Searchbits VI: Panic! Panic Even More!
RATS. You're no fun, N582CJ.
HARBAUGH HARBAUGH HARBAUGH. First, this is completely false:
Multiple sources I spoke with told me Jim Harbaugh has already told Michigan that he is not a candidate.
I know from people who have talked directly to Harbaugh that he has interest in the job and is telling Michigan that. The concern previously was that Michigan was not reaching out in any sort of semi-official manner. 247 reported earlier this week that bridge-mending was going on between Carr and Harbaugh.
This may be a he-said-she-said battle of the sources, but look at it from Harbaugh's perspective (or possibly his agent's). Harbaugh is under contract; the 49ers may try to trade him; any trade necessarily hampers his ability to win at the new place; the possibility of leaving for Michigan brings the price down and improves his leverage. Even if Harbaugh had 0.0% interest in returning to college he would not be telling people that.
And unless he's flat out lying to multiple former teammates that's not the case. If so, this is the appropriate GIF.
With that in mind, I'm not inclined to take the rest of Scott Roussel's alarming post seriously. His previous report about Hackett informing the regents he had not found anyone who could do the AD job at Michigan was 90% crap. It is a funhouse mirror version of the truth in which Michigan has decided that they should use Hackett for a transitional period specifically because football has a hiring season and they don't want to throw a guy in right now and expect him to get the thing right. Hackett's timeframe here is not likely to last past the summer.
But, FWIW:
The feedback I heard isn’t going to excite many at Michigan; in fact, one source was very blunt, saying “Michigan is struggling to find their next head coach.”
Michigan athletic director Jim Hackett and senior assistant athletic director Mike DeBord have spoken with a number of potential candidates is the what I’m told; and the reception thus far hasn’t been positive. We are told that the Michigan administration was hoping to have largely have their man identified by now and that does not appear to be the case as calls were ongoing yesterday.
This is how coaching searches go, and this year was particularly likely to end up with a lot of thanks-but-no-thanks calls as Michigan checks on Stoops, Patterson, Gundy, and maybe Shaw or Richt just in case. Florida got a head start and has already passed through this phase. Check out the names for Gainesville later in this post; they are not exactly A-listers for a job that's at least on par with Michigan.
After this period Michigan will get down to identifying a real set of candidates that are not ensconced at stable programs. Roussel does say that Michigan check on Butch Jones and he "won't be a candidate," and I believe that. It is a specific piece of information that I have not had directly refuted to me multiple times.
![King_Creole_LesMiles[1]](https://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/Searchbits-VI_150C2/King_Creole_LesMiles1.gif "King_Creole_LesMiles[1]")
ON LES MILES. That story also has a bit on Les Miles. It is correct that there's a great divide in the program alumni about Miles, but it also asserts that Michigan would avoid him because of the chance they get turned down humiliatingly. That would not happen. If Miles is offered the job he would come.
Personally, I'm not enthralled with a 61-year-old who's been the subject of an OTL episode about cutting players, coming off a meh year and possibly the downside. But he'd come. Assertions to the contrary are from the camp that doesn't like Miles because of the way he and Carr have butted heads over the years.
THINK OF THE THE SCION IN CHARGE. Last week's deflating loss against Seattle caused the 49ers' owner to tweet something about how it was "unacceptable," leading to a veritable e-kerfuffle. Jed York was seen talking to the GM! A teenage girl said something nasty about Greg Roman! Dark days. Speculation about an immediate firing was faintly ridiculous then and more so a few days later.
In the aftermath Adam Schefter reported that Harbaugh's fate would be determined after the season and that the Raiders and Jets were the favorites to land him.In general, NFL sources are swearing up and down that nobody leaves the NFL on purpose. Historically, they're correct. But I roll my eyes when they start making those assertions about Harbaugh staying on the West Coast because his wife likes In And Out.
There is a large complicating factory with talk about the Raiders that national guys completely overlook. Tim Kawakami:
I doubt York wants to see Harbaugh coaching the Raiders, wherever they end up playing in 2015–and remember, there is a possibility the Raiders play in Santa Clara for a few years.
Harbaugh coaching the Raiders in Santa Clara? That is NOT what Jed York wants, though who knows, he might Tweet something to clarify all this.
Underestimating the petulance of the extremely rich is never wise. Where would York prefer Harbaugh to be: Oakland or Michigan?
