Yet Another CC Roundup, Part Deux!

Submitted by Eye of the Tiger on

Hot on the heels of yesterday's diary, here's your next selection of CC candidates. These 5 (well, 4 of them at least) were chosen because their names have come up and been discussed seriously--not based on the likelihood that they will coach Michigan in 2015. Ergo there's a bigger emphasis on "mmm...not so sure" than last time.

 

1. John Harbaugh

POTENTIAL UPSIDE: Though not as amped up or total-destruction-oriented as his little brother, John Harbaugh’s NFL success would act as a magnet for recruits, and he clearly knows how to hire a good staff. Seems to "get" Michigan and why it's special. Might even be able to keep Mattison.

POTENTIAL DOWNSIDE: Hasn’t been in college for a long time, so there’s always the risk his strengths as a coach wouldn’t quite translate. Might hire Cam Cameron.

TRANSITION COSTS: Negligible.

OVERALL DESIRABILITY: High. Getting a successful, Super Bowl-winning NFL coach (as opposed to a castoff) would be quite the move for Hackett to make.  

CHANCES OF HIM COMING: Low. There was some chatter about it at one point, but it’s fairly unprecedented for a successful NFL coach (who is currently enjoying said success) to bolt for college. That would apply to Jim as well, except that Jim may be a poor fit for the NFL and John is not, and Jim played for Bo and John did not.

 

2. Gary Patterson

POTENTIAL UPSIDE: High levels of success that are sustainable over time.

POTENTIAL DOWNSIDE: Without ties to the upper Midwest, may have more trouble implementing his vision up north that at a Texas or Oklahoma school. Is reportedly close to Dantonio.

TRANSITION COSTS: Moderate on offense. TCU has implemented a couple spread offenses, and you’d figure that’s what he’d want to do in Ann Arbor as well. Transition to any kind of spread would produce a few growing pains, but hey…can’t be much worse than this year, right?  Negligible on defense—Patterson is a defensive guy. Though our personnel doesn’t look much like TCUs, like Graham I think he’d adjust to what he has to work with.

OVERALL DESIRABILITY: Very high. He’s made teeny-weeny TCU a Big 12 power by identifying and developing talent outside the Rivals 250, by implementing a strong defensive scheme, and hiring well on offense. This should translate to success at a major program with a stronger potential recruiting base. 

CHANCES OF HIM COMING: May as well be non-existent. Patterson has been linked to nearly every major job opening for years and hasn’t left TCU yet. Sure the same was true of Chris Peterson, and he did take the UW job, but that’s only one state over and he’s been a Northwest guy since 1993. The only job I can see Patterson leaving TCU for would be Oklahoma in the event Bob Stoops goes to Florida or the NFL.

 

3. Jim McElwain

POTENTIAL UPSIDE: Turns our offense into the efficient, inside zone-based, constraint-loving machine we hoped Nussmeier would bring; hires well enough on defense to toughen up an already-decent unit.

POTENTIAL DOWNSIDE: Has trouble transitioning from low-key Colorado State to big-time Michigan. That scheme may simply be a no-go with our current personnel, and we're not all that patient anymore.

TRANSITION COSTS: Negligible. He runs the same offense we do, just better.

OVERALL DESIRABILITY: Moderate. I really like McElwain and what he’s done at both Alabama and Colorado State. But three years at CSU isn’t much to go by, especially when there are guys out there who have longer resumes. However, if our top plausible picks (Jim Harbaugh, Mullen, Miles and Graham) don’t pan out, McElwain is a solid backup plan.  

CHANCES OF HIM COMING: Low to Moderate. I think he’d take the job, but that $7.5 buyout is insane. One could imagine UM paying that for Harbaugh, but it’s tough to see the university paying that for someone who’s essentially “plan E”—especially considering the payouts to Brandon and Hoke. Maybe there’s a loophole? If so the likelihood increases.

 

4. Tom Herman

POTENTIAL UPSIDE: Like Mullen, the chance he’ll be “Urban 2.0,” pull a Bo and one-up his former mentor. He’s also 39, which means he could stay for a Bo-like tenure.

POTENTIAL DOWNSIDE: With no head coaching experience, there’s the obvious risk that he’d be unprepared to run a major program.

TRANSITION COSTS: Moderate on offense—as mentioned yesterday, spread-with-power is a good fit for the type of kids we can recruit, but it’s not clear that we have the right guys in place for that at QB or RB. Unclear on defense, as he’s never run a defense before. One can assume he’d try to hire someone competent and then delegate, but whether he’d do so successfully is an entirely different question.

