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Les Miles is interested in Oregon State job

By Brad Berreman

BATON ROUGE, LA - SEPTEMBER 10: Head coach Les Miles of the LSU Tigers reacts during a game at Tiger Stadium on September 10, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE, LA - SEPTEMBER 10: Head coach Les Miles of the LSU Tigers reacts during a game at Tiger Stadium on September 10, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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Oregon State now appears to be an in-demand coaching job, with Les Miles letting it out he has interest.

Last week, former UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel said he is interested in the coaching job at Oregon State. The Beavers are 1-8 this season, with Gary Andersen leaving his post as head coach in early October. Just how good a job it is in Corvallis is a big question regardless of this year’s record, as a lower-tier Pac-12 team recruiting some of the same geographical areas as Washington, Washington State and Stanford without the same cache’ or track record of success.

Les Miles is taking a year out of coaching after being fired by LSU early last season, and he’s working as an analyst for FOX right now. He should be a candidate for multiple college jobs though, including the likely upcoming opening at Ole Miss. He’s not a “Pac-12 guy” in the sense most people would think of it, due to age along with deep roots in the SEC and the Big Ten in particular.

But Miles is reportedly interested in the job at Oregon State.

Miles had a 114-34 record over 11-plus seasons (2005-2016) at LSU, with a national title in 2007 and two SEC titles. Add in his four seasons at Oklahoma State (2001-2004), and Miles record as a head coach is 142-55 (.721 winning percentage).

Andersen is surely a lesser coach than Miles is, at least on the surface. But there’s still a rebuild to be done at Oregon State, and it never got traction during Andersen’s two-plus seasons, with a 7-23 mark under him and a 7-26 mark overall the last three seasons.

For what’s worth, at a fairly early stage still, Oregon State has not contacted Miles.

Related Story: 5 reasons Les Miles should take the Ole Miss job

Miles can probably recruit SEC and Big Ten country effectively. But his ability to carry that to the West Coast would be largely dependent on who he can get as assistant coaches. Working for Miles would carry appeal to some assistant candidates, and it’s clear he wants his interest in Oregon State out there publicly. But it comes off as a ploy to create the perception of a market for his services, and Oregon State should not be a willing pawn in that game.

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