFell said. "He means a lot to me. He recruited a lot of good guys, a lot of good players. It means a lot to know that our coach is going to stick behind us. His alma mater is offering him a good job, but hey, he's taking the best job down here."
Miles has forged ties with LaFell and many other football players. Two Tigers Miles specifically mentioned as being dear to him were Steltz and senior running back Jacob Hester.
"The sincerity of the relationships between coaches and players, they're real," Miles said. "Jacob Hester, Steltz, these are great kids. To think that there's anything less sincere than the relationship that I have with my team, there's nothing more important."
Hester agreed with his coach's sentiments, saying his relationship with Miles is genuine.
"He came to me the other day, and he just apologized. 'I'm sorry this is even interfering with your game,'" Hester said. "And I just told him, 'Coach, I understand.' He said, 'No you don't. I want to be here.'"
"That just means so much. We have such a great relationship with our head coach. We feel like we can just go up to him and talk about anything. It's one of those relationships, and for him to pass up his dream job just to stay with the guys here, that means a lot to us."
---- Contact Jonathan Finney at jfinney@lsureveille.com
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