Les Miles and LSU have agreed on a new contract that will give him a raise and an extension on his deal, keeping him in Baton Rouge and away from Arkansas, the school announced.
"Les Miles is one of the premier coaches in the country and has LSU in contention for championships year in and year out," Alleva said. "Only two coaches in the 119-year history of LSU football have coached as many years at this school and only one has won more games. Les Miles has made a commitment to LSU and LSU is solidifying its commitment to Les Miles."
The 2011 National Coach of the Year, Miles has an eight-year record of 85-20 at LSU going into its 2012 bowl game. He has won .810 percent of his games since coming to Baton Rouge in 2005, the fifth best winning percentage in the history of the SEC, while taking the Tigers to the best eight-year record in school history. He has led LSU to four top five finishes, two Southeastern Conference titles and the BCS National Championship in 2007. Two years in a row LSU has posted the second best Graduation Success Rate in the SEC, trailing only Vanderbilt.
"The coaching business is a competitive one and it is important to compensate our coach for his accomplishments and his worth," Alleva said. "Les has not received a pay increase since his salary was automatically elevated following our national championship in 2007 and he has continued to keep LSU on the national stage.
"Our intent was to address his contract following this year's bowl game, but speculation about other job opportunities accelerated our process a little," Alleva said. "I think we have accomplished the important step of securing Les Miles as our head coach for the long-term good of the program."
Miles was being pursued by Arkansas and was reportedly offered a mega deal. The possibility of leaving Baton Rouge for Arkansas allowed Miles leverage to work on a new deal to extend his contract. How much is he making now?
Embarrassing amounts of money. RT @tiger_rag: Miles isn't discussing dollar figures or dollars in general. He calls it "embarrassing"
— Pod Katt (@valleyshook) November 28, 2012
The Razorbacks announced they would not bring back John L. Smith after hiring him to replace Bobby Petrino. Under Smith, Arkansas went 4-8 overall and 2-6 in the SEC this year.
Miles has led the LSU Tigers to two SEC titles in 2007 and 2011, including winning the national championship in '07. This season, the Tigers went 10-2 overall and 6-2 in the SEC with key wins over then-No. 3 South Carolina, then-No. 18 Texas A&M and then-No. 21 Mississippi State.