LSU gives Michigan permission to talk to Miles

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Michigan athletics officials asked for and received permission from LSU to meet with Les Miles about the Wolverines' head football coaching vacancy.

Michigan must wait until after the SEC Championship to talk to Les Miles. (Getty Images)

LSU athletic director Skip Bertman granted the request on condition that Michigan representatives wait until after Saturday's Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta before starting negotiations, LSU spokesman Herb Vincent said.

Vincent said Bertman and LSU chancellor Sean O'Keefe also plan to meet with Miles next week to discuss his contract.

"We're trying to get the SEC championship game behind us that's why we're scheduling these things for next week," Vincent said.

LSU was not prepared to make a statement about the extent to which the school was prepared to compete with Michigan's offer, should one be made, Vincent said.

"We're just looking forward to the game Saturday and that's the focus of the entire program right now, Saturday's game against Tennessee," Vincent said.

Miles, in his third season as LSU coach, went 11-2 his first two years. The Tigers are 10-2 this season and ranked fifth in the AP poll.

Calls and e-mails seeking comment were left with Michigan athletic director Bill Martin on Wednesday afternoon and evening.

Martin, who has not commented on the search since Lloyd Carr's announcement, interviewed Michigan coordinators Ron English and Mike DeBord earlier this week.

"We're not going to make any comments on the search," Michigan spokesman Bruce Madej said Wednesday night.

Miles seems to have everything college football's winningest program is looking for, including ties to the school and the late-great coach Bo Schembechler.

He played at Michigan and was on the coaching staff in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he met his wife.

Last week, though, Miles pleaded with the media to let the topic rest.