PLAN B? With Harbaugh uncertain, Michigan is going to need to do groundwork to have a set of alternate candidates in place to prevent a repeat of the 2007 search, in which ideas after Les Miles ranged from "uhhhhhhh" to "wellllllll". Oh, and the 2011 search, in which ideas after Jim Harbaugh ranged from "welllllll" to "welllllll". Who might those guys be?
I think you can strike everyone who may or may not be available. Early returns from not only the Michigan search but the Florida search indicate that the Petersen will-he-or-won't-he types are firmly in the NOPE camp. So who might Michigan look at after you excise the Gundy/Patterson types? I have no idea. I hope Jim Hackett does.
I don't think Les Miles is going to be the guy. There is a ton of opposition to him that would be difficult to overcome. After that you're outside the realm of guys who got yelled at by Bo.
Obviously, Dan Mullen is a guy you have to kick the tires on. The recent issue with a QB getting his offer pulled looks bad; you have to get Mullen's side of that, as he's prevented by NCAA rule from offering it publicly. Lloyd Carr had a few incidents in which he got blasted by recruits that I don't think were entirely, or even mostly, on him. In this case Mullen asked the guy to grayshirt out of the blue, which is not kosher but isn't as bad as a total kiss-off.
After Mullen it's down to flier types and coordinators. And extremely angry unemployed guys. You know me: I prefer the coordinator/innovator route to a guy with veins permanently etched on his forehead.
WHAT'S GOING ON AT FLORIDA? A reported 4 million dollar offer to Ole Miss's Hugh Freeze resulted in a raise and extension for—surprise!—another Jimmy Sexton client. Florida sources are chalking that up to Ole Miss getting Sexton'd; the SBNation reporter who broke the news is standing by the report since these days a coaching 'offer' is only definitively given to the guy that gets the job. And I see his point.
But whatever, Freeze seems off the table. The current names are:
New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is a consideration, according to one source, confirming a report by Football Scoop, although there is concern regarding McDaniels' availability to join Florida immediately upon his hire. The Ohio native and longtime Bill Belichick assistant has not coached in college since a stint as a graduate assistant at Nick Saban's Michigan State, and his only head coaching experience came in 2009 and 2010 with the Denver Broncos.
Yahoo! Sports' Pat Forde reports Colorado State's Jim McElwain is a "leading candidate," and the Gainesville Sun's Pat Dooley says TCU's Gary Patterson shouldn't be ruled out.
This is good news from our perspective since none of those names seem like they would become prominent here in the event M strikes out on Harbaugh. I'd be shocked if Patterson was available for anyone; McElwain's reported $7.5 million buyout is offputting when there are guys with better track records who would require less outlay.
And then there's Josh McDaniels. That is particularly bats. He's barely coached in college and has made his name coaching Tom Brady from 2004 on, after the point at which Tom Brady's QB coach was himself. His brief foray as the Broncos head coach ended before two years were up; he had one year as the Rams' OC, and now he's back under Belicheck's wing. He is 1000% flier.
Etc.: Mike Gundy and the Heisenberg uncertainty principle of coaching. Mike Hart, now at WMU, has a highly successful first-year back.
December 2nd, 2014 at 12:41 PM ^
I never really thought Harbaugh was coming, and even if he did he'd be on his way out pretty soon once a better NFL gig opened up. He doesn't really want to be here, or at least doesn't want to be here now when he can have more visibility in the NFL. I'm sure if he flames out at some point he'd consider coming back to college, but he's a super-competitive guy who wants to be the best, and you are the best in the NFL.
I want nothing to do with Miles. I don't care what he's done; sure he says he'd like to be here, but he's old, has way too much SEC stink on him, and hasn't coached north of Louisiana since 1994.
Mullen is fine despite concerns about his overall coaching ability at UM, but I know he'd come in and be good early on. My dream is a hot-shot coordinator who can come in and drag Michigan into the 21st century offensively, but baby steps. Not forehead exploders and guys getting AARP magazine is enough for now.
Also, my wife liked "In & Out" as well. I also have a 1-year-old, so you know, there are reprecussions for that.
December 2nd, 2014 at 12:55 PM ^
Hasn't coached north of Louisiana since 94? Last time I checked Ok St is north of that. And what's with SEC stink? Mullen is fine but Les isn't? Let's just get the best damn coach we can. We look like a mess right now anyways.
