Unverified Voracity Still Fears Tillman
Outbreak: minimal. Michigan's coronavirus pause after a handful of positive antigen tests appears like it'll be a brief one:
Was told only one of the handful of presumptive positive tests returned positive (UM football) after PCR testing. Michigan paused Monday as Harbaugh said: "out of an abundance of caution" Awaiting word on when/if team resumes team activities.
— angelique (@chengelis) December 1, 2020
That's an odd number of false positives, but I guess we're going to go ahead.
[After THE JUMP: coaching options are limited]
The list: yikes. Bruce Feldman has a list of the top 20 coaching candidates to keep an eye on during this edition of the carousel. The list is not a ranking of best hires—it includes a bunch of obscure candidates who might sign up for the Vandy whipping post—but since it goes 20 deep it probably contains 90% of the hypothetically viable candidates for the Michigan job. #1 is Urban Meyer; Feldman does not mention the words Zach Smith. #3 is Hugh Freeze; Feldman does not mention the words sanctimonious holy roller who called escorts on his work phone.
It is not a good list, from the perspective of Michigan being in the market for a coach. In addition to non-starters at #1 and #3, Alabama offensive coordinator du jour is #4. That's the college equivalent of hiring a Patriots coordinator.
Guys on the list who might be of interest:
- #2 Matt Campbell, HC, Iowa State. Obvious.
- #5 Luke Fickell, HC, Cincinnati. Feldman thinks Fickell wouldn't take the Michigan job because he's too Ohio State.
- #8 Jeff Hafley, HC, Boston College. This seems nuts to me. Hafley is 6-4 in his first season at Boston College and prior to that was DC at OSU for one year. He spent the previous decade in the NFL. There's something to be said for guys who rise quickly, but the resume here is incredibly thin.
- #9 Brent Venables, DC, Clemson. Venables is probably not available, because if he was available he would not still be at Clemson. Also has two kids on the team currently.
- #16 Lance Leipold, HC, Buffalo. MAC coach du jour. Leipold had a 109-6 run—not a typo—at D-III Wisconsin-Whitewater with six national titles. He took over a program that had lost in the title game the previous two years but had not been a power before that. He had a rough start at Buffalo but has gone 10-4, 8-5, and 4-0 the last three years. That's pretty good at a tough place to win.
Various other coordinators or young-up-and-comers are listed mostly because of existing ties to programs like South Carolina with definite vacancies. FWIW, there are many Wisconsin fans in the comments who thank Feldman for not mentioning UW DC Jim Leonhard.
To me, that is one viable candidate (Campbell) and one guy who's pretty interesting (Leipold) if Feldman is correct and Fickell wouldn't take the Michigan job.
BONUS: James Franklin is on this list! Feldman: "Anyone who questions [Franklin's] coaching acumen is kidding themselves." !!! Texas might hire him?!?!??!
Basketball testing protocol. The Big Ten is doing its level best to get the basketball in:
The conference has decided to have all of its programs, as well as the officials, utilize Quidel’s daily COVID-19 antigen test. … “It’ll give us the best chance of eliminating the contact-tracing piece from competition,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood told me.
The Big Ten and Pac-12 are both testing every day, but most of the other high-major leagues are testing three times per week, using PCR tests. Many of the low- and mid-major conferences have been testing weekly, and are now — with the season starting this week — required to test three times per week.
“It’s a shitshow and it’s only going to get worse,” one low-major head coach said. “Now we can’t manipulate the contact-tracing anymore like we’ve been doing. In the past, we could go practice non-contact the day before everyone was tested. Now, with it being three times a week, you can’t do that.”
One positive test result often leads to a full 14-day quarantine for the entire team, which doesn’t make a ton of sense.
But that hasn’t been the case in the Big Ten. The player who tests positive has to go into a 21-day quarantine, but the remainder of the team is able to test out of quarantine as long as they are negative each day. …
According to multiple sources, the Big Ten is also on the verge of hiring approximately 15 referees in an exclusive deal in which they would solely work Big Ten games once league play begins.
