A Way-Too-Early Look at John Beilein's Replacement Candidates
Well...this sucks. But the question has to be asked as to who is going to be the next head coach for the program. I would say the massive favorite and most realistic amongst Michigan fans would be Luke Yaklich given he's already with the program and has transformed the team's defense since arriving.
If Warde decides an outside hire is best, it's an interesting question as to who they would look for given this is rather late. Dream scenarios would include names like Chris Beard, Jay Wright, even Brad Stevens.
They would probably look at Lavall Jordan as well, but he hasn't had too much luck over at Butler. Who would you like to see if it's an outside hire? IF you can get Chris Beard, then I would say you go and get Chris Beard. What are your thoughts?
I honestly wonder if Warde gives Rick Barnes as call. He seems to want out of Tennessee
Why? He's nearly as old as Beilein.
Get Tom Crean
Seriously.
If Brad Stevens is sick of the NBA already, he would be No. 1 on my list. That seems unlikely. Without prima donna Kyrie next year, as appears likely, he can go back to building an unselfish team next year, assuming the young guys are not poisoned by this year’s experience.
The young guys were actually part of the problem. Stevens isn't coming here, but it's not crazy to thing that he might be ready for a new challenge.
Time to put the brakes on this runaway freight train. Hiring a big name hoop coach from outside the program is not the obvious best move here.
Consider the following truisms:
1. Basketball will ALWAYS be second fiddle to football in Ann Arbor. Orr, Frieder, Fisher, etc, always chafed at the fact that no matter how successful they were, they were second class citizens. (Beilein may secretly have been annoyed by this but he had too much class to display it.) By any objective standard, Beilein was more successful than Harbaugh. But, he got one tenth of the attention. A big time hoops coach like the names being thrown around on this board are not going to want that type of situation. And it will NEVER CHANGE.
2. Michigan expects their basketball coach to win but follow the rules. And they want their players to at least resemble student athletes.
These two reality checks pretty much eliminates all the candidates mentioned on this board.
The good news is that Michigan has had great success hiring the assistants of their successful departing head coaches. Dave Strack's assistant-Johnny Orr. Orr-Frieder. Frieder-Fisher.
Your last paragraph contradicts #2 in your list of requirements.
Frieder and Fisher cheated their asses off.
This is unbelievable. After next year, we're going to be back to the bottom of the big ten. Our entire starting five from last year will be gone and we have to fill in the pieces with a new coaching staff. I'm so heartbroken
Billy Donovon, Gregg Marshall, Mark Few, Kevin Keatts
1 year too late for Chris Mack. I'd hope Ward still makes the phone call. Outside of him, not much appeal with realistic candidates not currently on staff. Many tainted names.
If they can keep Saddi & Yak, Saddi is the best choice. If they have to blow it up, bring back L. Jordan and the entire old M staff.
Whomever is hired needs to be young-ish. With JB gone & Izzo aging ungracefully, there will be an opportunity for long-term success.
Don’t settle! This program has been to 7 yes 7 National Championship games go get a BIG TIME coach Warde! It is an elite school and basketball program! Don’t settle for less!
Holy shit, I hope those coaches don't look at our one national title banner and do the math in their heads for our title game record...
We played national powers in everyone of those National Championship games but one!
Which, coincidentally was the one we won. Let's just show them the final four banners and the facilities and not provide too much of the backstory
Has anyone mentioned Johnny Dawkins?
Brett Brown?
He may be on the market shortly!
I know it would be a long shot, but a name no one has brought up yet...Matt Painter. He is often recruiting the same type of kids Beilein is. I know he is at his alma-mater but it definitely would be an upgrade in facilities for him.
shit like this is not happening.
this time actually land... rick pitino???
/s /s /s /s /s /s /s
Why not Holtmann? Give him a raise and fuck over OSU in the process. Or are we only allowed to have rivals steal our coaches and not the inverse?
Why would Holtmann leave Ohio? They have more cash and we would lose in a bidding war anyway.
Kevin Willard - Seton Hall
Established the program back to the PJ Carlesimo level (one of the first idiots to leave a good college role to coach in the NBA). Good recruiter, would flourish under a Big 10 budget.
Jay Wright isn't coming, Brad Stevens is waiting out Coach K @ Duke.
This ..... actually isn't a bad idea
He was an assistant with Pitino at Louisville, son of a head coach of Western Kentucky & Pitt - sure both had their hands in too many cookie jars, but......he is also not Tommy Amaker redux
He recruits and he recruits NYC and Northern NJ - great basketball. (I'm sure our many NJ based football coaches can attest)
He is 44 and is looking to make the big jump out of Jay Wright's Big East shadow and being the 17th most popular team in the NYC area.
There are pie in the sky candidates like Wright & Stevens and we can do better than Shaka.
Willard may not be an obvious choice - but he is a reasoned one and one that makes sense.
(i'm not his agent or wife)
You’ve peaked my interest
I have zero confidence that King Kong Bundy can make a great hire. Kevin Ollie, anyone?
Ollie was a great hire at the time and was Calhoun's handpicked replacement. The problem was that after he won the title, he got insanely complacent and stopped doing his job off the court. The immediate success went directly to his head.
Stevens , billy Donovan , or mussleman
UW-Green Bay
Just like the entire school is the new coach? Certainly innovative, but I think the salary would be a mess to figure out
Not sure your plan, 1408, but it's probably more palatable than anything from the much lesser 1201.
No one has mentioned Mike Hopkins, long-time assistant at Syracuse who was the coach in waiting until SU extended Boeheim a few years ago. He brought success to Washington pretty quickly and is a great recruiter. He is a West Coast guy but Ann Arbor is balmier than Syracuse.
Let's see...
Learned under one of America's worst and unrepentant cheaters in Boeheim...
Went to non descript non basketball school and has nearly instant success!
I wonder why that is?
So you are saying he knows how to play the 21st century NCAA basketball game?
Let Warde Manuel make the replacement hire. After all, he is the AD at Michigan and may know just a wee bit more than the computer nerds on this blog. Now that's a novel idea- Paul Finebaum
Pete
If Shaka Smart is considered to be a candidate, I'm going to start drinking.
If Shaka is considered to be a serious candidate, I'm going to get blackout drunk and question my Michigan fandom.
If Shaka gets the job I give up and will become a full time Grand Valley State fan.
Not sure I can think of a worse possible hire.
Warde has one directive: GO BIG
Make the biggests names say no
They have already called Danny Manning.
It's actually pretty late to get this news. I understand the mechanics but it would have been better to get this news two months ago. This limits choices and puts Michigan in a situation where we need to possibly offer more money than deserved for whomever we choose.
I don't know if anyone mentioned Porter Moser from Loyola. He just turned down a lot of money from St John's but Michigan might be a much better fit.
Nate Oats has shot down the rumors of interest in the job.
From Nate Oats: “We love it at Alabama. Completely focused on our job there and getting our family moved down there. I hope my former assistant at Romulus, Saddi Washington, who’s been with Beilein the longest at Michigan gets a shot at the job.
— Cecil Hurt (@CecilHurt) May 13, 2019
Roll Tide”
Never admit interest until there is an offer. All admitting hitting interest does is piss of the current AD, fan base, and make recruits reconsider.
For the right $ he's gone. If Michigan is considered a football school, what is Alabama?
An actual football. Not even a school
As NorthenMich said, we don't have a shot at Stevens, Wright or Marshall. I mentioned in another thread, I like Eric Mussleman; but who the heck knows who they may go after.
Johnny Dawkins?
Zero confidence in Warde. Basketball program is finished. It was fun while it lasted.
Thad Matta?