OVERALL DESIRABILITY: Moderate. Actually the upside is quite high here, but the unknowns make this a very risky pick. May be a better candidate next time around, especially if we hire someone on the back end of their career, like Miles.

CHANCES OF HIM COMING: If offered, very high. The chances of Herman receiving an offer, however, are low.

 

5. Jim Tressel

POTENTIAL UPSIDE: Matter meets antimatter, resulting in a singularity forming over Columbus and East Lansing. Also, free tattoos and Diet Coke.

POTENTIAL DOWNSIDE: You know that probably means the end of all existence, right? And punts. Lots of punts.

DESIRABILITY: High, if only for the trolling factor.

CHANCES OF HIM COMING:  LOL.

Comments

Soulfire21

November 20th, 2014 at 3:48 PM ^

I feel like I would be okay with Tressel... I think...  I feel dirty.  The conflict is real.  Trolling would be epic, but I'm not sure it's worth it.

Am I seriously considering Tressel?

lastofthedogmen

November 23rd, 2014 at 5:41 PM ^

If this conversation had taken place when Carr retired I'd have been all over the Tressel bandwagon.  IMO, he's one of the best ever at recruiting, developing, game planning and execution.  And, at that time, he appeared to be as virtuous as anyone in the college ranks. 

But... The whole thing that got him fired has, I believe, shown that he would not run an ethical program if it meant sacrificing wins.  And I would rather suffer through another decade of Hoke than win by cheating.

"But when he tried to steal our sunlight, he crossed the line between everyday villainy and cartoonish super-villainy."

LostOnNorth

November 26th, 2014 at 2:25 PM ^

Not sure why everyone thinks tressel is such a scuzzball, if his worst offense is overlooking his players getting free tattoos then whatever. The laws he broke are NCAA laws which I think we all agree are grade A bullshit. 

I watched a 30 for 30 documentary on him and maurice clarett and the only scuzzy thing he did in my opinion was not stand up for clarett when the AD started a personal vendetta against him.

The AD of OSU however, total dick.

I'd be fine with the sweatervest, it seems like his only crime is turning a blind eye to things the the NCAA doesn't like, and if it's dishonest to break arbitrary rules set by a group of people making money on the back of college kids, then I guess I'm dishonest too. 

M Something So…

November 20th, 2014 at 3:54 PM ^

You make some good points that he doesn't have a lot of ties in the Midwest, but he has had just as much (if not arguably more) success than Mullen at Mississippi State. The odds on him coming may be low, but we are in full-on dreaming mode anyway, right?

Mr Miggle

November 20th, 2014 at 4:07 PM ^

His record is more impressive than Mullen's and he's shown a willingness to transform his offense. Last time around he made a comment that might be interpreted as interest in our job. Since then TCU has moved up in the world. He might not be interested in moving, but he would be my 1a candidate.

Tater

November 21st, 2014 at 5:38 AM ^

If TCU finishes with one loss and doesn't get into the playoff, it might be enough to sway Patterson to leave.  Same with Miss St and Mullen, though Miss St will probably get the SEC Exemption into the playoff if they win out.  

I have kept Patterson near the top of my wish list.  I also would like to see them steal Chris Petersen from UW.  UW is a very good job, but it's not the University of Michigan.  At their very best, UW will always be fourth to USC, Oregon and UCLA in relevance within their own conference.

Most of all, I hope they decide to "play with the big boys" for this hire instead of going for an assistant or another Brady Hoke.  It's time for one of the top five programs in college football to start acting like it and retake their rightful position on the food chain.

BlueHills

November 20th, 2014 at 4:04 PM ^

I love Michigan. I bleed Blue. But I have to say it: If we aren't the most pathetic fanbase in the history of college football, we are darn close. I include myself in this. We, the fanbase, in our pathos and impatience are grasping at straws, some of them utterly absurd.

I went to that wacky website that is soliciting money to lure Jim Harbaugh. I'm almost nuts enough to chip in. Almost.

"Jim, it's your old girlfriend, Michelle. The one you dumped years ago. Well, yes, I know, darling, but I love you so much that I will give you a million dollars if you would only...oh. Well, I'm sorry if you think I may not be a good fit but...look how much I love you. Look how much my family loves you...please?"

I don't know how many threads, posts, and columns about Michigan's coaching situation I've read since the season started. A lot. A real lot. And none of them, not one, has any information based on the slightest amount of anything but a wish and a prayer, which is to say, not one of them is based on information about what is possible, and what our university plans to do.

Hell, we don't even have a real athletic director in place. We don't even have a guy who's ever hired a coach!

