Les Miles has reached a settlement with the Kansas Jayhawks football team after both parties decided to part ways on Monday night. According to USA Today, the former Kansas head coach will receive close to $2 million, which is what he would have been paid for the rest of the year. Kansas athletic director Jeff Long was asked why a settlement was reached instead of firing Miles for cause.
“There come times when institutions and athletic programs and universities have to make tough decisions,” Long said. “As I sought counsel from the university and the chancellor, we arrived at what we felt was in the best interest of the program and that was for us to mutually part ways with Les. To do that, we had to get to a certain amount of compensation.”
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While Kansas didn’t give a specific reason as to why Miles is no longer the head coach, this stems from LSU releasing findings from a 2013 investigation that focused on Miles’ conduct when he was the head coach of the Tigers. Miles is accused of inappropriate behavior towards female students as he allegedly contacted some of them via Facebook and text. He also allegedly met one of the women off-campus and kissed at least one of them.
“This is certainly a difficult day for me and for my family,” Miles said in a statement on Monday. “I love this university and the young men in our football program. 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.”
Joe Alleva, the then-athletic director of LSU, barred miles from being along with student workers and there were talks of firing Miles in 2013. However, he stayed with the team until 2016, when he was let go after a 2-2 start. Long said Kansas did “multiple” background checks and asked miles if there was anything regarding his past that would be a concern.
“I also asked coach Miles, directly during the interview process, whether there was anything in the past that could potentially embarrass the university, or himself or our program, and he said no,” Long said. “We also did our due diligence by talking to individuals within the LSU athletic department to see if there was anything we should be aware of regarding coach Miles’ tenure at LSU and received no indications of any issues.”
