coaching fiasco 2011

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Next stop for the Dominos plane is an airport approximately 90 miles from San Diego. Touchdown is scheduled for about 6 PM.

UPDATE: Local paper has picked up on this and put some meat on the bones, at least sort of:

The agent for San Diego State head football coach Brady Hoke has been in discussions for Hoke to possibly become the next head coach at the University of Michigan, a source close to the situation said.

Trace Armstrong, Hoke's agent, has declined comment. Hoke and other SDSU officials have not returned messages for several days.

Hoke was in the Los Angeles area Tuesday recruiting for SDSU. Meanwhile, Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon has planned to fly to nearby Orange County for a meeting Tuesday.

So… he's in LA, where Brandon is apparently meeting him. It's unclear how much of this is solid, but… yeah. Probably solid. This "national" search is national in the sense that people who played or coached at Michigan comprise a nation, which they do not.

UPDATE II: Despite the newspaper article above I have two sources saying that the Domino's plane is now being used by, you know, Domino's, and is no longer ferrying Dave Brandon around. There is a conference called ICR going on that starts tomorrow in Dana Point, California and features a presentation by Domino's at 8:25 AM, so the above newspaper article may be speculation or wrong or this is false hope and Dave Brandon is in some other jet.

UPDATE III: Our respite was brief:

SDSU Coach Brady Hoke recently visited with Michigan, source says

If we're seriously talking to him he's all but announced since he'll take twenty dollars and donuts twice a week to coach at M.

Via everyone, the LSU AD:

“I am pleased to announce that Les Miles will remain the head coach at LSU."

It's coordinator-or-Hoke time.

Part one: LSU officials "reacting quickly" to Les Miles meeting with Michigan officials apparently did not so much happen:

First, there was no late-night meeting with Miles and LSU AD Joe Alleva or other high-ranking university officials in an effort to convince the coach to stay. After Miles’ meeting with Michigan AD Dave Brandon, Miles went home.

Part two: Adam Rittenberg reports via his Big 12 compatriot that Les Miles is not in Dallas despite being scheduled to speak at 3 PM. If he is taking the job, he would be at Michigan's scheduled meeting with the players at 4.

UPDATE: Flight tracking suggests that Miles isn't in Dallas yet but probably will be. This flight leaves essentially now:

For what it is worth, a twin prop is scheduled to go from Baton Rouge to Love field in Dallas at 11:12 CST. The plane is owned by a Med transport company, but is most likely chartered by LSU for the trip. Plane is making a 11 minute flight from Lafayette to Baton Rouge prior to the Dallas trip.

Either that or Les is flying American Eagle to DFW. Yeah right.

[HT to Kirk Fauri.] So… if the meeting gets moved that's a good sign. If it doesn't, not so much.

UPDATE II: LSU sources at their Rivals site and some local radio station are reporting Miles will stay at LSU. Radio is whatever but usually Rivals guys are plugged in. The Rivals stuff is currently paywalled, however, so its unclear how definitive that information is.

The love boat is not actually the Brandon plane but I can't help what people photoshop and send me

Dave Brandon's plane visited Baton Rouge last night and returned to Ann Arbor. Les Miles has a speaking engagement in Dallas at the AFCA convention. There's a players' meeting scheduled for 4 PM. The athletic department is pushing a contest where you—yes, you—can attend the historic press conference when Michigan's 19th head coach is named, something which will no doubt thrill and delight the assembled throng when you ask "how long is 35 seconds, Les? Is it 35 seconds? Please say it's 35 seconds."

What I'm saying is that today is the day we find out whether or not Les Miles is Michigan's head coach and then either get busy living with it or get busy dying as Dave Brandon flies to San Diego or Auburn or somewhere. As of about 9:30 AM on F5 day, I believe but can't confirm it will be the former. Les Miles will probably be Michigan's coach by the end of the day.

While it's possible this is all a rumor storm built from the obvious plane movement and obvious candidacy of Miles, there are many, many people saying it's a done deal ranging from Tiger Droppings posters to serious-seeming but not confirmed people in the inbox. Circumstantially, if Brandon met with Miles and didn't immediately return to Dallas—the place with more football coaches per capita than anywhere else in the world right now—or headed to some other place containing a coach of interest he's probably got his man. I can't imagine an athletic director not working around the clock on January 11th when he's got an open head coaching job and little time to fill it. A return to Ann Arbor should mean something is done.

While that could be Miles not working out and Brandon agreeing to a fallback plan with someone he met with in Dallas, I think it's Miles.

Debate about which plane is which is now moot because the one in Dallas is headed to Baton Rouge:

Brandon's likely on it, and that Tuesday meeting may start happening in about 45 minutes. News, yes or no, could come any time tonight. Light a candle.

(HT: @daveduncan)

Via mgovideo:

The critical bit:

"I'm told that we will speak, that time and place has not been identified," said Miles, a former Wolverines assistant coach and player. "It's hard for me to speculate to the substance of the meeting."

That is a deeply weird statement, but this is Les Miles after all.