And Jim Tressel? Really. Does anyone think Gary Patterson is leaving the state of Texas?

So why not just put up a list of every coach in America and drool speculate or diss them? What's the difference? 

Even if you love this one or that one, you're not doing the hiring. You have no influence on the hiring. It's not about you.

And even if you hate this one or that one, you're not doing the hiring, and no one in power is going to not hire someone because you don't like him.

I'm sorry. But we needn't be so helplessly lost, like a 14 year old girl who carves her would-be boyfriend's name into her foot because he said something nice to her this morning (yeah, I knew someone who did that).

Buck up, boys and girls. We will know what we know when we know, and not a day sooner, and all of this angst and CC will not matter.

Stringer Bell

November 20th, 2014 at 5:59 PM ^

It might just be me, but I'm not reading anywhere where John Harbaugh was saying that he's not interested in the Michigan job.  He said that he's interested in Hoke being the coach for a long time, and since we all know that Hoke won't be, I wonder what his interest would be in a vacant Michigan head coaching position.  Again, maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I think his choice of words was pretty interesting.  Maybe left the door open just a bit.

Eye of the Tiger

November 20th, 2014 at 6:53 PM ^

...isn't so much that he's flat-out said he has no interest (being coy about potential offers, after all, can be a boon in contract renegotiations as well), but rather that the case for him being a plausible candidate is flimsy. With Jim, at least, there's:

a) recent history of success in the FBS

b) a LOT of chatter about clashes with both players and management at the 49ers

c) the obvious pull of returning to his alma mater and restoring Bo's legacy of greatness.

That might be enough to render him the odd duck who willingly leaves the NFL for the FBS despite recent and current success in the NFL. (Most make that switch after being fired, being out of work for a few years or being a long-term college guy who devided to give it a shot and then concluded that the initial switch was never a great idea in the first place.)

It's not unimaginable that John Harbaugh would have interest in Michigan; it's just very unlikely that a successful NFL coach would leave his job for a college job without there being some pretty unusual circimstances.

Stringer Bell

November 20th, 2014 at 10:26 PM ^

I guess, although John has the added benefit of having already won a Super Bowl.  Of course that's one of the reasons people think Jim will wanna stay in the NFL (personally I've never heard him say his biggest objective is to win a Super Bowl, I think it's just another narrative conjured up by the national media like the wife thing).  I think John's a longshot at best, but I just find it interesting that he didn't flat out say no.

trustBlue

November 21st, 2014 at 1:21 AM ^

The biggest difference is that the odds are high that Jim will be looking for a new job at the end of this year, while John almost certainly won't be.

Obviously Jim is likely to have other options, but there isin't exactly an obvious landing place for him:  Would he take the worse job in the NFL (Oakland Raiders) just to stay in the Bay Area? With Miami seemingly off the table, would he go to say, the Falcons or the Rams over Michigan? (would he even be the top candidate for either job)?  

I think that uncertainly at least keeps Michigan in the consideration set of possible options for Jim.  For John, there's simply no reason for him to leave the job that he already has to come here.

Danwillhor

November 21st, 2014 at 4:19 AM ^

and what Stingerbell says about John is true. He has no less love for UM than Jim outside of having not played at UM. That might even give him more of a romanticized view? Anyway, my point in this reply is to point out something regarding the "it would take something extraordinary for a successful NFL HC (John) to go to CFB": I don't know about you guys but if be pretty bothered by the way my franchise threw me under the bus in regard to the Rice stuff. In fact, it was very Hoke:Morris:Brandon like. He was often tossed out to get grilled by the media about the situation EVERYONE above him had full info on and he didn't. The topic would flare and they'd throw John it there to take the heat. Then, the full video is available to everyone and, as John, you'd have to be angry. He was out there towing the company line (which was kind if bad enough considering it didn't take the full video to know what went down) when the owners, top guys & Newsome knew the future avalanche of horror John was standing under, forgiving and lightly defending (RR as a generally good guy that made a horrible mistake). Full video comes out and he had to feel betrayed. Now he looks like a prized asshole. The Ravens bent him over and he quietly took it. If Rice is in the news soon and it doesn't go away it's like constantly reopening a wound. That kind of backstabbing/embarrassment would at least direct me out of Baltimore. Maybe not to CFB but another NFL team sans a major public apology.

991GT3

November 20th, 2014 at 7:28 PM ^

us, ruminations over the next coach is assuaging our frustrations. It is a worthwhile endeavor even if ultimately it is decided that Hoke will burden the program in the future.