December 2nd, 2014 at 1:24 PM ^
Sorry - meant Mason-Dixon line. My geography skills failed me a bit there.
As for Mullen vs. Miles as it applies to SEC stink, Miles has been there longer and has a shadier background when it comes to the types of issues people have with SEC teams. Mullen has this one grayshirt; as Brian noted there was an OTL special on what happened at LSU, plus he had some issues at Okie St. that weren't super-serious but still a bit troubling. And yes, I know Michigan isn't going to runt he cleanest program in the world, but you can do just as good as Miles with other guys with less baggage.
I disagree with the idea you get the best coach you can now and worry about the future later. Michigan is in a bad place, but it gives Hackett a chance to pick someone who can be there for years and turn the program around. You get Miles, you get 3-4 more years before he probably retires and you have to do this again, but now you have to appease everyone who got used to the "Miles way" plus everything else we've seen during the last two coaching searches in terms of tradition, player-alumni relations, etc. And by all accounts, the guys with money are split on Miles, which means you have a guy coming in with some friction when this team absolutely doesn't need that.
December 2nd, 2014 at 1:54 PM ^
You never know or even can be mildly sure of any coach staying here past five years. You can't predict any employeee at all staying beyond a certain time and it's a fools errand to do so IMO. Because of that, Miles' age doesn't bother me a bit. Mullen could come in, right the program and be a super attractive NFL candidate in five years and leave too.
Regarding SEC recruiting I don't believe M would allow that, especially after the phony but still embarrassing RR episode and the new Prez. and his committment to academics.
As another poster said, it's not possible to put together a list of the top ten college coaches in the country without Les Miles on that list. I would personally like one of the top ten coaches in the country to work at Michigan.
December 2nd, 2014 at 2:45 PM ^
No one has any idea of how long a new coach would stay at UM if they are successful. In some ways, hiring someone who is 61 might ensure they are at UM longer. By hiring an upcoming coach or coordinator, if after 4, 5, 6 years they might bolt for the NFL. If you hire someone who is 61, in 4-6 years they are going to be 65-67 and probably eyeing retirment in the not to distant future rather then looking to leave for another job - so you might end up getting around 10 yrs out him.
After 7 years of floundering in the college football world, UM needs to get the best coach they can. Whether that person is 25 or 65, it shouldn't matter. The important thing isn't whether the new coach has the potential to be here 20 years. The important thing is in 4-5 years from now is UM back to being a consistent Top 15 program.
December 2nd, 2014 at 3:11 PM ^
I agree that Mullen could be super-attractive, but with Harbaugh we already know the NFL wants him, and that will be an ever-present issue while he's here, provided he has success. Maybe Mullen bolts, but I have to think he'd stick around a bit more, or at least not be pursued so much.
I don't think UM would allow Miles (or anyone else) to recruit like they do in the SEC, which is kinda my concern. I really do worry about guys who are used to prep schools and academic risks in recruiting trying that here; RR had a number of issues trying to take questionable kids academically (Dorsey jumps to mind, but there were others) because he was used to that at WVU. I worry similiarly about Miles and Mullen (though less so) because those haven't been barriers for them.
Miles is a great coach, I won't dispute that. I just don't think, given his age, he's a great fit for Michigan based on what I'm looking for. Since I'm not Hackett, though, it probably won't mean anything.
December 2nd, 2014 at 3:07 PM ^
Harbaugh is not leaving the 49ners, It will be the biggest mistake to that organazation of letting there best coach go. Michigan need to hired somone without michigan ties to the school.
December 2nd, 2014 at 3:07 PM ^
Harbaugh is not leaving the 49ners, It will be the biggest mistake to that organazation of letting there best coach go. Michigan need to hired somone without michigan ties to the school.
December 2nd, 2014 at 12:42 PM ^
MGocutthruthebs awesomeness. There is very little being reported which is also credible, Brian digests what gets published then takes a ginzu knife to it for our benefit. Thanks to you kind sir.
While Les isn't my first choice, I would be far from upset if he ends up being the next HC. I'm surprised Todd Graham isn't getting more love on the board (and Utah's poll(s)). I don't think we can snag Mullen, Patterson probably isn't going anywhere, so in the realm of reality/probability, who would you want between Graham and Miles? I go for the clean break with the past and opt for Graham and his popstar headset.