It would be dumb to make any assertions about the success or failure of this exercise. The plan at least seems reasonable.
I feel you, anonymous basketball persons. The Athletic has an anonymous survey of Big Ten basketballists. Items that stand out:
- Xavier Tillman gets two votes as the league's hardest player to score on despite the fact he is not in the league any more. I enthusiastically endorse this take.
- Giorgi Benshanishvili gets a vote in this category? What?
- Two players vote for Brad Davison in the "I'd love to play with" category, presumably because Davison doesn't cup-check teammates. Joey Brunk gets two votes?
- Juwan Howard and Tom Izzo finish tied a top the "coach I'd like to play for" list with six votes. Chris Holtmann gets four, and one desperate lunatic pulls the lever for Chris Collins.
- Players are split about down the middle about using their extra year of eligibility.
I am trying to imagine the Big Ten basketballist who is not on Northwestern's basketball team who thinks "man I really wish I was on Northwestern's basketball team." It does not compute.
Outside the umbrella. Cheerleaders are not under the NCAA umbrella largely because some schools tried to count cheer teams as athletes and this seemed like a Title IX dodge. And cheerleaders are like "cool, rad, cool":
Woolsey, who has a verified Instagram account with 255,000 followers, has posted sponsored content for the apparel company Reebok, the study-aid website Course Hero and the cosmetics company Vanity Planet. She can earn more than $5,000 per post through deals with larger companies, and sometimes receives $200 to promote smaller boutiques.
“A lot of companies like stories of me sitting and talking about the product and making it seem like it’s not an ad,” Woolsey said.
Sherburn said that along with free apparel, the entire Texas Tech cheer team gets discounts from local salons for services like tanning and manicures. “We have to post about it and say, ‘Thank you for taking care of me,’ in return,” she said.
Woolsey and Sherburn said they did not consult their Texas Tech coaches about posting sponsored content because they saw no need to ask for permission. [ed: !!!]
At no point has anyone in media launched a fusty jeremiad about the entitlement and corruption of today's cheerleaders. There's no Cheer Dabo who turned into a pile of sawdust as soon as a college kid got paid for being famous. Everything in cheerleading is completely fine. This is what the NCAA will be like in a Name And Image world. It will be completely fine and 46% less indefensible.
The worst. Michigan's bumblebee alternates top a list of the worst alternate uniforms in Detroit sports. Truly incredible Brandon/Adidas vibes:
According to Van Bergen, the Wolverines learned minutes before kickoff that they’d be wearing these monstrosities. They were visually unappealing, but as Van Bergen tells it, the white pants also ran tighter than the team’s usual cut.
“We’re going out to play football and I’m in stuff that doesn’t fit me,” Van Bergen said. “I’m completely uncomfortable and I’m also rushed.”
It used to be marginally worse.
Even more NHL draft stuff. The Athletic's Scott Wheeler has an updated and expanded list of 2021 NHL draft prospects. Owen Power checks in at #1 in a year where he's increasingly a safer bet than CHL players who haven't hit the ice yet:
1. Owen Power — LHD, University of Michigan, 6-foot-5
To play it safe at the draft is to talk yourself into taking less talented players. But in a draft where so much is uncertain, Power is the surest thing. I’m not sure he’ll stay at No. 1 on my board but he’s the only player in this draft class I’m sure will remain in my top five when the year’s over. Given the uncertainty around so many of the top prospects in this draft (there are top-tier talents who haven’t played this year, others who are playing in new leagues and some who just aren’t playing well), Power gets the edge as a prospect who is the most likely to play at the top of an NHL lineup.
There’s nothing about his game stylistically, nor his physical or mental maturity, that is off-putting (even accounting for the fact that he’s a late 2002 in a 2003 class). He’s got excellent four-way mobility considering the size of his frame, he defends the rush and the cycle superbly through deft gap control and calculated decision-making, his head is always up when he has the puck and he fairly consistently makes NHL skill plays by stepping around opposing players with the puck or threading passes.
