Jaylen Kelly Powell Tweet -- Thomas Wilcher to Coach at M?
Sorry, don't know how to embed.
https://twitter.com/JKellypowell/status/821055020980436992
https://twitter.com/thomaswilcher/status/820824716302843909
Former RB at M, current Cass Tech coach. Would be a great hire.
January 16th, 2017 at 1:20 PM ^
@WilcherThomas #GoBlue 〽〽〽〽〽〽〽〽〽
— JKP (@JKellypowell) January 16, 2017
If life is good, what would it feel like to be a wolverine.
— Thomas Wilcher (@thomaswilcher) January 16, 2017
January 16th, 2017 at 1:27 PM ^
I asume this is operating under the theory Ty Wheatley Sr is leaving then? Despite no official word yet?
And also surprisingly little scuttlebutt on why he'd leave? Named a top recruiter, so that doesn't seem to be it.
Son playing for M, so that seems worth hanging around for?
Rumors are of a lateral move but to NFL, so maybe just sees brighter future for himself in the league?
I Love the Cass/Wilcher pipeline, and I love Wheatley at M - but if it must be, welcome Coach Wilcher!!!
January 16th, 2017 at 1:39 PM ^
before the first season in the summer where (if you read between the lines) he is not thrilled AT ALL to be doing the month-long satellite camp whirlwind tour.
Does a pro-coach work less or more than a college coach (including recruiting)?
January 16th, 2017 at 1:47 PM ^
January 16th, 2017 at 1:48 PM ^
Well they don't do whirlwind satellite camp tours, or at home visits - unless maybe it's driving a player home from jail - so there's that!
January 16th, 2017 at 2:00 PM ^
January 16th, 2017 at 3:29 PM ^
I think some coaches are more suited for college and vice versa, with the NFL. Maybe Wheels isn't thrilled with recruiting, whereas Coach loves it with EUTM!!
Some guys prefer the Pros and that's where Wheatley came from ..maybe he'd prefer to pursue an NFL job over college, even at his alma mater..?
January 16th, 2017 at 3:35 PM ^
Pro coaching is less time-intensive. There is no recruiting and the player personnel/evaluation is handled by the GM and other people. Most pro assistant coaches are focused primarily on coaching. I think they do the pro day and NFL combine circuit in the spring, but it is not the year-round effort required in college.
But job security and cost of living can be worse in the NFL. NFL coaching staffs turnover a lot more than college.
Personally IMO, I think this decision for Wheatley has more to do with his goals for career advancement than pro vs. college lifestyle. I think Wheatley eventually wants to be a coordinator and head coach, and getting there by only staying at Michigan is tough. You don't grow a coaching tree like Harbaugh has with assistant coaches not spreading their wings. For example, Willie Taggart was a RB coach under Harbaugh for 3 years at Stanford before leaving for the WKU HC gig.
I don't get why everyone is that concerned. It would suck to lose Wheatley because he is a Michigan legend and good coach & recruiter, but Harbaugh has shown time and again an ability to identify coaching talent and many times even upgrade over coaches who have left.
January 16th, 2017 at 3:59 PM ^
Wheatley is one of the best RB coaches in the country
Wheatley is one of the best recruiters in the country
Wheatley is an alum and people have a connection towards him as both player AND coach.
...Fisch leaving was one thing, a lot of, probably most Michigan fans didn't even know who he was before Harbaugh arrived. Even though he was a great position coach and recruiter as well.
Wheatley has a connection to Michigan no one else on the staff other than Harbaugh has.
I see why people are concerned about the rumors of him leaving, they just shouldn't be concerned that Harbaugh won't find a worthy replacement. He will. But people will still want Wheatley. Just like we could replace Harbaugh with Saban, Swinney, Petersen or Meyer (coaches of his calibur) and many Michigan fans would still want Harbaugh. He's "one of us" and we've seen him and his family for 40+ years.
January 16th, 2017 at 8:03 PM ^
Dude, I threw up in my mouth
January 16th, 2017 at 10:31 PM ^
But you didn't at the thought of Saban or Meyer?
All 3 are gross.
January 16th, 2017 at 1:48 PM ^
This doesn't automatically mean that he is coming in to be the RB coach. He might be brought in as recruiting coordinator or another administrative position like how Chris Partridge was hired.
January 16th, 2017 at 4:02 PM ^
We still haven't replaced Tony Tuioti.
Edit: Ideally (IMO) Wilcher takes that position and studies under Wheatley for one more year. Wheatley moves on after next season to a OC or HC position and Wilcher steps in as the new RB coach.
January 16th, 2017 at 3:34 PM ^
I don't think it's at all surprising that Wheatley would leap to the NFL. He got his kicks being back at the alma mater and helping his son acclimate, but his career was progressing rapidly before this step and he may be afraid of stalling out. Doug Marrone is clearly a coaching mentor to him and now he's back as a head coach. Salary is probably better, recruiting is annoying even if you excel at it, might be easier to parlay an NFL position coaching gig into a job as an OC or head coach. Lots of reasons to make this move for him. Plus now that he has two sons in college, the whole Ty Jr angle probably means a bit less.
