Whenever the talk turns to the 2010 coaching hot seat, invariably Rich Rodriguez of Michigan takes a place at the head of the table and the forefront of the discussion.
After Rodriguez? In some circles, the coach with the next hottest seat would be LSU’s Les Miles. Couple a pedestrian 17-9 overall mark -- including an unacceptable 8-8 record in conference play -- since winning the national championship following the 2007 season with some inexplicable game management and you have the perfect hot-seat recipe.
Especially in the highly-competitive and lucrative world of SEC football.
However, the seat Miles’ backside resides on may not be as hot as some people -- including myself -- think.
Speaking before an athletics banquet Monday night, former LSU athletic director and current athletics department fundraiser Gary Bertman attempted to toss water on the swirling rumor mill.
“No,” Bertman told the Alexandria Town Talk paper when asked if it was fair to say that Miles is on the hot seat for the 2010 season.
“Criticism? Absolutely, positively, because he’s making a lot of money. But hot seat? No.”
Of course, Bertman does not have the power to hire or fire anyone, but having a school legend on your side certainly doesn’t hurt the situation. And Miles might need all the help he gets if he has yet another ho-hum season in 2010.
