Getting Mullen won't be easy

Submitted by 991GT3 on

Already local newspapers are campaigning to find a way to extented his contract without violating state laws allowing only four contracts. The article  mentions the Hoke and Miles situation i.e. Miles going to Michigan and LSU coming after Mullun or Michigan going after Mullen with Florida in the mix.

http://www.forwhomthecowbelltolls.com/2014/10/12/6964129/dan-mullen-con…

MGoBoard
Football

ADSellers

October 12th, 2014 at 12:06 PM ^

I think he'd be great but our chances of getting him are low. Conversely, I've heard some things in the last 36 hours from sources I trust that there have been closed door talks with John Harbaugh's agent to gauge his interest in becoming Michigan's head coach once his contract is up this season. Problem is, I'm not as convinced as some that he'd make a good college coach. He's not an offensive or defensive guru so he'd have to rely on coordinators, which is the situation we have now. He also took over a team in Baltimore that has been pretty good for the past decade despite the flukey bad year before he arrived (they were 13-3 the year before that). They also were 10-6 the year they won the SB. He may end up being a very good college coach but I have a lot more confidence in his brother's ability to build a college program.

Joined: 08/26/2013

MGoPoints: 982

cp4three2

October 12th, 2014 at 12:45 PM ^

for what it's worth. The ball started rolling last Februrary. We'll see, I tend to think Jim's personality is more suited for college, but John could be a Saban type of guy. John is a special teams guru, though. 

 

As for Mullen, I'd be surprised if he doesn't go to Florida. Maybe Muschamp can get an upset here or there and they give him one more year. It's pretty astonishing that Charlie Strong and Dan Mullen were on Urban's staff and they ended up with Muschamp.

 

Another coaching scenario that wouldn't surprise me is that OBC retires at South Carolina and they hire Dantonio, leaving Narduzzi at Sparty (which is why he never left) 

Joined: 08/03/2009

MGoPoints: 4828

turd ferguson

October 12th, 2014 at 2:04 PM ^

To be clear, I meant those as shot-in-the-dark predictions rather than a statement of what I hope happens.

I think what you said is true 99.9% of the time.  This could be an exception, though.  I think Hoke's just not meant to be a head coach at a high-profile school.  He doesn't seem to like the spotlight, he's not good in front of a microphone, and aside from recruiting he doesn't do the typical head coach things well.  At the same time, he clearly loves this university, clearly loves the players in the program, and apparently has a good relationship with John Harbaugh.  I don't think he'd mind the ego blow of being demoted at his own school (the way he defers to his coordinators suggests to me that he's not a typical egomaniacal college coach).  Hoke doesn't seem like the type of guy who would undermine a head coach.  He doesn't even really seem like the head coach now.  I think he'd be happier in a more modest role, and he might appreciate having a guy he likes take on the not-so-fun parts of coaching and allow him a chance to redeem himself to the Michigan community.  If you're Harbaugh, maybe you see someone like Hoke or Mattison as good to have around for continuity and keeping attrition / decommitments / former player bitchiness down, someone who knows how college football coaching works, and someone with a great track record as a recruiter and a lot of experience coaching defensive football (with a defense that, if it ever gets healthy, still seems like it could turn into something pretty good).

Again, I'm not making an argument that this should happen.  I'm not even really making a serious argument that this is going to happen.  This is an out-of-my-ass, unlikely-to-be-right guess that I haven't heard mentioned.

Joined: 12/09/2009

MGoPoints: 26493

TheTruth41

October 12th, 2014 at 1:52 PM ^

My biggest like in this scenario is his relationship with Mattison and keeping him at Michigan. I think he is a very good DC and excellent recruiter. He could very well keep Nuss which would ease transition in not having to yet again learn a totally new system. Hopefully cause some of our previous commits to look at Michigan again with perhaps a lot of the staff still in tact. Maybe move Manning to ST coach and get another secondary guy on staff in his previous position. Manning is an awesome recruiter but his ability to teach technique at a position he's never played concerns me.

Joined: 10/07/2010

MGoPoints: 3180

snarling wolverine

October 12th, 2014 at 3:57 PM ^

Mattison's fine, especially when you consider how many more possessions teams get because of how awful the offense is.
Huh? Our opponents have run 456 plays in seven games (65.1 per) which is a very low number. We operate at such a slow pace that neither we nor our opponents get many possessions. It helps to greatly deflate our defensive statistics.