December 2nd, 2014 at 12:42 PM ^
so, I'll panic if I want to.
December 2nd, 2014 at 12:43 PM ^
I am hoping that a deal with a high-quality coach who knows modern football has already been reached behind the scenes. Every mistake in the last seven years has been made by those who want to turn the clock back and play a version of "Michigan football" that pretty much became irrelevant when Jim Tressel was hired at OSU.
It's time for Michigan to stop wishing it was 1997 and catch up with the rest of football.
December 2nd, 2014 at 12:45 PM ^
But I have heard that In-N-Out Burger is worth staying in Cali for
December 2nd, 2014 at 12:56 PM ^
Not that I'm suggesting Harbaugh take over for Pat Fitzgerald, but Edzo's in Evanston is superior.
December 2nd, 2014 at 2:16 PM ^
In terms of fastfood burgers, it is the unrivaled best. Don't compare it to a more expensive or sitdown burger joint, because that's not what it is. Compare it to places where you can get your food in 3 minutes at McDonalds prices and you won't find an equal.
December 2nd, 2014 at 2:27 PM ^
Fat Burger is better but more $$$
December 2nd, 2014 at 8:37 PM ^
You can't get one in 3 minutes.
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:21 PM ^
worth staying here for--certainly better than Dominoe's pizza...
December 2nd, 2014 at 12:43 PM ^
Yes I would love Harbaugh but to not be enthused about this: 8-4, 10-3, 10-3, 13-1, 11-2, 9-4, 8-5, 12-2 is a bit strange. That is Les Miles record at LSU, in the SEC including two trips to the NCG with one trophy, since Lloyd Carr's last season. His overall record at LSU is 103-28 and did I mention that was in the SEC? Not to worried about public reaction to an old OTL considering the practice of over recruiting is still in full swing down south. Not that I agree w/ said practice but come on man the guy is living in Rome and must do as the Romans do. I guess my opinion is if he'd say yes then freaking ask him already.
December 2nd, 2014 at 12:52 PM ^
Good, level headed review of the current state of affairs.
Rght now even Jim Harbaugh doesn't know exactly what he's going to do. That's just human nature when you're facing a big decision with so many variables.
Coaching at Michigan is a viable, attractive option when his tenure at San Francisco ends. Meanwhile, the Niners front office, ego-tripping suits are doing us a huge favor by doing everything they can to sour him on the pro game.
There's reason to be optimistic that we could see JH on the sidelines at Michigan next year.
Time will tell.
December 2nd, 2014 at 12:46 PM ^
Brian,
When you say this:
"Michigan has decided that they should use Hackett for a transitional period specifically because football has a hiring season and they don't want to throw a guy in right now and expect him to get the thing right."
It doesn't make sense to me.
How does "Hire a retired CEO with no AD experience at the beginning of November and ask him to hire a coach in December" not the same as "throw a guy in right now and expect him to get the thing right?"
Wouldn't Long or Bates already be largely ahead of Hackett in the decision making process, even if they hired him in two weeks?
December 2nd, 2014 at 1:11 PM ^
I agree with your reasoning, but I think there is a little more to the situation. If you are looking to bring in Harbaugh or Miles, you want somebody who has their phone number or at least has the number of another guy who does. If you search the viable AD candidates with that kind of access to those particular guys, you come up with the guys you mentioned and maybe one or two others. Bringing in any of those guys requires an immediate decision and a long term commitment. If Schlissel and Co. aren't ready to make that decision or just don't want to jump the gun, Hackett is a nice solution.
He has access to Harbaugh/Miles because of his history with the program but he doesn't require a significant financial commitment or a long contract from the university.
I think we'd all be pretty happy if we got an elite coach and then went out and conducted a thorough AD search that included guys who didn't attend or work at Michigan at some point. Hackett provides a chance to do that, or at least that could be what the powers that be are thinking.
December 2nd, 2014 at 2:23 PM ^
Not just an immediate decision and long term commitment on Michigan's part, but on the candidate's part as well. Long, Bates, etc., would not want to make such a decision in such a quick turnaround time. I don't think these guys pine to come back to A2 as much as they are intrigued by the idea now that the opportunity is open.
