LSU says Les Miles fired as football coach

The Tigers defensive lineman coach Ed Orgeron will be the team’s interim head coach for the remainder of this season. So ends the 12-year reign of one of the quirkiest and most popular coaches in SEC history – one who was as famous for oddball behavior like eating grass as he was for winning games at an impressive clip.

The players and coaching staff were headed to a team meeting Sunday afternoon at 5 p.m. The buyout for Miles’ contract was about $10 million, according to sources.

Miles’ firing, reported first by The Advocate of Baton Rouge, comes one day after No. 18 LSU (2-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) lost 18-13 at Auburn. LSU’s last-second touchdown was nullified after replays showed the snap occurred after the play clock had expired.

“Decisions like this are never easy ones to make”, Alleva said. He also led the Tigers to the 2007 BCS national championship title during his successful tenure.

Miles, who had been at LSU since 2005 and compiled a record of 114-34, was almost fired after last season when No. 2 LSU suffered three consecutive losses near the end of the season.

Orgeron has been an assistant at LSU for two seasons.

Orgeron is a former Ole Miss head coach and Southern Cal interim head coach.