If that happens I will drop my interest in the team and look elsewhere for my sport entertainment. 

Sauce Castillo

November 21st, 2014 at 10:30 AM ^

If I’m giving an order to this it’s:

1)      Jim Harbaugh – cause, like, duh.

2)      John Harbaugh – also, cause, like, duh.

Here’s where it gets tricky:

3)      Jim Tressel – I thought this was insane at first but once you take a lot of things into consideration it’s not so far fetched.  National champion. Proven leader.  Will run spread or manball, whatever is best for team. Can recruit.  Knows what games are important.

4)      Bob Stoops – National Champion.  Proven Leader.  Will coach defense and get out of the way on offense. Can recruit.

5)      Mike Gundy – Go look at his Offensive and Defensive opponent adjusted FEI from 2010-2013, top 30 on both sides of the ball every year.  He’d be walking into a more talented team immediately at Michigan, it’s installing his schemes that would take us to the next level.

6)      Tom Herman – the guy knows what he is doing.  His scheme is innovative, he’s young and if he comes to Michigan and is successful he’s not going anywhere, scheme doesn’t translate to pro and it’s Michigan, he isn’t leaving. Only worry is how well can he recruit.

Left out:

Gary Patterson - Would take a miracle to get him to leave the program he single handedly built

Jim McElwain – He’s got that enormous buy out.  Not worth the cost.

Dan Mullen: Wasn’t completely sold and after his revoking this kids scholly I do not want at Michigan.

Todd Graham: I feel shady about him too.  Always looking for the next best thing.  Don’t really like the way he handles his players.  Feels like Brian Kelly to me.

Danwillhor

November 21st, 2014 at 11:27 AM ^

would never take the job but I agree on all fronts. It's crazy but whoever hires him will have an even better recruiter. Why? He targets the inner city, always has. When he explains WHY he couldn't coach for 4 years the kids and their parents will eat it up. "I took care of my players, kids that grew up with nothing...etc". Dude is going to crush it with whatever program hires him. I don't like him but he is a good coach. Conservative compared to Meyer but if Tressel is a snake in the grass then Meyer is a two headed black mamba to Tressel's rattlesnake. I also think Tressel is a better overall coach in that he's a dying breed that knows both sides of the ball. If Meyer has a trash DC, whiffs on a QB, Saban moves in next door....forget it. Tressel could be a DC or OC, pro or spread in a weeks notice, etc.

Mr Miggle

November 22nd, 2014 at 10:12 AM ^

This university would shut down the football program before they would allow him to coach here. That's obviously a false choice, but the school isn't run by football fans who only care about winning games. Any AD who tried to hire him would be out of a job in a hurry.

I think Tressel is a good coach, but how good is hard to say. He has a consistent record of cheating. How well does he recruit if he's not cheating? No one knows. He wasn't competing in the SEC where that's more widespread. Would he start to cheat again out of habit or if he struggled at first? No one knows that either.

If any school was to hire him and he was caught again, they're liable to get hammered by the NCAA. People joke about the toothless NCAA, but Tressel got what was probably the longest show cause order after Dave Bliss. Any school that brings him back is playing with fire.

 

 

Eye of the Tiger

November 21st, 2014 at 12:45 PM ^

...I've always respected Tressel. He did a great job there and dominated our rivalry--yet was never, to my recollection, douchey, whiney or gloating about it (unlike, say, a certain someone at a certain other rival school). He always seemed to respect us even as he owned us, which was also basically Lloyd's attitude when he was dominating Cooper. I liked that, even though I didn't like losing to them nearly every year. 

If he did come to Michigan it would be insane, and as such deeply unlikely to happen. But it would make for some great stories, we'd probably be quite good and, as I mentioned, there would be the added benefit of megatrolling. 

 

Danwillhor

November 21st, 2014 at 12:53 PM ^

In his douchery. "The search", neg recruiting, etc. Yet, I know what you mean. When the cameras are on him he is very polite, stoic, calm, etc. He also knew better (for his own sake) to publicly do some of the things those others do/say. He'd never be offered. He'd never take it. Yet, he is a good coach.

ragtimepiano

November 23rd, 2014 at 1:08 PM ^

Possibly Pat Fitzgerald and Brian Kelly may be looking for work? I'd take either one in a heartbeat, even though for them it would mean leaving their dream jobs to come to Ann Arbor. I remain hopeful about our incoming freshman QB from Brother Rice. We will have good returning players in place; the defense is strong, the o-line is adequate and will get better; we have high-capacity running backs and talented receivers. When we get a talented QB, we are ready to roll.