Kansas Coaching Rumors: Les Miles, Dave Doeren Floated as Potential Candidates
Kansas announced this weekend that the season finale will be head coach David Beaty’s final game in Lawrence, opening up one of the most downtrodden jobs in major college football a few weeks ahead of the sport’s coaching carousel.
Former LSU coach Les Miles could be one of many candidates Kansas considers when filling the vacant head coaching position, The Athletic'sBruce Feldman reported on Tuesday.
According to Feldman, Miles has picked up "a lot of momentum" as a potential candidate for Kansas' head coaching job after the Jayhawks announced Beaty would not be retained on Sunday. Beaty has gone just 6–39 since taking over the position prior to the 2015 season. His record includes a 2–31 mark in Big 12 conference play.
Feldman reported on Sunday that Kansas had "legit interest" in Miles. Miles and new Kansas athletic director Jeff Long have a previous relationship that dates back to 1988, when Miles was an assistant coach and Long was an associate athletic director at Michigan until 1994.
Miles, 64, was fired in September 2016 in the midst of his 12th season as LSU's head coach. He also previously coached at Oklahoma State from 2001-2004 and has openly expressed interest in returning to the sidelines.
Other potential candidates for the job include:
• Dave Doeren, NC State coach: While the Wolfpack are currently 6–2 on the year, Doeren is a Kansas City native and a former assistant coach at KU. NC State athletic director Debbie Yow is also retiring at the end of the year, which could open up the potential for Doeren's departure. (Dennis Dodd, CBS Sports)
•Neal Brown, Troy coach: Brown, 38, has served as an offensive coordinator in both the SEC and Big 12 and currently has Troy at 7–2 this season. The Trojans upset Nebraska to open the year and are primed for another Sun Belt title. (Dennis Dodd, CBS Sports)
• Jeff Monken, Army coach: Monken has led Army to three-straight bowl appearances and could be posting his second-straight 10-win season by the end of the year. While there has been no contact between Army and Kansas, Army is concerned about losing it's head coach after his string of recent successes. (Pete Thamel, Yahoo! Sports)
According to Dodd, Troy Calhoun, Bret Bielema and Seth Littrell do not appear to be in the mix of the conversation. Bielema and Littrell expressed no interest in the Jawyhawks' coaching job, while Calhoun was content with his post at Air Force.
The Jayhawks (3–6) will play Kansas State (3–6) on Saturday.
