Samedi

LSU has to sit out this weekend's SEC Championship, but the first churn of the coaching shuffle rumor mill suggested The Mad Hatter was still shuffling the deck. Tigers Head Coach Les Miles was reportedly offered $27 million over five years to take the vacant spot as boss hog in Arkansas. But most of the Tiger faithful likely breathed a sigh of relief today when LSU announced they were giving the 59-year-old coach a raise and a seven-year contract extension.

Miles called the Arkansas offer was  "a sincere one" during a press conference this afternoon because of his friendship with Razorbacks Athletic Director Jeff Long, but he said the figures reported with the deal were not true.

"It's embarrassing for me to have to talk about money," Miles said. "This Miles family is awfully comfortable in south Louisiana."

Indeed, the details of the new deal are still to be worked out. LSU intended to address Miles' contract after LSU's bowl game this year, but the Arkansas rumors "accelerated our process a little," LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva said in a statement released by the school.

Other than insuring that seal-clapping and bowling dances are still hallmarks of Death Valley into the foreseeable future, LSU will lock in their second winningest coach in school history with the new deal. Miles has a record of 85-20 since taking over the Tigers program in 2005, and has guided the Bayou Bengals to a BCS championship and a pair of SEC titles.

"Only two coaches in the 119-year history of LSU football have coached as many years at this school and only one has won more games," Alleva said in the statement. "Les Miles has made a commitment to LSU and LSU is solidifying its commitment to Les Miles."