Leslie Edwin Miles (born November 10, 1953) is a former American football coach. He most recently served as the head coach at Kansas. His head coaching career began with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, where he coached from 2001 to 2004. Following that, he coached LSU from 2005 to 2016. Miles is nicknamed "The Hat" for his signature white cap, as well as "The Mad Hatter" for his eccentricities and play-calling habits. Prior to being a head coach, he was an assistant coach at Oklahoma State as well as at the University of Michigan, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). Miles led the 2007 LSU Tigers football team to a win in the BCS National Championship Game, defeating Ohio State. Early life, playing career Miles was born to Bubba, a long-haul trucking broker, and Martha Miles. He earned all-state honors as a lineman in football as well as letters in baseball and wrestling at Elyria High School in Ohio, graduating in 1972. He attended the University of Michigan from 1972 to 1975, playing for the football team under head coach Bo Schembechler, earning letters in 1974 and 1975. Coaching career Early jobs In 1980, Miles joined Bo Schembechler's staff at Michigan as a graduate assistant. He left Michigan in 1982 to coach offensive line at the University of Colorado, where fellow Michigan assistant Bill McCartney had just been named head coach. In 1987, Miles returned to Michigan, which was still being coached by Schembechler, as the offensive line coach. When Schembechler retired in 1990, Miles continued as offensive line coach under new head coach Gary Moeller. While Miles was a coaching assistant at Michigan, the Wolverines had eight consecutive winning seasons and bowl appearances, including four Rose Bowl appearances. In 1995, Moeller was forced to resign for non-football related reasons. At the same time, Miles had a rift with the University of Michigan, forcing him to seek employment elsewhere. Miles then accepted a promotion to offensive coordinator on former Colorado assistant Bob Simmons's staff at Oklahoma State. During the 1998 through 2000 seasons he was the tight ends coach for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys under head coaches Chan Gailey (1998–99) and Dave Campo (2000). Oklahoma State Miles returned to Oklahoma State in 2001 as the head coach. In the three years prior to Miles's arrival in Stillwater, the Cowboys finished