Kent Johnson is #3, Matt Beniers #8, Luke Hughes #9, and Matthew Samoskevich is #27. These are all more or less in the same range we've seen Michigan draft prospects listed. Dylan Duke, though, hasn't gotten the same level of hype. Here he slots in just ahead of Samoskevich:
26. Dylan Duke — C/W, NTDP, 5-foot-10
Duke’s one of the players in this draft class who still isn’t getting the kind of love he deserves, at least not in the public sphere. He was at the centre of the NTDP’s offence last year, he grew an inch in the summer and he has remained a focal point to start this season. Duke is an opportunistic player, the kind of forward who excels playing in and out of space, hopping on loose pucks and making a quick aggressive play to a teammate or the net. …
His reads are quick, he doesn’t cave under pressure, he’s agile (without being explosive), his processing doesn’t seem to suffer when the pace ratchets up. He’s also got a lethal wrister, which isn’t reflected in his low goal totals this season.
F Tyler Haskins makes Wheeler's list of honorable mentions, which would make him a third or fourth round pick.
Etc.: Michigan's FOIA department remains an embarrassment. Try to remember you're a public university. SOCKERSLAM! Man this Jets reporter is a mess. Here's a thing I haven't said in a while: here's an interesting sports blog. It's about Northwestern! Rescued by the DMV. Sounds familiar.
December 1st, 2020 at 1:43 PM ^
Xavier Tillman's ghost still feels like 2nd-team all defense, at worst, so I get the consternation.
I've said my piece before but a reason I'm not super-excited about a coaching change this year is that the options aren't all that appealing to replace Harbaugh, especially if Texas also looks for a switch. YMMV about Campbell but if we're already in "ah Hugh Freeze ain't THAT bad" territory in your top 5, that's not a great list.
Michigan's approach to FOIA is awful and they should be dragged repeatedly for it. It's utter bullshit and absolutely designed to foil the intent of the act.
December 1st, 2020 at 1:44 PM ^
Feldman's list is stupid and the reality is lists aren't the same for one team. Why is Mario Cristobal not on the list of Michigan interest? Justin Wilcox has been good at Cal and upped their recruiting, Dave Aranda is just as viable as Jeff Hafley. Tom Allen and PJ Fleck would both be available to Michigan if they had interest. There might not be an obvious star at the top of the list but a) there rarely is and b) half the time it doesn't work out anyways (see Hermann at Texas).
Also just get Campbell and the rest of the list wouldn't matter. Also we aren't going to fire Harbaugh so this is all in vain anyways.
December 1st, 2020 at 1:54 PM ^
Not having Tom Allen on the list is nuts. His enthusiasm may be annoying to rivals but it appears infectious inside his own program. He has a staff of built-in, young, hungry guys who may replace him one day and Indiana just keeps getting better and better. Checks a lot of boxes if Campbell or Cristobal (to name two good choices) don't pan out. Assume we go looking.
December 2nd, 2020 at 5:57 AM ^
I really like Tom Allen and really dislike PJ Fleck. Allen would on my short list all day long.
December 1st, 2020 at 1:55 PM ^
My guess is the list is geared towards writing about coaches that are not currently a P5 head coach that would take a head job at a P5 school. Obviously, it makes sense that neither Allen or Fleck are going to Nashville to take the Vandy job so I get the premise of the list.
That said, I still think Texas and Michigan are good enough of jobs where a P5 head coach would be willing to at least consider the job. I know Fleck isn't the most popular guy on this board (though I don't really get why) but I would certainly think he and Allen would have interest in the job and Michigan should have interest in them too, although I am just waiting for the upcoming pasting at the hands of OSU 79-0 coupled with a Harbaugh extension *fart noise*.
December 1st, 2020 at 4:31 PM ^
One of the worst Michigan teams in recent memory just beat PJ Fleck 49-24! WTF are you talking about!?
December 1st, 2020 at 4:49 PM ^
If you're going to focus Fleck's entire coaching tenure on one game, be my guest. By that token, we should have never hired Harbaugh since Oregon pulled his pants down in 2010 by 21 points or in his last season at San Fran he lost to Denver by 25 points. Blowouts happen my man.