January 16th, 2017 at 4:10 PM ^
January 16th, 2017 at 4:25 PM ^
@thomaswilcher is FAKE
@WilcherThomas is REAL
January 16th, 2017 at 10:20 PM ^
January 16th, 2017 at 1:20 PM ^
Interesting
January 16th, 2017 at 1:21 PM ^
Beaten to the punch.
Would LOVE Wilcher here.
January 16th, 2017 at 1:23 PM ^
I believe Wilcher's handle is @WilcherThomas not @ThomasWilcher
January 16th, 2017 at 1:25 PM ^
January 16th, 2017 at 1:27 PM ^
January 16th, 2017 at 1:42 PM ^
Perhaps he tweeted at Thomas Wilcher meaning to tweet at Thomas Wilcher - there's a subtle but very important difference, you see. It's kind of like if your name is spelled "Raymond Luxury-Yacht" but is pronounced "Throatwobbler Mangrove". Easy mistake to make, right?
January 16th, 2017 at 5:22 PM ^
Classic misdirection....
January 16th, 2017 at 1:26 PM ^
Seems like they both might belong to Wilcher. Fwiw, @wilcherthomas hasn't tweeted since November. And Sam only follows @ThomasWilcher
January 16th, 2017 at 1:24 PM ^
This has been a rumor in the past as well. Honestly, I am torn. Loyal UM guy that can obviously coach his butt off, so it would be great to have him. But on the downside, couldn't this disrupt our Cass Tech pipeline a little? Anyone that knows more than me care to comment and allay my fears?
January 16th, 2017 at 1:27 PM ^
Winning football games builds pipelines.
Having quality coaches on your staff with connections, like Wilcher and Partridge also build pipelines.
Solid move I think.
January 16th, 2017 at 1:28 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
January 16th, 2017 at 1:28 PM ^
Look at how well we've done in NJ since Partridge came on staff.
January 16th, 2017 at 1:34 PM ^
If Michigan can't recruit Detroit and Cass aka our backyard, then we got bigger issues than Wilcher leaving to come here.
This also makes me wonder why Harbaugh would hire Wilcher instead of a good HS coach from elsewhere in the country that we could use some recruiting help with... ie California or Texas maybe?
January 16th, 2017 at 1:46 PM ^
Exactly.
I do think it's worth exploring the hiring of Wilcher if Michigan thinks it would have a negative impact on recruiting Cass Tech (or Detroit in general). To be honest, it might be annoying for Detroit-area people if Wilcher wants to get a gig at Michigan but Michigan keeps hiring people from outside the state. I could see some hard feelings stemming from that.
January 16th, 2017 at 2:11 PM ^
Good take, kind of my thoughts too. It's a balancing act...
January 16th, 2017 at 5:22 PM ^
January 16th, 2017 at 4:50 PM ^
January 16th, 2017 at 4:55 PM ^
It still doesn't make sense from a Michigan standpoint. Michigan doesn't need an insider on staff to recruit Cass Tech. My statements to you in that other thread still stand.
January 16th, 2017 at 5:08 PM ^
Wheatley has been our main recruiter there. Other coaches could cover it, but it's still our single most important area. I don't think you ever hire a coach to recruit one school, but we need a strong regular presence in the city.
January 16th, 2017 at 5:20 PM ^
I don't buy that entirely. OSU's Kerry Coombs was "planting flags" in Detroit and has no connection to Detroit. He has spent his entire career within the state of Ohio. Michigan's going to be able to recruit Detroit, period, as long as you make it a priority.
January 16th, 2017 at 7:23 PM ^
Michigan football can do it, anyway. Michigan basketball, on the other hand...
January 16th, 2017 at 7:28 PM ^
Snagging a recruit a year out of Detroit is a success for OSU. We have to work a lot harder defending our turf.
We need a coach that is focused on Detroit. It doesn't have to be someone from the city, but that's a bonus Wilcher would provide.
January 16th, 2017 at 11:10 PM ^
January 16th, 2017 at 8:32 PM ^
January 16th, 2017 at 5:09 PM ^
for recruiting connections. A lot of their players are only there for one season and they have ties somewhere else. It's an atypical situation. Gorman too, is just one school that takes a lot of transfers. I'd prefer to find someone in a good recruiting area with connections to the local coaches, not just to his current players. Some place like GA, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles.
January 16th, 2017 at 1:35 PM ^
January 16th, 2017 at 7:29 PM ^
January 16th, 2017 at 1:43 PM ^
I think that the important thing for the Cass pipeline is for Cass to get a coach in that can get the most out of the athletes that go through there. It's not necessarily that Michigan connection with Wilcher that will affect us. It's more that the pipeline keeps flowing with talent. There were, unfortunately, several players that went to our rivals from Cass, even with Wilcher there. It's been a great pipeline for us but not an exclusive one.
January 16th, 2017 at 2:22 PM ^
January 16th, 2017 at 3:04 PM ^
What would you want the coach to do?
January 16th, 2017 at 1:52 PM ^