December 2nd, 2014 at 2:23 PM ^
Not just an immediate decision and long term commitment on Michigan's part, but on the candidate's part as well. Long, Bates, etc., would not want to make such a decision in such a quick turnaround time. I don't think these guys pine to come back to A2 as much as they are intrigued by the idea now that the opportunity is open.
December 2nd, 2014 at 12:46 PM ^
aaahhhhh.... HOPE.
I was so not ready yet to relinquish my daydream. And you, Brian, just allowed me to indulge in my Harbaugh fantasy for a while longer. :-)
Like a buying a lottery ticket and not looking at the numbers even after they're called. For weeks. I WANT TO BELIEVE!
Then again, I'd be very happy with Mullen or Patterson too, if they'd even consider us.
December 2nd, 2014 at 12:47 PM ^
As an aside, don't read Dan Dakich's twitter unless you want to repeatedly bang your head in the wall. He made one decent point -- that Michigan's issues come from somewhere above Hoke, but still, just ... mute him until the future of football is decided.
December 2nd, 2014 at 12:47 PM ^
Why does there even need to be bridge mending between Carr and Harbaugh? Harbaugh could be a huge part of the future of the program. I appreciate everything Carr has done but he should not have enough clout in 2014 to be an obstacle that has to be addressed.
December 2nd, 2014 at 12:58 PM ^
I think you're misreading this.
Harbaugh had an ax to grind with us for awhile - dating back to when Carr chose to hire Loeffler over him as QB coach in 2002. This ultimately spawned the comments about academics in 2007.
When Brandon reached out to Harbaugh in 2010, he reportedly demanded that Jim apologize for those comments, among other things, upon his hiring, and this contributed to talks breaking down.
If Carr is now reaching out to Jim and trying to mend fences, that's a good thing. There is no bad there. That's us telling Jim that we don't care what happened in the past.
December 2nd, 2014 at 1:12 PM ^
Hiring Loeffler over Harbaugh in retrospect says a lot about Carr's ability to identify coaching talent among his assistants...
That can go down next to Debord and English on the "You serious?Lol" list for me.
December 2nd, 2014 at 2:43 PM ^
At that point Loeffler had a track record with Brady, Henson, and Navarre.
December 2nd, 2014 at 2:58 PM ^
That's not very fair. Loeffler was an excellent QB coach. He may not have had Jim's HC upside, but that's pretty tough to predict that far in advance.
December 2nd, 2014 at 11:09 PM ^
i have to agree with this statement. carr has not produced a single solid head coach from his coaching tree. debord, english, and now hoke have all spectacularly failed. and many of his so called promising coordinators/position coaches have not panned out either. loeffler may be a solid qb coach, but he is pretty sketchy as an offensive coordinator. everywhere he has been in that role (auburn, va tech) have taken steps back under his guidance.
harbaugh, in his very brief time as a head coach at stanford, has already produced an excellent head coach in david shaw.
December 3rd, 2014 at 3:15 AM ^
yeah those 2003, 2004 and 2006 seasons really fucking sucked. I'll bet you wanted Carr, DeBord, English and Loeffler fucking shitcanned then, huh?
December 2nd, 2014 at 3:16 PM ^
Excuses, It wouldnt make a damn difference if carr wouldnt or would of hire him.
December 2nd, 2014 at 1:12 PM ^
You unlock this door with the key of exasperation.
Beyond it is another dimension
— a dimension of sound, a dimension of fury, a dimension of confusion.
You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of rumors and innuendo.
You've just crossed over into the Limbo Zone.
December 2nd, 2014 at 12:56 PM ^
Ledge/loaded gun I work near both. This is good news. Geaux Blue
December 2nd, 2014 at 12:56 PM ^
If you aren't getting Harbaugh, and Miles is out because he has burnt too many bridges then you better give Mullen the full court press to be the next coach. I
From Wikipedia:
Prior to his hiring at Mississippi State, Mullen served as offensive coordinator at the University of Florida and was also alongside Urban Meyer at Utah, where he was quarterback coach of the Utes during their undefeated 2004 season. He developed quarterback Alex Smith into the number 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. After Urban Meyer left to take the head coaching position at Florida, Mullen served as the interim offensive coordinator during Utah's Fiesta Bowl victory over Pitt. During his tenure at Utah, he also recruited and partially developed Brian Johnson, QB who led Utah to 13–0 and Sugar Bowl victory in 2009.[3] He also served as quarterback coach under Meyer at Bowling Green in 2001–02.
