Last time I checked, media figures aren't supposed to take advantage of their positions and create the news themselves. But sometimes, as Agent Cooper used to say in Twin Peaks, “things are not always what they seem.”
Take the example of Kirk Herbstreit.
Yesterday morning, hours before the LSU Tigers were to compete for the SEC Championship, the co-host of ESPN’s College GameDay pregame show broke the news that LSU head coach Les Miles was on his way to Ann Arbor, having agreed to coach the Michigan Wolverines beginning next season. Herbstreit cited a reliable albeit unnamed source who told him it was a “done deal.”
As it turned out, Miles said he had neither visited Ann Arbor nor been in contact with Michigan athletic director Bill Martin for the purpose of pursuing the Wolverines’ vacant head coaching position. Communication and face-to-face meetings being pre-requisites for virtually all administrative hirings in this country, this revelation would have rendered Herbstreit’s scoop at the least premature, if not entirely baseless.
Nonetheless, the former Ohio State University quarterback ran with the story. Whether the network checked the source and felt it was solid enough to give him the go sign, whether they consulted and ultimately dismissed what each school had to say, is unclear. What is clear is that Herbstreit’s misinformation set into motion a rapid chain of events that resulted in Michigan's top (read: Michigan’s only) candidate for head coach verbally agreeing to a lucrative contract extension that will keep him at LSU for the foreseeable future. Thereby evaporating, in a matter of hours, any chance for Michigan to speak with Miles—a request granted by LSU athletic director Skip Bertman just a day earlier.
Of course, Herbstreit still stands by his story even now, despite the assurances of everyone in the LSU athletic department that Miles has not and will not entertain offers from any other schools, period. And despite the fact that no one seems to be interested in how such misinformation could have made it in front of the cameras, at such a critical time for so many affected parties, there are some of us that just can’t ignore the smell.
What Herbstreit’s reporting seemed to lack in journalistic integrity, it more than made up in school spirit. From his white-hot intensity to his intolerance for failure at any level, Les Miles is Little Bo, pulled directly from the Schembechler mold. And as such, the seemingly perfect fit to replace the retiring Lloyd Carr, the key to restoring Michigan football to prominence as one of the most successful programs in the nation. And as anyone from Michigan or Ohio can tell you, that means beating your arch-rival on a regular basis.
As talk grew that this was very likely Carr’s last season as coach, speculation grew that the position was Miles’ if he wanted it. For the one-time Schembechler assistant, this was the holy grail of opportunities—so much so that he had a “Michigan clause” written into his LSU contract, allowing him a buyout should a coaching vacancy arise in Ann Arbor. Nothing spoke to his devotion to U-M more than the stories his colleagues would share of Miles dropping to a knee as he spoke of his alma mater—out of sheer reverence.
So given all this back story, why the sudden change of heart? What would cause the man to negotiate a contract extension, particularly while he’s working to prepare his team for the SEC Championship game?
One guess would be Miles’ desire to concentrate on his team, his players and their goal of winning the SEC title without distraction. Another guess would be to avoid the negative impact that any unfounded speculation would have on his current employer’s recruiting efforts. And still another guess would be that he simply received an offer he could not refuse. All three serve as plausible rationale for Miles’ actions; similarly, all seem to be direct consequences of breaking an unsubstantiated news story about his agreeing to coach Michigan.
As Oklahoma's dismantling of #1 Missouri became apparent, assuring Ohio State of a trip to New Orleans and a berth in the BCS championship game, the former Buckeye signal-caller became almost giddy. Awash in scarlet-and-gray pride and even giggling at times during the broadcast. Not only had his Buckeyes gained another shot at the national title, but the hated Wolverines had lost their best hope of drawing even with their bitter rival. And all—it seems—because coach Miles was fed up with “misinformation”, as he put it, becoming a distraction for his team; and because the university, fed up with speculation of his leaving Baton Rouge for Ann Arbor, offered him the keys to the kingdom. And all—it seems—because of an ESPN report on a “done deal” between Miles and Michigan. Smell anything yet?
Whether anyone bothers to get to the bottom of this or not, the former Buckeye’s well-timed misinformation should garner him an honorary pair of gold pants next November during Senior Day in Columbus, held the night before what could be OSU's fifth straight win over the Wolverines. He may also find a nice little gold-and-purple gift-wrapped surprise under the family tree this holiday, bearing the inscription, "From Les With Love..." Herbstreit’s bogus reporting ended up making Miles a million or two richer than he was when he woke up this morning, but his work was far from finished. As the final minutes of Oklahoma’s upset win ticked away and #2 West Virginia's 13-9 upset loss to Pitt (a 28-point underdog) went final, Herbie completed what by all appearances could be considered the most ambitious one-day campaign for a spot on the LSU Board of Regents on record, by lobbying voters to figure out a way to move LSU up to #2 so they can play his Buckeyes for the national championship. This would involve the Tigers (who are currently #6) leap-frogging two higher-ranked teams (Kansas and Georgia), and staying ahead of white-hot USC and Oklahoma.
As I type this, Coach Miles has just phoned into ESPN and is now stumping furiously for his team on SportsCenter. He has become this year's version of Urban Meyer, another step closer to New Orleans with every spin of the media machine. If you still don’t smell something by now, go find a mirror. You nose may have fallen off.
Will Mr. Herbstreit be reprimanded for his actions? Will someone at ESPN bother to investigate his "reliable source"? Or will all of this receive a quiet burial, as quickly forgotten as the $20 million carrot fellow Ohio State University sympathizer George Steinbrenner dangled in front of Wolverine quarterback Drew Henson in 2001 (all Drew had to do before endorsing the check was simply forego his senior year as the Wolverines' starting QB). Remember 2001? Year One of the Tressell Era? The first Buckeye victory over Michigan in seven years?
(It's irrelevant but nonetheless worth noting at this point that Drew Henson did beat Ohio State once, in 2000... or one more time than Herbstreit defeated Michigan in his career.)
ESPN’s aforementioned analyst notwithstanding, there are many culpable forces behind the Les Miles Debacle. First, Coach Carr, who decided to call it quits the day before the Ohio State game. It showed the following day as the listless Wolverines turned in their least-productive offensive performance since Bo was a Woody Hayes assistant nearly a half-century ago. Carr's November 19 announcement forced the school into its coaching search before most conferences had finished their regular season schedules. Second, athletic director Bill Martin. Who approaches their top candidate's athletic director while the top candidate is preparing his team for their conference championship? Particularly when he all but begs you to wait until the season is over?
And lastly, Les Miles himself. The braintrust inside the Michigan athletic compound should never again afford him the opportunity to accept--or decline--the position of head football coach. To put it mildly, Miles' words and actions did little honor to the school that gave him his degree, his varsity letter and his first coaching job. In fact, if his post-game press conference is any indication, it seems the Wolverines provided him little more than punchline material. After insisting that he's still a Michigan man and will wear the blue whenever they play Ohio State, he then smiled and added, "eventually they're gonna win".
Writers and reporters chuckled, surprised by the coach's playful treatment of such a sensitive topic. All the while, the road for the maize and blue grows longer, the mountain higher. It's tough to be a Michigan Wolverine these days. You can see it on the faces of all connected to the U--from players and coaches to alums, boosters, season-ticket holders and casual fans. Being Ohio State's bitch is difficult enough. Being punked by a fellow Michigan man is another thing entirely.
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