How do we replicate OSU's modern success?

1.  We are at point A.  Let's start talking about how we get from point A to point B (being a NC contender).  Let's stop re-re-re-analyzing the past.  Let's start, simply, talking about how best to get from where we currently are, to where we would like to be.

2.  Where we are.  We are the 3rd richest college football program in the country (behind just Texas and Texas A&M, according to Forbes' latest summation).  We have the 2nd biggest fanbase/tv audience in the country (behind just OSU, according to the NYTimes' latest summation).  We have the biggest alumni group in the country.  We have facilities that are second to none.  We have academic and athletic support-staff that is second to none.  We have the biggest stadium in the country.  We have a high school-to-the-NFL pitch that is as strong as anyone's.  We have the best academics-football combo in the country.  Where we are, Point A, is a pretty nice place to be.

3.  Where is OSU?  Leave your BS at the door, please.  OSU is an outstanding, public, Big10 University.  They have the exact same admissions standards as us.  And I'm sure their generic "general studies" degrees are just as incredibly easy as ours.  Our administration -- from Lloyd to Harbaugh -- has given its head football coaches everything they need to compete.  Facilities, Assistant salary pools, recruiting budgets, private jet use, support staff, marketing, fan support, you name it..  we have it at the absolute highest level.  Michigan football coaches get everything they need to succeed.  Don't listen to lazy a-holes like Harbaugh...who don't even go out on recruiting trips, or research coordinator hires, let alone assistant hires...cry foul.  The state of Ohio produces more talent than the state of Michigan, but it's not THAT big of a difference.  Count the 4+ stars that have come from each state over the past 5 yrs and you'll find it's about the same.  There's a reason OSU's recruiting has had such a national emphasis the past decade.  And leave this BS about "cheating" at the door, too.  If Juwan Howard was in Columbus signing the classes that he is here....  you people would be absolutely unbearable to listen to.  Michigan players get benefits.  OSU players get benefits.  Stop acting like this is Yale.  Stop acting like OSU is Ole Miss.  STOP MAKING STUPID EXCUSES.  How do we get from point A to point B??

4.  Recruiting.  Look at OSU's staff.  9 of their 11 on-field coaches have been named to 247/Rivals Top-25 Recruiter lists.  Day, Wilson, Alford, Hartline, Studrawa, Coombs, Mattison, Johnson, Washington.  They have two other young guys who probably will as well soon.  Look at our staff.  We have 4..  Gattis, Sherrone, Warinner and Jean-Mary.  Ohio State emphasizes recruiting more than we do.  Plain and simple.  They don't have Urban Meyer's son who doesn't recruit that well on staff, or Josh McDaniels' brother, or NFL/Old School guys who don't like to recruit..  or who just aren't very good at it (Zordich, Shoop, Nua, Brown).  At OSU, being an outstanding recruiter is a pre-requisite.  And being an *outstanding* (not okay, or good, or even really good) recruiter is something that needs to become a prerequisite to working here too.  We need a head coach who understands the importance of this.

5.  Culture.  How many times in the past 6 yrs have you read a story about some disgruntled player's (aka child's) mommy and/or daddy complaining to Harbaugh about how their son is being treated??  This is a high school program.  It's where kids go to school and then play football after class.  At OSU, it's a professional operation.  It's focused.  It's where high school kids go to become pros, and where they take classes on the side, and where their mommies and daddies can't baby them.  This is 2020.  If you want to be a Lawyer, a Doctor, a Teacher, a whatever...  go to Northwestern, go to Vanderbilt, go to an Ivy league school, go to Rice, go to Stanford, whatever.  If you want to be an outstanding NFL player with a great fallback option (and a great masters you can pursue as a 5th yr, or in the pro off-season)...  come to Michigan.  And this isn't 6th grade camp where your parents get to second guess the counselors.  This is billion dollar business.  This is training to become a professional.  This is cut-throat, cream rises to the top, soft washes out.  This is beat f******g Ohio State or f*****g else.  We need a head coach who comes from a Saban/Meyer/Dabo-like no-nonsense professional background.  Someone who can set the culture here and treat this like a professional program.

6.  Coordinators.  Last 5yrs, who have OSU's coordinators been?  On offense, it's basically been Urban (one of the greatest offensive minds of his time) passing the torch to Day (seemingly one of the best offensive minds of his time).  Kevin Wilson...one of the modern Big10's greatest offensive minds...has been in the background.  Tom Herman, Mike Yurcich, Tim Beck.  It's 2020...even Nick Saban is giving up 40 pts in playoff games.  You have to be innovative, you have to be able to score.  If your head coach isn't a great offensive mind, he'd better know how to hire one.  Josh Gattis....  we made a big deal out of this guy....  he wasn't even Mike Locksley's backup OC at Bama, he was Locksley's backup's (Enos) backup.  Pep Hamilton went to the XFL after being here.  Tim Drevno was coaching RB's in the Pac12 after being here.  It's been a joke.  Look at OSU's D-Coordinators over the last 5yrs.  Kerry Coombs...NFL guy (who also happens to be one of the best recruiters in modern Big10 history).  Jeff Hafley...NFL guy (who was probably the best DC in all of college football in his one season before becoming a HC, and also TORE IT UP as a recruiter).  Greg Schiano...  NFL HC (who was set to be Bill Belichick's DC between the Tennessee fiasco and the Rutgers return...  and who recruited the HELL out of the northeast).  Luke Fickell..  another of the all-time best modern Big10 recruiters, who may now be the frontrunner for our HC'ing job.  Alex Grinch was an assistant as well in that span.  Durkin was a fine DC, and recruiter..  before his issues.  But Don Brown was just a gimmick ACC DC who's never recruited other than 3-stars and New England talent.  These OSU guys aren't getting paid or supported more than Michigan coordinators.  They're just smarter, better hires.  And we need a coach who knows how to spend our money wisely.

*****

To summarize a long story.  Point A is an outstanding place to be, for us (we're very blessed to have a number of things).  Point B --> being an annual NC contender; a program that rivals or even bests OSU's..  is a very realistic goal.  We need a new head coach who A) Sets a professional culture.  B) Emphasizes the importance of recruiting and hires great recruiters (maybe perhaps himself even being a great recruiter).  And C) Who knows how to spend our top-notch money well on coordinators.  We need someone with talent, with hunger, and schooling in the modern ways.

-Mario Cristobal's seen how it's done in Saban's program.  He's had some success already in running his own.  Excellent recruiter.  Excellent hire'r of recruiters and coordinators.

-Jeff Scott.  He's seen how it's done in Dabo's program.  He's just starting off on his own.  Venables, in the same token, has seen how Dabo's done it as well.  Both are great recruiters personally..  hopefully they'd hire great ones, too.  Tony Elliott..not as great a recruiter as the other two...but there.

-Urban would obviously be the ideal hire, if there's enough money in the world to get him.  I don't care about his idiot ex-assistant/Earl Bruce's nephew's ridiculous domestic situation or texts at this point.

-Joe Brady and Lincoln Riley are the kind of outstanding offensive minds Meyer and Day are/were.  Lincoln's got some good experience running his own show.  Brady's seen it done right at LSU.

-Fickell, Campbell, Fleck, either Stoops, others.  

I don't know who the right answer is.  But I know that this is far from a hopeless situation; in fact, I think it's still an outstanding situation.  And the issues that need to be addressed to get us from point A to point B are, in my opinion, far from insurmountable.