Perles Stays as Michigan State Coach

George Perles will remain as football coach at Michigan State after being forced to give up his job as athletic director.

Michigan State officials said Friday they will begin a search for a new athletic director to replace Perles, while keeping him as coach.

Perles said he would not accept President John DiBiaggio’s offer, made last week, that he give up his coaching duties to remain as athletic director. “I was asked to sign this proposal and I refused to sign it, and this was the result,” Perles said.

Perles said he rejected the last week’s offer by the school to remain as athletic director because university officials were offering him only 3 1/2 years in that job while he had six years left on his football contract.

“It was not a parallel offer, in my opinion,” he said.

Giving up coaching now, he said, might have hurt recruiting efforts.

“I’m not willing to jeopardize the future of the football program, which is responsible for the entire financial foundation of this entire athletic department,” he said.

Perles later said he did not intend to take any legal action. “I have no plans at this time to do anything but . . . take my own advice--work hard and not say a whole lot,” he said.