December 1st, 2020 at 5:58 PM ^
You are insane if you think PJ Fleck would be an upgrade from Harbaugh. The guy's teams have completely disastrous defenses and offenses that only look competent because the division they play in is one of the worst in Power 5 football.
December 2nd, 2020 at 6:01 AM ^
"...on one game"? They are the worst team in the B1G. They gone from almost first to worst in a year.
December 1st, 2020 at 2:49 PM ^
I really think Dave Aranda is a solid option. He’s young and has been successful evaluating and recruiting everywhere he’s been. He has a great defensive mind, his defenses ranked 6th, 17th, 1st respectively his three years at Wisco and their next two defenses with Aranda’s guys ranked 4th and 3rd.
His time at LSU was interesting, the defense did worse statistically each year but the SEC has transitioned to a more high scoring league during his time there. Plus LSU’s offenses his first two years there were quite anemic.
Aranda is coaching his first season as a head coach at Baylor and they’re 2-5 but the nature of this season has been rough for most first year coaches. He doesn’t have a ton of HC experience but if Campbell doesn’t work out, he is a viable candidate that should be seriously considered.
December 1st, 2020 at 8:21 PM ^
No one knows what makes for a good coach at a Top End P5 School. It is like drafting a QB in the NFL. Sometimes the First round guy is Ryan Leaf and sometimes the GOAT is pick 199. Talent at the QB position in college often doesn't translate in predictable ways to the NFL. Talent at a smaller school/conference/coordinator position doesn't translate in predictable ways to Top End P5 schools.
December 1st, 2020 at 1:48 PM ^
Michigan will extend Harbaugh two more years at a slightly reduced rate with a GREATLY reduced buyout. Bet you a $1
December 1st, 2020 at 4:20 PM ^
Don't even think this is a hot take anymore - sadly...
December 1st, 2020 at 5:33 PM ^
and then he goes on to kick ass and pummel osu, then we wish he had a bigger buy out when nfl teams come calling. Bet $1.
December 1st, 2020 at 7:41 PM ^
You really believe that?
December 1st, 2020 at 1:53 PM ^
FWIW (probably < $0.02), Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports doesn't think Michigan would be a destination for Campbell (who, according to "rumblings," would do only OSU / ND):
December 1st, 2020 at 1:56 PM ^
I know this not to be true and that Campbell would take the Michigan job if the contract is done right.
Better pay the man because if Day ever leaves Ohio State, they will.
December 1st, 2020 at 2:05 PM ^
If Fickell is approached about our job and says he is not interested that can only be because he believes he will be OSUs next coach. On top of that you have guys like Brian Hartline who are killing it in recruiting, and played at OSU, already on staff. Him moving up makes more sense than that juggernaut looking outside the program and potentially upsetting what they have built. Which is another reason to seriously consider Tom Allen. The man has built a respectable program in a very difficult place and has some young guys on his current staff who could be future Michigan head coaches. I would love to see that as a possibility even if they never make it that far.
December 1st, 2020 at 2:59 PM ^
I don't disagree with any of what you say.
Campbell's camp believes the Ohio State Job is his when the time comes IF he's not already at ND or Michigan. I'm sure Fickell believes the same thing.
December 1st, 2020 at 3:16 PM ^
Well said.
December 1st, 2020 at 4:31 PM ^
To state the obvious, Ohio State can only have one coach at a time (not counting Urban Meyer on staff as advisor or whatever). And unless the NFL comes looking, there's no reason to think Ryan Day is leaving soon. So either Campbell or Fickell has to realize they might be the odd man out and jump on a different opportunity instead of waiting for OSU to hire them.
December 1st, 2020 at 11:19 PM ^
Does Day have some terminal disease only Campbell and Fickell are aware of? The guy is 41. He could be at OSU for 15+ years.
And Iowa State / Cincinnati aren't schools you wait around at until the "dream job" opens up.
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:05 PM ^
I believe any supposing about a successor to Day at osu supposes he'll make a grab for some NFL millions in the not-too-distant future.
