Gundy comments on Les Miles firing
Former OSU coach Les Miles is now LSU’s former coach.
Miles, with his 114-34 overall record, was fired Sunday four games into his 12th season in Baton Rouge. He left the Cowboys for LSU, clearing the way for Mike Gundy — his offensive coordinator at OSU — to move into the head coaching job.
Monday, Gundy spoke of Miles and him being relieved of his duties despite winning a national championship and owning a record most coaches and schools would welcome. Gundy reflected on a conversation he had with Mike Leach when the latter was still at Texas Tech.
“I was talking to him before a game, and I think it was maybe his 10th year or something out at Texas Tech,” Gundy said. “(Leach) said, ‘You know, if you stay at one place long enough, you’re eventually going to get fired in coaching.’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘Well, you’ll see. You just hang around a place long enough as a coach, they’re eventually going to get tired of you and fire you.’
“I think that’s probably the best example of what happened yesterday.”
Miles seemed near to going home to his alma mater at Michigan several years ago, only to remain at LSU. With a loss to Auburn on Saturday, the Tigers fell to 2-2 this after entering the season as a national title contender.
Since 2011, LSU is 15-11 against SEC competition.
“His winning percentage was better than Nick
Saban’s at LSU,” Gundy said. “Les Miles is a good football coach. A lot of people would argue about offense, but that’s not his style. He sticks with what he’s comfortable with. I know the guy’s intelligent. He hasn’t forgotten the game.
“Just the world we live in today. What Mike Leach said is probably true.”
OPPONENT WATCH: STRONG STICKS WITH BEDFORD
Rumors swirled that Texas coach Charlie Strong might make a change at defensive coordinator, perhaps demoting Vance Bedford as soon as Monday. The Longhorns rank No. 107 in scoring defense, allowing 47 points in a double-overtime win over Notre Dame and 50 in a loss at Cal.
Instead, Strong gave Bedford, who spent one season as Gundy’s defensive coordinator at OSU, a vote of confidence.
“Vance is a professional,” Strong said. “And I look at his track record, and it’s not like he’s just all of a sudden forgot how to coach defense. Him and I were together at Florida. We won a national championship together. Even before then he was at Michigan, he won a national championship. He had outstanding defenses.
“But he’s a professional and he knows himself that we need to get better. And he’ll be one of the first guys to say it. He’ll own up to it. It’s not like he’s running from it.”
Strong did announce that senior right guard Kent
Perkins won’t play against OSU, after his early Friday arrest on DWI charges. Strong said Perkins was suspended for this week’s game.
Perkins attended Texas’ meeting with the media and answered questions about his situation, first issuing a statement.
“I want to apologize to my team, my coaches, my family, all my loved ones, anybody that’s ever looked up to me,” Perkins said. “I made a mistake, and I really apologize for that. That’s not me. That’s not my character. That’s not what I’m about.
“I’m just ready to gain the trust back from those people, and I know I disappointed a lot of people, and the biggest thing right now is I just want to move forward, forget about this mistake. I’m a leader on this team. I need to act like that on and off the field.”