Trent Miles left Georgia State's football program with no regrets after being fired on Saturday following a loss to Louisiana-Monroe in the Georgia Dome.
Miles was the program’s second coach and will leave with a 9-38 record. But there were highlights: he led the Panthers to a famous win over Georgia Southern, the first bowl, produced the Sun Belt’s player of the year and newcomer of the year while also being named the coaching staff of the year in the 2015 season.
But this year the team slumped to a 2-8 record, which was one of the reasons that athletic director Charlie Cobb said a change was needed. The Panthers have two games remaining this season.
Miles took time on Monday to discuss the job, the challenges of coaching, and what’s next for him. His answers have been edited or paraphrased for brevity and clarity.
Q: Were you anticipating Charlie Cobb’s decision?
A: First of all, my family and I want to say that we want to thank everyone for the opportunity to be here.
I’m very proud of the way we left the program. But we didn’t’ get enough results on the field. I understand that.
The kids and the type of program we ran, we are proud to be able to help Georgia State football.
I’m very proud of the young men that are in that program.
Q: So were you anticipating being fired?
A: It’s not something I thought about. We were focused on winning football games, academics and recruiting.
I was just trying to win football games.
Q: What went wrong this season?
A: We were having to develop a new quarterback. It takes a little time.
We weren’t able to score points offensively. We are young. Brendon Wright will be a good player. He made a few freshman mistakes. He will have a big leg.
We didn’t plan on going to our third-team long snapper. It’s nobody’s fault.
I didn’t do a good enough job to get the results on Saturday’s. It’s nobody’s fault but mine. Place any blame on winning or losing on me. I understand that.
Penny Hart doesn’t play all season, but it’s part of the game. It’s next man in.
Q: Describe the program when you arrived, and describe how it is now?
A: It’s headed in the right direction. I’m not going to make comparisons. It’s very difficult for anybody to start a football program in this day and age where everyone is so advanced with facilities.
You start it, but if you look at records of teams that have started within past 9-10 years, there’s not a lot of winning records.
It takes time. It will get to where it needs to go, especially with the acquisition of Turner Field.
When I walked in the door it was in its infant stages.
It’s continuing to grow.
We’ve built on what coach Curry built.
I just see it as part of the natural process of it growing.
Q: What are you most proud of?
A: I’m proud of everything, with the exception of losing football games.
We built the facilities, brought in great people in the university, treated everyone with respect and did our job as professionals. Helped kids with their futures. Went to a bowl game. Defeated Georgia Southern, handing them their worst defeat at the time at their place.
Wins will come in time.
Q: What do you wish you could have done better?
A: Win more games. Win more games.
Q: Do you regret taking this job?
A: No. Not at all.
It gave me an opportunity to be around good people and to recruit some good people and to be in the southeast where football really matters. Not that it doesn’t matter in other places. But people have a passion for it.
It was a great place for my family to be.
Q: Was it easy or difficult to recruit at Georgia State?
A: You have a bigger pool here, a great pool as far as the talent in Georgia and Florida. It’s not easy anywhere. You have to work your tails off. You have to get the people that fit your system.
Q: What was the single most difficult thing about being the head coach at Georgia State?
A: I just want to say thank you, my staff, those players. I think our coaching staff did a great job of getting the program going in the right direction. It didn’t show in the victories this year, I understand that. There’s a lot of good things going on. The program is left in a good situation and we look forward to the next challenge.
Q: Can football succeed at Georgia State?
A: Yes.
Q: Why?
A: Where you are at. You just acquired Turner Field, which is a game-changer for everybody. Now you have your own facility. It will help tremendously with presence in the state, your profile, your recruiting.
You will eventually get your athletic department in one spot.
Q: Will football succeed at Georgia State?
A: Yes.
Q: Why?
A: There’s a great foundation left there with a great culture with kids academically, socially, their work ethic and when you can get a culture built it’s why you don’t have your head down when you walk out. High GPA, no major arrests, no cheating, did it the right way, didn’t cheat, didn’t think about cheating.
Q: What’s the most important thing that needs to change or happen for the program to be consistently successful?
A: One is to get into Turner Field. That’s all I want to say.
Q: What’s next for you?
A: We will wait and see what’s out there.
Q: What would you prefer?
A: Coach football, I’ll leave it at that. I’m going to spend time with my family, be a good husband and dad and see what happens.
I will be coaching again soon.
I’m also focused on getting my assistants their next jobs. That’s a priority.
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