Miles says it’s time to
move on to Fresno St.
The athletic department is only paying
lip service to its commitment to
the football team, he says
By Paul ArnettStar-Bulletin
The two-year member of the UH coaching staff left for Fresno State last night to become that Western Athletic Conference team's new wide receivers coach.
Rainbows head coach Fred vonAppen already has interviewed several candidates to replace Miles, who coached wide receivers during former head coach Bob Wagner's final year in 1995, and the secondary last year in vonAppen's first season.
Miles was offered the job 10 days ago, but waited to announce it until after the 16 recruits in town this weekend had returned to the mainland. He will begin his new job immediately.
"I'm thrilled about the offer," Miles said. "(New Fresno State head coach) Pat Hill and I had a good interview. It was a difficult decision for my wife and me because we love the islands.
"Obviously, it's tough on her because she has family here. But she understands the coaching profession and knows this is something I wanted to help my career."
Miles was one of two coaches vonAppen retained from Wagner's staff when he was hired last year. VonAppen said yesterday that he made Miles a counteroffer, but it wasn't enough to offset the $65,000 salary Miles will make at Fresno State.
"Let me first say, this had nothing to do with money," Miles said. "I went into Mr. Yoshida's office to discuss with him the direction this program plans to take in the next few years. When I left that meeting, I felt as unsure of this program as when I went in.
"They're doing some cosmetic things, but they aren't addressing the major issues. I firmly believe Coach vonAppen is the right man for the job. He's a very fair man and very good at what he does. He has a great relationship with his players and is doing everything he can to turn around the program.
"But when he gets blasted by his administration for speaking out against things he sees that are wrong with the program, it's scary, because he knows the right way. They hired him to get a job done here and then do little to help him level the playing field."
Miles is the first coach to leave vonAppen's program, but he might not be the last. Offensive line coach Walt Klinker could be headed to the University of Kansas in the coming weeks, although he said it was still premature.
"You guys are jumping the gun on that one," Klinker said. "I did work with (new Kansas head coach Terry Allen) at Northern Iowa, but I haven't been offered a job or have any plans of leaving."
Such is not the case with Miles, who said Fresno State interviewed former Hawaii coaches Wagner and Rich Ellerson for the vacant defensive coordinator position. Hill has not filled that spot.
As for Miles, this will be his seventh job in 10 years. He said he is a professional coach looking to move up in the ranks, but would have stayed had there been a firm commitment by the UH administration to improve the program.
He feels Yoshida doesn't have nearly as solid a plan in place as Fresno State. Miles also believes the program is only paying lip service to several problems plaguing the current UH coaching staff.
"The direction of the program right now is not good," Miles said. "It's crisis management here. When something goes wrong, they put their finger in a hole to try to stop it, instead of trying to solve it.
"What kind of message is Hugh Yoshida trying to send when he doesn't automatically roll over Fred's contract in the middle of recruiting? If you think that's not being used against Hawaii by other coaches in recruiting, then you're wrong.
"It also sends a message to the players that are already here and to members of the coaching staff. Right now, he only has two years remaining and that's not nearly enough to get the job done here. It's very discouraging."
Miles believes the administration needs to address several areas immediately or losing will become even more commonplace.
First, the academic standards are too stringent, especially in the area of transferring junior college credits. Miles also believes the academic support at Hawaii is very poor.
"Take 1995 as an example," Miles said. "We lose four players the night before the Texas game to academics. Brannon Kennedy was one of them. I was there when he was told what he had to do that summer to be eligible.
"He does exactly what he's told, then comes back and finds out it isn't enough. The academic advisers were wrong, and Wagner and Kennedy pay the price. It isn't right, but I don't see anything being done about it."
Miles also feels the university must address proposition athletes to take care of the local players who aren't academically eligible coming out of high school. He points to the 1992 team as an example. That Rainbow team won the Holiday Bowl thanks to several proposition athletes, who not only helped Hawaii win on the field, but who also graduated.
Another area of concern for Miles is the dollar commitment to help in recruiting and to improve the existing facilities. He said that this is a business and should be treated like one.
"This isn't personal," Miles said. "But when Coach Wagner gets fired and Coach vonAppen gets shot down for pointing out obvious deficiencies, then it isn't right.
"The people at the top should also come under fire for putting these coaches at a disadvantage. In my mind, if something isn't done soon to address these problems in a realistic manner, Hawaii is going to continue to struggle."
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