If I were Campbell, I'd suppose I was 2nd at best on the list of prospective replacements for Day, and I'd see Kelly having nd poised to grab another playoff bid, and so I'd be listening very intently if Michigan called.
And seriously, if Fickell dislikes Michigan so much he'd turn down mega millions to come here in hope Day jumps to the NFL in the near future, imagine the damage he could accomplish in 4 years! Agent Saboteur!
December 2nd, 2020 at 3:13 PM ^
If you don't have a verbal agreement with Campbell to take the U-M job, you hold onto Harbaugh
December 1st, 2020 at 2:11 PM ^
That list of coaches is one of the reasons that I* am not sold on firing Harbaugh. I know that it's not Ace's favorite argument, but you never fire someone in a vacuum. At the risk of stating the obvious, the new coach has to be better than Harbaugh and make up for the transition cost. I'm higher on Campbell than some here, but it's not obvious to me that he would be an improvement over Harbaugh.
*Who am I? I'm a guy on the internet!
December 1st, 2020 at 2:23 PM ^
Yeah, I'd be fine if Campbell led to short-term costs if you could see long-term success, but I'm not sold he raises Michigan's ceiling significantly long-term. I'm fine being wrong but I've just seen too many coaches get hyped for going from bad-to-good but not realizing that good-to-great is a much harder slog.
December 1st, 2020 at 2:42 PM ^
If I'm Warde Manuel--and this may be another obvious statement--I want to have a long talk with Harbaugh about what he sees as the reasons for the current problems and how he envisions fixing them. Harbaugh may still have a lot of success in him. He may not, but I have a very hard time making that call with the information that's available to the public.
December 1st, 2020 at 3:43 PM ^
I disagree. Aside from the issues of roster management, clock management, player development, attrition, apparently poor ("questionable" if you want to be kind) decision to play certain players ove others, and abysmal record against OSU, MSU, top-15 teams, bowls, etc., unfortunately, the "narrative" around Harbaugh has become toxic. He has lost the fanbase almost completely, and from the look of the games, he has lost the team. When you add to that the fact that he has never stayed in 1 spot for more than a few years, it is obvious that a change is needed.
If the choices were Harbaugh or some complete unknown, sure, I can understand your point, but most of the names on that list, while not glamorous, are solid or better coaches, and would likely do even better with the resources of Michigan.
December 1st, 2020 at 4:56 PM ^
Clock management I'd give you, but the player development argument sort of bugs me. Harbaugh has sent 30 guys to the NFL in the past 5 years; that's pretty impressive even if he inherited some guys from Hoke. He has a number of guys on the roster who will be high-ish picks, though sadly a lot of them have/are hurt and out. And player retention feels subjective; if a guy who is 5th on the depth chart and a senior (see Tarik Black) wants to move on, I don't see the harm with him being helped out. The list of guys who have left are largely in that group; guys who weren't seeing the starting spot (and seemingly didn't jump somewhere else and see the field) who left. That does happen at programs across the country; Michigan's gotten a couple of those guys.
His record against the best teams on the schedule is a reasonable ding, but it's also largely just OSU-based. Ignoring this year he's basically beaten up on MSU and was at parity with Wisconsin, ND, and PSU. If you believe he's lost the team and the fanbase this year and can't recover it then so be it, but I feel like that is pretty subjective; my guess is winning fixes a lot of those problems.
I'm not going to lose any sleep if Michigan replaces Harbaugh but I want it to be worth the pain; I'm just not sold that this year's low is the actual state of the program, and so the available options to replace Harbaugh this year might not demonstrably improve the ceiling and could absolutely lower it.
December 1st, 2020 at 5:14 PM ^
I recently posted a summary of Harbaugh's record against ranked teams in conference. Other than 2018 in which he won 3 of 4, it was really ugly. Something like 2-11 with the best win coming against a pretty bad NW team which had crept into the standings early in the season. I wish I could find it because that was what sealed the deal for me that Harbaugh was not the right coach for Michigan.
