Early December in College Football Land

Nothing like early December in the world of college football. Games are over, bowls are set, coaches being hired/fired (except for Michigan of course), heisman talk is in full-on mode, and hype is at a fever pitch.

And to prove this weird time of year is infact weird...the Capital One Bowl has sold out in record time. Over 62,000 seats were sold in less than a day. Temporary seats were brought in, and they too were sold out. I don't know what it is. Maybe because this is basically a home game for the Gators...which is more likely, or is it that people are coming out in droves to bid Lloyd a fond farewell. You decide?

Speaking of coaching hiring and firing...what the hell is really going on in Ann Arbor right now? Is Les Miles coming or going? The answer to that question will probably not revealed until after January 7th.

I will disclaim this next portion of the article. I was rather hard on Miles in my post a few days ago "Miles Away". Much has been reported since then and facts are coming to light. I don't hate Les Miles...he very well may be a Michigan Man. Details are sketchy...and I should not have jumped to conclusions.

Lets look at this from an objective point of view. Everyone (at least everyone at mgoblogdotcom) is ready to chastise Bill Martin for the way he handled the Les Miles situation last weekend. But, come on, how could he have done it any other way?

Last week, Bill Martin was given permission to talk to Les Miles, but only after the SEC Championship game. Then, ESPN reports that Miles is set to go to UM and will announce it after the SEC title game. Les, not knowing anything about this apparently, freaks out, tries to contact Bill Martin...Martin does not return Les' messages, and Miles puts the rumors to rest during a presser 2 hours before the game.

Bill Martin, knowing that he is on shaky ground as it is with speaking to Miles any time, isn't about to start returning phone calls before he is allowed to do so. LSU gave him very explicit instructions. Bill Martin is not an idiot. If he calls Miles before the SEC title game...all bets are off and the deal goes down in flames. If he waits, the deal is still alive.

But what happened Saturday night is what threw off the whole thing...LSU won, Mizzou lost and West Virginia lost.

Now all of the sudden, LSU is playing for a national title. No one...and I mean no one is going to contact Les Miles, and there is no way LSU is granting anyone permission before January 8th.

Les saw it coming. He has been less than solid about his coaching future at LSU since Saturday. When asked, he's been giving the safest answers any coach would give in his situation. He wants the Michigan job. He's wanted it his entire life. And now that he's within spitting distance of it...he needs to be very careful...especially with a team playing for a national championship.

You can talk about Kirk Ferentz until you're blue in the face...but the man for the job is Les Miles. He always has been. We may have to wait for him, but it will be worth it.