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LSU head coach Les Miles, his future under scrutiny with rumors of his impending dismissal, said he is "going to go on to work" and not considering retirement at his weekly press conference Monday. Miles was asked if he met with administrators or athletic department officials about his job.
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"I don't want to go there," Miles said. "I would be not doing my job as the head coach at LSU. What is the future to me is after the Texas A&M game. I'm not going to find myself watching TV or reading papers, or doing anything but preparing game plans, looking at the advantages that we can have, and seeing how we can exploit them to victory.
"I'm going to go on to work ... at some point in time there's a me in this, not while I'm coaching. This will always be about our players and the team."
LSU gave a dismal effort in a 38-17 loss to Ole Miss on Saturday that has fueled more speculation about Miles' job status.
Miles said he won't address his future until after the regular season.
"(The media) had me in a job not long ago too," Miles said about the reports of his firing, referencing a reported move to Michigan in 2007.
"The information I have is 'Do your job as you would do it.' If someone is asking me if I'm coaching for my job, I feel like I've been doing that for 11 years. I guess what I'm telling you is that you can have a flat tire for a while. But here at LSU ... this is an elite program. We expect to regroup and get going fast. That's really where we're at."
The Tigers, who lost three straight to drop to 7-3, host Texas A&M on Saturday night.
Miles is expected to have a "special meeting" with his players Monday afternoon, team sources told the Times-Picayune. The extent of the meeting is not known, but there is growing concern on the LSU team that players may be losing their coach in the near future.
After Saturday's loss to Ole Miss, Miles told reporters that he was going to address the team about the increasing speculation concerning his future in Baton Rouge.
"It's going to be in the paper. I might as well explain it to them," Miles said Saturday.
According to the Times-Picayune, The Tiger Athletic Foundation is prepared to pay the $15 million buyout clause in Miles' contract that would be trigged by LSU terminating Miles before Jan. 1. The newspaper also reported that Miles recently met with school officials to discuss his future.
Miles has a 110-32 record in 11 seasons with the Tigers and has won 10 or more games seven times. He won the BCS National Championship in 2007 and lost in the national title game in 2011.
Miles' team started 7-0 this season behind the success of star running back Leonard Fournette. But a loss to Alabama on Nov. 7 started a three-game losing streak and LSU has been outscored 99-47 during the skid.
The $15 million buyout is payable over eight years and includes an additional $2 million total payable to assistant coaches who have a "Les Miles clause" in their deals.
