CC: Tom Herman
As an old guy (see my avatar), I understand better than some of you young whipper snappers that we need a fresh young mind. If we can't get a Harbaugh, why not consider OSU OC Tom Herman:
Top 10 reasons:
10) His name sounds like Tom Harmon (divine intervention ?)
9) He is a registered MENSA
8) He knows Urban Meyer's philosophies inside and out
7) He would trigger another 10-year War ala Woody-Bo
6) It would irk OSU to no end to lose him to us. We hurt OSU and help ourselves in one shot.
5) He grew up in Ohio and has strong recruiting ties there.
4) He coached at multiple Texas schools (more recruiting ties)
3) He runs a modern day spread offense which can be adapted. The dumbest thing people think is that you cant run power out of a spread.
2) He never answers a question with "Well...you know", see Item 9 above.
1) He isn't Brady Hoke
October 6th, 2014 at 8:51 PM ^
October 6th, 2014 at 9:47 PM ^
I hope not. Michigan really needs to take a flier on someone like Scrappy - young, full of energy, and brings it every time. If we go with Scooby I see the same entrenched politics repeating themselves all over again.
October 7th, 2014 at 12:10 AM ^
October 7th, 2014 at 7:52 AM ^
"Scrappy" is Scooby's nephew.
October 6th, 2014 at 8:54 PM ^
Not a bad idea, and it could be a great hire if things play out the right way. I suspect he will be the HC at a power conference before too long, but lacks the credentials to get hired at Michigan right now.
October 6th, 2014 at 9:56 PM ^
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October 6th, 2014 at 10:20 PM ^
Yes, sadly, similar things were said. Sigh...
October 7th, 2014 at 9:26 AM ^
I'd love to get away from the "Has to have proven HC experience" label. Would we all like one with proven HC experience? Yes. Does it mean it's always the best choice? No.
October 6th, 2014 at 8:56 PM ^
I mean Carlos Hyde was a power running back and look how well Urban and Herman used him. Also think about how run oriented RR's offense was here at UM. Look at Arizona and his QB's are throwing it like 35-40 times a game (at least in close/big games).
October 6th, 2014 at 8:59 PM ^
- It comes out of my ass and I'm born and raised in Michigan. So it has Michigan ties.
- It's not Brady Hoke.
October 6th, 2014 at 9:02 PM ^
Power?
Spread?
October 6th, 2014 at 9:04 PM ^
October 6th, 2014 at 9:05 PM ^
October 6th, 2014 at 9:08 PM ^
Can we get a Fred Jackson eval?
October 6th, 2014 at 9:35 PM ^
Its like diarrhea but stinkier and with corn in it.
October 6th, 2014 at 10:37 PM ^
October 6th, 2014 at 9:01 PM ^
I like it. To add to your list, he's also young (39). Feels like he'd bring some youthful enthusiasm to the team. Furthermore, say what you will about Meyer, but I'd trust his judgement on who is and is not capable of building a competent offense.
October 6th, 2014 at 9:02 PM ^
October 6th, 2014 at 9:51 PM ^
John Cooper is only 77 and would bring the wood to OSU. If there is one thing he is really good at it's making Ohio State lose to Michigan.
October 6th, 2014 at 9:04 PM ^
He is also the QB coach for OSU and I would say that Miller and Barrett progressed pretty well.
October 6th, 2014 at 9:03 PM ^
You don't want Tom Herman. You want Jim Bollman.
October 6th, 2014 at 9:06 PM ^
What may end up happening is Herman goes to UK and we get Mark Stoops
October 6th, 2014 at 9:11 PM ^
Would he have been JT's successor? Surprised he did not land a HC gig.
October 6th, 2014 at 9:29 PM ^
Okay now I REALLY want Tom Herman.
October 6th, 2014 at 9:05 PM ^
I think the Ohio fans would be very happy if Michigan took him away. They say that Urban makes all the calls on offense anyway. They'd be laughing at us.
Plus he's never been a head coach before.
October 6th, 2014 at 9:13 PM ^
I'm not sure that I trust your sources. Regardless, he's spent three years in Meyer's system. I'm sure he's learned a thing or two along the way whether he's been calling the plays or not.
October 6th, 2014 at 9:54 PM ^
like doug nussmeier? he learned a lot from saban...lol
October 6th, 2014 at 9:06 PM ^
I'd take him as long as he doesn't try to force his offense into the personel of the team next year. We aren't built for what Ohio does. Also, he needs to get a competent D guy to assist him.
October 6th, 2014 at 9:10 PM ^
I hear Will Muschamp may bev available to coach Defense next year...
October 6th, 2014 at 9:15 PM ^
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October 6th, 2014 at 9:44 PM ^
Well if we get an Air Raid coach I guess it would work out.
October 6th, 2014 at 9:07 PM ^
Jim Tressel isn't available until next year due to show cause.
October 6th, 2014 at 9:08 PM ^
I Can't believe the dumpster fire this season has become. I was one of the optimistic fans that thought Michigan would get to 10 wins. To add to the misery OSU, MSU, and Notre Dame are all ranked. Oh and we lost to Minnesota (haha). When is the last time Michigan lost to all of their rivals in the same season?? If someone told me Michigan would miss a bowl game and would be LUCKY to get to 4 wins in year 4 of Brady Home's tenure I would have slapped them while calling them insane.