December 1st, 2020 at 8:07 PM ^
Add back in 2018 and it becomes, 5-12 against ranked teams in conference. Subtract out OSU (who has few losses against anyone in Harbaugh's time here) and that becomes 5-6 which looks closer to reasonable. Not saying this to defend Harbaugh, but if you can spin the numbers one way by arbitrarily throwing out his best year, you can also spin the numbers the other way by throwing out his toughest opponent.
December 1st, 2020 at 11:41 PM ^
No effort to spin the numbers. Just pointing out that in 4 out of 5 years Harbaugh has performed very poorly against what should be considered peer teams.
December 1st, 2020 at 5:31 PM ^
Not sure if players going to the NFL is a good barometer of player development. The NFL is more focused on a player's measurables and athletic ability. So a player like DPJ, who had a relatively quiet last year, can still get drafted based upon freak athletic ability.
As for departures, it may be feelingsball on my part, but it does seem like a number of guys getting or in line to get significant playing time have left. It also feels like we are losing a lot more guys to the late rounds of the draft than other teams.
On his record against other teams, I actually agree with you re: OSU. They are performing at a historic high right now, so I can almost give Harbaugh a pass on not beating them. But we are only 3-3 against a shitty sparty program, and doesn't have a single signature win (maybe last year against ND?).
December 1st, 2020 at 7:47 PM ^
First question is, do you think Harbaugh is coaching at a high level?
Also, you will not ever get a guarantee that the next coach will be great. Harbaugh was the can't miss and we missed. It happens. As an AD you look for a guy to take you to the level you want to be at. So its a bit of a gut feeling, guess, and hope that you catch a few breaks in getting the next great coach. The one thing that is sure that if you maintain the status quo you will continue in the status quo.
December 1st, 2020 at 2:13 PM ^
Coaching candidate lists are inherently surface content and silly, but as far as such lists go, this list is pretty reasonable as a generalized list not specific to any team.
While I know that our program is not quite the destination job that it was back in 2008, I still think that we can attract top candidates and have the resources (i.e. Mr. Ross) to pay those candidates top dollar. While I agree that Urban is unrealistic, that puts any other candidate out there in play.
My personal list in no order (since I don't have nearly enough information to split the hairs) is Campbell, Leipold and Allen. My "tier 2" list is Hafley and Fickel (I just don't see the hype in either). As important as the head coach is, I want us to fill out our staff with assistants who are competent at their jobs and can recruit like mad.
December 2nd, 2020 at 12:20 AM ^
Let's wake up people. You mention a wealthy alum paying top dollar for coaches.
You know what?
Michigan won't be elite until we start paying the players.
That is what the elite programs are already doing. Michigan either joins the party via the new NIL rules, or if that doesn't happen our wealthy alums need to say fuck it and start busting out the bags of Benjamins.
The NCAA is a fucking farce and I'm tired of Michigan trying to compete with both arms tied behind their back.
People say "oh but Wisconsin can do it..." Bullshit. Chryst is winless versus OSU. Wisconsin is never going to win shit. Michigan would have won the crappy West Division in 2015, 2016, and 2018. And then suddenly everyone thinks Harbaugh isn't hot garbage.
You want to win titles? Pay the damn players. This just in: Ohio State PAYS THEIR PLAYERS.
And the most frustrating part of this whole thing is that Michigan might have the world's biggest money cannon and yet refuses to shoot it.
It's like that line from the movie Swingers where Vince Vaughn says:
"...you got these claws and you're staring at these claws and you're thinking to yourself, and with these claws you're thinking, "How am I supposed to kill this bunny, how am I supposed to kill this bunny?"
It's time.
December 1st, 2020 at 2:24 PM ^
At no point has anyone in media launched a fusty jeremiad about the entitlement and corruption of today's cheerleaders.
Beauteous man. $20 bucks for "fusty jeremiad" ... but the whole damn sentence is great.
December 1st, 2020 at 2:34 PM ^
Couple things to consider about Hafley...
First- OSU's ranks in YPP total defense the last 3 years:
2018- 72nd
2019- 1st (!!!)