As a coach, Mullen has tutored several notable players, including quarterbacks Alex Smith (Utah), Josh Harris (Bowling Green), Chris Leak (Florida) and Heisman Trophy-winner Tim Tebow (Florida)
Mullen better get a call from our AD
December 2nd, 2014 at 12:57 PM ^
If you don't think somebody would turn down a job because the new location doesn't have an In-n-Out Burger -- you've never tried In-n-Out Burger.
December 2nd, 2014 at 3:32 PM ^
it's time for an In-n-Out in A2.
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:29 PM ^
Definitely the case.
December 2nd, 2014 at 1:02 PM ^
I continue to be appalled that, by all reports, Lloyd Carr and Mike DeBord continue to put their own selfish agendas ahead of those of the team, and of the University.
Look, Lloyd Carr's main qualification to be the coach at Michigan was that he was sitting close by when Gary Moeller decided to get drunk. Mike DeBord, Carr's eyes and ears weasel, is essentially a way to get Carr off State Street. As an offensive coordinator, DeBord was an absolute train wreck.
Their competence (and I am not high on either one) notwithstanding, their sabotaging of Harbaugh, Miles, and Rodriguez at various times reveals their true character, and it is not a good one. On the surface, they advertise themselves at giving and good people, and they may be, I do not know them; however, their selfish non-support and sabotaging of the best interests of the University at times is both juuvenile and unacceptable. They are poison; get rid of them to every extent possible would be my credo.
This athletic department is a clown show, and it is time to clean it up. These two would be a great continuation of the good start in giving the pizza guy his walking papers to Scottsdale.
Jesus---that is about all I can say.
December 2nd, 2014 at 1:00 PM ^
That there are any bridges to mend before getting Harbaugh is disgusting. The only bridges that should be mended are that Carr or any of his former players+assistants should be told that they are no longer welcome in Ann Arbor unless they throw 100% unconditional support behind the next head coach. Full stop.
The only mending that should be done for Harbaugh is to beg him to come here and promise him that anyone who so much as looks at him wrong will no longer be welcome in Ann Arbor. If there is any impediment whatsoever to Harbaugh coming back to Michigan other than him simply wanting to stay in the NFL, then heads need to roll in massive quantities.
When it comes to proven head coaches who aren't deeply entrenched in their current job, I wonder why Bielema continues to escape mention. Three consecutive Rose Bowls from 2010 through 2012. His team did only go 6-6 this year but they had the #2 SOS rank (per Sagarin) and all of their losses were close ones except for the first game of the year against Auburn. Our roster is perfectly suited for his style, with tons of upperclassmen recruited to play manball. He successfully got a manball offense installed at Arkansas in year 2 with his team averaging 220 yards per game rushing (the equivalent of our bunch in 2011 when Molk and Denard were here).
December 2nd, 2014 at 2:12 PM ^
is still impacting coaching choices, the fact is the presence of Mike DeBord as a lingering member of his staff, his close confidant and best friend, would imply that he has a conduit others don't.
Lloyd is the one who contacted Rodriguez and urged him to take the job after Michigan had formally offered Miles who had accepted and only requested that the school hold off until LSU finished its season or at least got through the SEC championship game in 2007. That didn't happen. And the news of Michigan's offer to Miles was broken by a former Buckeye, ESPN CFB analyst Kirk Herbstreit, a strategic move to allow a highly placed media figure but a no-doubt rival, spill the news in his first-ever scoop.
The move was slick becauase it opened the door to all kinds of speculation who may have leaked and forced Miles to deny he was ever a coaching candidate at Michigan.
And why Harbaugh's negative comments about Michigan academics are still an issue and apparently one of the roadblocks internally to his potential hire remains another reason why this program won't heal and get better unless it gets on the same track.
If the Carr loyalists don't want Miles for whatever reason, they better not sabotage a Harbaugh hire. The Michigan universe wants this guy. And the reason is simple: he is determined and driven to win. Harbaugh and Miles will accept the job if the people behind it don't fuck things up. And if they do, then Michigan puts itself in waiting for Godot mode with no one out there with ties and a feel for the Michigan experience and the institutional issues that come with it.