Is it sad that 2011 is the best season I've witnessed Michigan have? Why yes, yes it is.
October 6th, 2014 at 9:41 PM ^
Last time Michigan lost to all of the biggest three rivals was 2008. It hasn't been long at all.
October 6th, 2014 at 10:40 PM ^
On the other hand, the last time we beat all three was in 2003.
October 6th, 2014 at 9:10 PM ^
I wouldn't mind him if we go the coordinator route. I prefer the usual suspects though and Mullen is my favorite from the Meyer tree.
October 6th, 2014 at 9:12 PM ^
but he will be in Florida next season
October 6th, 2014 at 9:19 PM ^
Hiring coordinators on the same side of the ball as the head coach's expertise is risky business.
October 6th, 2014 at 9:34 PM ^
But look at his stops prior to OSU...
October 6th, 2014 at 10:16 PM ^
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October 6th, 2014 at 11:19 PM ^
Will Muschamp, Charlie Weiss, Lane Kiffin (sort of), Gene Chizik, Ron Zook, Bob Davie, Jeff Tedford, Joker Phillips, Rick Neuheisel, Randy Shannon, Ralph Friedgen, Bill Lynch, etc.
October 6th, 2014 at 9:33 PM ^
I had no clue about this guy until Brian and crew mentioned him on the podcast... but after doing my research and finding the info already posted in the OP and more... I'm sold. I think this guy is my favorite candidate so far, outside the Harbaughs. Also, if you have a ESPN insider subscription, check this out:
He's turned both Rice and Iowa State's offenses into powerhouses in very short order, and is doing the same at OSU. Think about it... OSU lost their starting QB, RB, and 4 OL, and are setting records. Pretty clear the guy is doing something very, very right. His track record reminds me of Gus Malzahn, minus the year of head coaching experience.
The question, of course, is this: would he leave? And then: who would his DC be?
Still... I'm fully on-board the Herman train.
October 7th, 2014 at 12:08 AM ^
It's hard to imagine he would stay for a fraction of the salary and a fraction of the responsibility.
October 6th, 2014 at 9:37 PM ^
October 6th, 2014 at 9:42 PM ^
I don't think anyone really is. However, if we don't get a big name (i.e. Harbaugh or Miles or Mullen) he would definitely be my first pick of a coach to take a risk on.
His age (39) and energy and intelligence would be what would be required to rebuild (yes, i said rebuild). In fact, I would prefer him over a stopgap old guy (like Miles).
October 6th, 2014 at 10:26 PM ^
Yea that sucked.
October 6th, 2014 at 10:57 PM ^
Overall, Herman's a great coach, but there are times when his playcalling reminds me of Vizzini from the Princess Bride; he ends up poisoning himself by getting too smart for his own good.
October 6th, 2014 at 11:42 PM ^
Speaking to many coaches from around the country since my son opened his sports web site, I have been told by many that in many cases you will get in trouble if your qb is too smart. That might sound odd, but the same would apply to an OC. If you just look around and see why some could do it at the collegiate level but not at the professional level, look no further than Matt Leinhart where Chow would read the defense for him in order to prevent him from analyzing it to death. Just as Peyton Manning will only beat you at the line of scrimmage, some qbs are simply too intelligent to go up to the line and make a snap decision. Their mind isn't trained that way. They see far too much and that is where the difficulty comes in.
Their minds are programmed, in many cases to analyze all aspects of a certain situation and make the most informed decision. In football you simply don't have the time to process all in 25 seconds if your mind works in this manner. While you don't want a dumb quarterback you want someone who has qb mentality. Get up to the line, look at the defense, understand where the soft spot is or will be after that cb who is tipping his blitz action will be and then immediately call it and execute it. There was one case in the Rutgers game where I believe it was Norfleet wide right, his coverage was 7 yards off the line of scrimmage, no inside help and we only needed three yards. A quick thinking qb would have immediately called for the quick slant and Norfleet would have ran for 10 before anyone could have touched him. I've seen this far too often with far too many qbs. Now getting back to Peyton. He can process a defense quickly, but he'll only beat you if that defense acts according to standard assignment. Any deviation after the snap -look at last year's Super Bowl - and you've beaten him. I can definitely see where the same would hold true for an OC. RR, no matter what you think of him, even though a cb in college, is able to not only read the defense but determine by certain clues what they are going to do. That is why he always has the "check with me" in play and the exact proper time to snap the ball. It's a rare gift, that's why your qbs with point guard mentality,i.e., see, react are proving to be the best. They are not the most intelligent in many cases, but their natural awareness of how to read the floor - in this case the field - allows them to message your receiver or RB exactly as to what you want them to do and when, and much larger percentage of success than those that are just too damn analytical. Priceless for certain professions. Hazardous for certain sports.October 7th, 2014 at 1:39 PM ^
So what you're saying is he's Josh McDaniels?
October 6th, 2014 at 9:46 PM ^
CC: [Literally any coach who has had any success]