Kansas football coach Les Miles' status with the program remains uncertain following the revelation of sexual harassment and misconduct accusations made against him when he was the coach at LSU, including some his former athletic director considered fireable offenses.
If Kansas Athletics wishes to fire Miles "for cause," though — a route that would allow the department to get out of his five-year contract without paying him nearly $10 million dollars — it appears the department could face at least some challenges based on the wording of Miles' contract.
Specifically, Miles' pact has 12 clauses by which he can be fired "for cause," according to his contract, obtained by The Kansas City Star through an open records request.
The most relevant ones with Miles' current situation appear to be Nos. 7 and 12:
"7. Gross negligence or willful misconduct by the Head Coach in connection with his Head Coach duties and responsibilities;"
"12. [C]ommission of or participation in by Head Coach of any act, situation, or occurrence, or any conduct, which in Athletics' or KU's judgment brings Head Coach and/or KU into public disrepute, embarrassment, contempt, or ridicule or any public comments that disparage KU or Athletics, its personnel, programs, policies and/or departments, or that cause damage to KU's reputation."
Several misconduct allegations against Miles have surfaced in the past two weeks. In 2013, Miles was accused at LSU of kissing a female student worker twice in his parked car and texting her and another from his personal phone.
Miles denied to investigators that he had kissed the woman and investigators hired by LSU said they could not determine what happened in the car. Investigators still believed Miles had "shown poor judgment."
Another investigation commissioned by LSU and released Friday found Miles was reported to be heavily involved with the hiring of LSU student workers, with employees stating he wanted "to sexualize the staff." Miles allegedly demanded that he wanted "blondes with the big boobs" and "pretty girls."
According to that investigation, another LSU student worker reported to the athletic department she was "very upset" about what happened to her during a time when she was alone with Miles. When given a later meeting with Miles, the woman repeated, "You know what you did to me," with multiple LSU employees reporting that she appeared traumatized.
Former LSU athletic director Joe Alleva, in an email to the school's incoming president, suggested firing Miles for cause in June 2013 because he was alleged to have contacted a student worker after Alleva told him not to following the first woman's allegations. "The court of public opinion would favor us," Alleva wrote.
Miles has denied all allegations and KU Athletics has previously said it was not aware of them when Miles was hired.
If KU Athletics pursued a for cause firing, it's not yet clear is how compelling its legal argument would be.
The "for cause" wording includes specific language regarding instances if Miles had NCAA violations or was charged in a criminal matter. Because these allegations are none of those — and also allegedly took place while he wasn't the Jayhawks' coach — KU would likely have to argue that either Miles should have alerted the school of the past allegations, or that their emergence in the public eye caused the department embarrassment and was a hit to its reputation.
Interpretation of these provisions typically is a matter of state law.
Miles' contract also states that prior to any termination for cause, Miles and his agent would receive written notice with the grounds for termination. Both would then have at least five calendar days to respond.
KU Athletics just recently resolved a similar "for cause" contract dispute with its previous football coach.
In June, KU settled a lawsuit with former football coach David Beaty for $2.55 million after it previously had withheld his $3 million buyout while claiming he violated his contract because of non-major NCAA violations. The agreement came 15 months after Beaty first filed his suit, in which he alleged that KU Athletics sought to concoct a reason to fire him to avoid paying him.
According to invoices previously obtained by The Star, KU also paid more than $470,000 in legal fees defending itself in the Beaty matter.
Miles, according to his contract, received a $675,000 retention bonus from KU on Nov. 15, 2020 in addition to his annual salary of $2.775 million. Miles did agree to a 10% pay cut in 2020 due to the pandemic, though he also appeared to be in line for a $50,000 incentive payment thanks to his football team posting a grade-point average above 2.75 in the spring semester.
His contract runs through Dec. 31, 2023. That means KU Athletics still owes him nearly $9 million on the deal, which includes his $2.775 million yearly salaries along with a $450,000 retention bonus he's scheduled to receive Nov. 15, 2022. He also will receive a one-year, one-time rollover extension if he wins six games in any season.
Miles, who was officially hired by KU in November 2018, did not sign his contract until Aug. 6, 2019. Miles' agent George Bass, KU athletic director Jeff Long and KU chancellor Douglas Girod also signed the contract in August 2019 as well.