2020- 83rd
One could argue "peak roster" and such, but that is still a ridiculous variance- he would improve the results on defense immediately
Hafley was also ranked the #4 recruiter overall, his first year in CFB after 10 seasons in the NFL- I know Michigan's issues aren't really in that area, but he would be a huge get there...
December 1st, 2020 at 2:47 PM ^
Replacing Harbaugh with Hafley would be an absolutely enormous risk, but he's much more interesting than your average new coach. I've read a few articles about him, and he appears headed for success as a head coach.
December 1st, 2020 at 3:47 PM ^
All aboard the Hafley train! If UM doesn't get him I have a feeling that 5 years from now everyone will see what he's become and sigh with regret.
December 2nd, 2020 at 12:27 AM ^
I was scratching my head when I saw Hafley show up on lists in different places, but when you look into him, he quickly climbs the list of prospective candidates. Brian is dismissing him based on 1 record at BOSTON COLLEGE (remember when we poached their promising DC based on stat rankings?!) Despite the record, they've held close with everyone (even the tough teams) in the ACC despite a roster with less talent than us. A big barometer for me was the Ohio State (I know, I know) reaction to all this and they seem most scared of him taking the position. People forget but the almighty Ryan Day basically anointed Hafley head of the defense (with help from Greg Mattison), tho he had other plans to be a HC instead of a DC for years. But he flipped their defense into a top 5 unit which they weren't the year before or the year after. He's a well respected recruiter and I think he's one of those Sean McVay/Kyle Shanahan/Sean Payton types who may be young but have an incredible mind for the sport and possibly most important, he has intimate knowledge of the machine down south, which could help us break their recruiting wall around Ohio and install some of their more effective strategies
December 1st, 2020 at 2:42 PM ^
I generally like Bruce Feldman (wayyy much more than Stewart Mandel, who just whines and his other takes are not interesting) but this is a pretty poor list of potential candidates for Michigan. Shane Beamer is on the list because that guy has cultivated media contacts into favorable press - as OU's associate head coach. The pool of potential candidates is much, much wider.
December 1st, 2020 at 3:56 PM ^
If Manuel could get off of his thumb and make a public statement, any statement regarding the future of our head coach, that would be much appreciated.
December 1st, 2020 at 3:57 PM ^
Hafley is growing on me as a Mike Vrabel style candidate. No resume but people just seem to think he has the it factor. Young and up and comer, I’d be willing to try it out.
December 2nd, 2020 at 12:29 AM ^
Agreed, I think he's a candidate who some will dismiss now but a few years later, we'll wish we'd given him the chance. Somewhat similar to how we look at Dan Mullen (minus his idiotic statements this year)
December 1st, 2020 at 4:02 PM ^
? "... one desperate lunatic pulls the lever for Chris Collins. I am trying to imagine the Big Ten basketballist who is not on Northwestern's basketball team who thinks "man I really wish I was on Northwestern's basketball team." It does not compute."
• Maybe it's not a desperate lunatic but a player who wants to upgrade his academics.
December 1st, 2020 at 4:24 PM ^
The trouble with Matt Campbell or bust is the very real possibility he stays at ISU, or goes to Texas, etc...and you're left with Mel Tucker.
December 2nd, 2020 at 12:29 AM ^
If we can't lure Matt Campbell away from Iowa State, then our AD has some MAJOR issues to address
December 2nd, 2020 at 10:27 AM ^
I'm just going to use your comment to express my frustration that Stephen Godfrey somehow thinks Mel Tucker is going to change the entire paradigm in the Big Ten because he was able to sniff Nick Saban's farts or some shit.
December 1st, 2020 at 4:36 PM ^
Come on, Brian. OSU hired a guy with a career HCing record of 0-0. How's that working out for them?
UM basketball just did the same.
There's apparently evidence in AD circles going around that the length of your resume has little correlation with future success. Would you have wanted to hire Urban after BG? After Utah?
Go ahead and get the guy BEFORE he blows up. Cause then, you know, he may blow up WHEN HE'S COACHING *YOUR* TEAM.
Hafly has a limited resume, but comes highly regarded. Has made stops in the NFL and college with success. He's a young, passionate, relationships-first-kind of guy.
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