Joined: 12/14/2011

MGoPoints: 98366

ADSellers

October 12th, 2014 at 1:48 PM ^

Does Dantonio have much love for his Alma Mater? I never hear him talk about them aside from one comment when we played SC in the bowl game. Plus Im not convinced they could outbid Sparty. They love that guy and their efforts and desire to build a respectable football program in recent years have been admirable.

Joined: 08/26/2013

MGoPoints: 982

Don

October 12th, 2014 at 2:27 PM ^

The idea that Dantonio would leave what he's built at MSU to follow in the footsteps of Spurrier is nothing other than the vain hope of Michigan fans that he'll leave East Lansing.

Dantonio grew up in Zanesville and the entirety of his 34 years in coaching has been spent in Ohio, Indiana, Kansas, and Michigan. He never even served as a GA or position coach at SC. If he was 48 instead of 58 it might be a bit more plausible to consider, but he's in the position where he can retire at MSU as one of their legendary coaches.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 148371

Brodie

October 12th, 2014 at 12:49 PM ^

I'm going to just ignore the wild speculation passed off as insider knowledge without citation and just say this:

I will never cease to be amazed by the number of people who claim to have an aversion to the CEO style coach and yet will sit here and talk about hiring Les Miles, a man whose success is entirely reliant on coordinators.

Joined: 11/19/2008

MGoPoints: 10713

turd ferguson

October 12th, 2014 at 1:00 PM ^

People have bad habits when it comes to over-interpreting lessons from small samples.  It looks like we have a failed instance of CEO-style coaching here.  That doesn't mean that CEO-style coaching can't work in general.  In fact, I think there's a strong argument for a head coach who defers to his coordinators' expertise.  You need good coordinators, but letting coordinators coordinate potentially frees up the head coach for other things and prevents the kinds of head coach / coordinator conflicts that sometimes get teams in trouble.

Joined: 12/09/2009

MGoPoints: 26493

Glen Masons Hot Wife

October 12th, 2014 at 1:16 PM ^

I really hope that's not true. I really don't want these decisions to be in process while DB is still employed at the University. This implies that he's still being allowed to make moves within the department, namely, moves intended above all, to save his own ass. He absolutely needs to go now. No point in having a dead duck AD. Not like it will disrupt the season.

Joined: 07/02/2008

MGoPoints: 3685

turd ferguson

October 12th, 2014 at 1:25 PM ^

I'm not saying that I think this rumor is true - I have no idea whether it's true - but people other than DB could initiate those conversations on behalf of the university.  The worst part of that scenario is probably that the new AD might feel / look a bit powerless if this stuff is being coordinated without him.  Then again, it's hard for me to imagine that too many incoming ADs would object to being handed a Harbaugh when he arrives.  And I personally don't really care if our AD is (or appears) a little powerless.  The most extreme possibility is that those in control know that DB will be canned, know who will be taking his place, and that guy actually knows that behind-the-scenes conversations are happening.  

The bottom line is that a lot of scenarios are conceivable right now and we know next to nothing about what's really going on.

Joined: 12/09/2009

MGoPoints: 26493

snarling wolverine

October 12th, 2014 at 3:42 PM ^

Problem is, I'm not as convinced as some that he'd make a good college coach.
If a man can match wits with other NFL coaches - guys at the top of the profession - and win, why couldn't he do so at the college level, against crappier coaches? The only real questions about John would be his ability to hire good assistants and to recruit. I don't think either would be a big issue here. We'll give him the money to hire the best and his Super Bowl ring (plus our institutional advantages) should make him a dynamite recruiter. "I left an NFL champion for Michigan" is a powerful sales pitch.

Joined: 12/14/2011

MGoPoints: 98366

Gulogulo37

October 12th, 2014 at 11:13 PM ^

OptionS? Like what, besides Florida? Just because Florida has tons of talent doesn't mean they're a guaranteed winner either. Just ask Muschamp or Zook. I think people are being naive to say the Michigan job is head and shoulders above Florida, but I'd say they're really about the same. Some advantages and disadvantages to both.

Joined: 03/16/2010

MGoPoints: 28319