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Les Miles and Kansas have “mutually agreed” to part ways immediately, per a Monday news release from the university.
The decision comes after Kansas placed the third-year coach on administrative leave Friday as it reviewed allegations of sexual misconduct from an internal investigation by LSU, Miles’ former employer. Kansas athletic director Jeff Long, who hired Miles in his second year on the job in 2019, said the university will begin a search for a replacement coach immediately.
“I am extremely disappointed for our university, fans and everyone involved with our football program,” Long’s statement read. “There is a lot of young talent on this football team, and I have no doubt we will identify the right individual to lead this program. We will begin the search for a new head coach immediately with an outside firm to assist in this process. We need to win football games, and that is exactly what we’re going to do.”
(UPDATE: Long resigned Wednesday, although The Kansas City Star reported that he will be paid through March and then receive a $1.375 million buyout in 11 monthly installments through February 2022.)
The release also includes a statement from Miles, who asked players to remain at Kansas despite his departure:
“This is certainly a difficult day for me and for my family. I love this university and the young men in our football program,” Miles said. “I have truly enjoyed being the head coach at KU and know that it is in a better place now than when I arrived. To our student-athletes, I want you to remember that you came to play for KU and earn a degree here. So, I implore you to stay and build on what we started and do all of the things we talked about doing together. There is a bright future for all of you and for KU football.”
LSU on Thursday released a 2013 internal report — it and Miles fought for years in court to keep it sealed — that determined the coach used “poor judgment” in dealings with female students. According to the report, students who worked in the Tigers’ athletic department accused Miles of inappropriate behavior, with another accusing him of “unwanted touching.” The report found no evidence of sexual relationships between Miles or the students.
The report, handled by the Taylor Porter law firm, also discovered a 2013 email from former athletic director Joe Alleva in which he said Miles should be fired after the coach ignored a ban from contacting students. Alleva enacted the ban in 2012 after Miles’ first accuser came forward; he did not fire Miles until 2016, when a loss to Auburn dropped LSU to 2-2 four games into the college football season.
Miles went 3-18 in two seasons in Lawrence, Kan., including 0-9 in 2020. That was a far cry from the success he enjoyed at LSU from 2005 to 2016, where he went 114-34, won the 2007 national championship and coached in another title game in 2011. Following his 2016 firing, Miles remained out of coaching for the remainder of the 2016, ’17 and ’18 seasons.
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