So far, Hackett is doing everything correct in handling this matter, the way I see it. You need to identify possible choices and then move on them. Because your top picks are legally bound and contracted makes your behind the scenes work more important. And having widespread media speculation going everywhere suggests you are succeeding in the one direction you need to go, hiring the guy you want. Unless your friends fuck things up. We've seen this movie before.
December 2nd, 2014 at 3:01 PM ^
We didn't formally offer Miles. If we had, he'd have accepted. MSC/Martin told him we had interest but needed to meet him in person first.
December 2nd, 2014 at 2:12 PM ^
is still impacting coaching choices, the fact is the presence of Mike DeBord as a lingering member of his staff, his close confidant and best friend, would imply that he has a conduit others don't.
Lloyd is the one who contacted Rodriguez and urged him to take the job after Michigan had formally offered Miles who had accepted and only requested that the school hold off until LSU finished its season or at least got through the SEC championship game in 2007. That didn't happen. And the news of Michigan's offer to Miles was broken by a former Buckeye, ESPN CFB analyst Kirk Herbstreit, a strategic move to allow a highly placed media figure but a no-doubt rival, spill the news in his first-ever scoop.
The move was slick becauase it opened the door to all kinds of speculation who may have leaked and forced Miles to deny he was ever a coaching candidate at Michigan.
And why Harbaugh's negative comments about Michigan academics are still an issue and apparently one of the roadblocks internally to his potential hire remains another reason why this program won't heal and get better unless it gets on the same track.
If the Carr loyalists don't want Miles for whatever reason, they better not sabotage a Harbaugh hire. The Michigan universe wants this guy. And the reason is simple: he is determined and driven to win. Harbaugh and Miles will accept the job if the people behind it don't fuck things up. And if they do, then Michigan puts itself in waiting for Godot mode with no one out there with ties and a feel for the Michigan experience and the institutional issues that come with it.
So far, Hackett is doing everything correct in handling this matter, the way I see it. You need to identify possible choices and then move on them. Because your top picks are legally bound and contracted makes your behind the scenes work more important. And having widespread media speculation going everywhere suggests you are succeeding in the one direction you need to go, hiring the guy you want. Unless your friends fuck things up. We've seen this movie before.
December 2nd, 2014 at 2:14 PM ^
is still impacting coaching choices, the fact is the presence of Mike DeBord as a lingering member of his staff, his close confidant and best friend, would imply that he has a conduit others don't.
Lloyd is the one who contacted Rodriguez and urged him to take the job after Michigan had formally offered Miles who had accepted and only requested that the school hold off until LSU finished its season or at least got through the SEC championship game in 2007. That didn't happen. And the news of Michigan's offer to Miles was broken by a former Buckeye, ESPN CFB analyst Kirk Herbstreit, a strategic move to allow a highly placed media figure but a no-doubt rival, spill the news in his first-ever scoop.
The move was slick becauase it opened the door to all kinds of speculation who may have leaked and forced Miles to deny he was ever a coaching candidate at Michigan.
And why Harbaugh's negative comments about Michigan academics are still an issue and apparently one of the roadblocks internally to his potential hire remains another reason why this program won't heal and get better unless it gets on the same track.
If the Carr loyalists don't want Miles for whatever reason, they better not sabotage a Harbaugh hire. The Michigan universe wants this guy. And the reason is simple: he is determined and driven to win. Harbaugh and Miles will accept the job if the people behind it don't fuck things up. And if they do, then Michigan puts itself in waiting for Godot mode with no one out there with ties and a feel for the Michigan experience and the institutional issues that come with it.
So far, Hackett is doing everything correct in handling this matter, the way I see it. You need to identify possible choices and then move on them. Because your top picks are legally bound and contracted makes your behind the scenes work more important. And having widespread media speculation going everywhere suggests you are succeeding in the one direction you need to go, hiring the guy you want. Unless your friends fuck things up. We've seen this movie before.
December 2nd, 2014 at 2:49 PM ^
December 2nd, 2014 at 1:01 PM ^
At EMU he did wonders with their backs and now he is doing the same at WMU. It wouldn't be cronyism to bring him back as he really is good at his job.
December 2nd, 2014 at 1:03 PM ^
Why is Harbaugh saying "Fuuuuuuuuuvvvv" in that gif?
http://usatthebiglead.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/jim-harbaugh-was-not-…
December 2nd, 2014 at 2:53 PM ^
I'm pretty sure he was saying "Luuuuuuuuuuck" as in Andrew.
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