As The Harbaugh Turns: Jeff Hafley edition
So Boston College is opting out of any bowl game,
https://twitter.com/NicoleAuerbach/status/1337094250748579841?s=19
This seems noteworthy for a couple reasons:
- Jeff Hafley becomes available to interview that much sooner
- Might other programs might make the same decision, thereby widening the candidate pool and accelerating the transition in Ann Arbor?
(Presumably we also would turn down any bowl invitation, and while you may snicker, Michigan would guarantee high ratings regardless of locale or opponent, and there are a lot of ad dollars that just went poof by The Game's cancellation.)
December 10th, 2020 at 1:10 PM ^
I have a feeling that IF Harbaugh moves on, Hafley will be as likely a candidate for this AD as Urban Meyer
December 10th, 2020 at 1:24 PM ^
Which would be sad. He's nearly equal to Fickle & Campbell to me.
Seems like He's a Ryan Day but coming up on the defensive side of the ball. And he started with a lot less talent at BC than Day did at OSU.
December 10th, 2020 at 1:31 PM ^
You would know better than me about the inner workings of the AD given your history. I'm only deducing based on what I know on the outside.
My reasoning is, I feel like this AD would see the head coaching job as being above a guy who has one year as a HC and one year as a co-coordinator.
But, you saying that does make me reconsider my stance on him. I guess I'm just a little nervous about NFL types.
December 10th, 2020 at 5:55 PM ^
Any coach Michigan can hire is a roll of the dice one way or another. There's no sure thing out there. Hafley allegedly can organize and boost recruiting, which is, frankly, a huge deal, and something that is a question for other candidates. (Including Fickell. People say "he can recruit Ohio," and while that's nice, elite programs recruit the United States, and Michigan does as well. I don't care where the elite talent comes from, and I don't yet know if Campbell or Fickell can recruit it).
There's more to being a coach than recruiting, of course, but it's a big factor. The reality right now is that a guy who is great at everything else but is "only" a B-plus recruiter landing classes in the 9-12 range every year will improve our program and lose to Ohio State 3 out of every 4 years at best.
December 10th, 2020 at 7:17 PM ^
Any head coach hire is a crap shoot and it usually takes 3-4 years before you get a good feel if you hit on the right hire. UM can’t afford another bad miss like RR or Hoke or we may never be relevant again.
people on here really think Campbell is the answer but I think he would still be a risky hire
December 10th, 2020 at 8:07 PM ^
Juwan Howard had no experience as a head coach, so I’m not sure what evidence you are using.
December 11th, 2020 at 2:07 PM ^
The basketball team looks like its off to a good start but let's pump the breaks a bit. In year 1 and 2, Harbaugh was still a deity around here.
December 10th, 2020 at 1:36 PM ^
You think??? That is a tremendous observation and great analysis.
December 10th, 2020 at 2:09 PM ^
I think he should be considered, but a lack of HC experience puts him a notch below Campbell and Fickell, IMO.
Also, I would hesitate to anoint Ryan Day as a great coach. We don't have enough data yet. Remember Gene Chizik...
December 10th, 2020 at 2:57 PM ^
Luke Fickell is a terrible head coaching candidate for Michigan. I don’t understand why people keep bringing him up...is this seriously where Michigan Football is now? Great, Cincy had a nice season during the biggest shit show college football season ever and they didn’t play anybody. If we are considering Fickell (if Harbaugh leaves) we should also get started on the next wave of coaching candidates when we fire Fickell.
December 10th, 2020 at 3:29 PM ^
I think he is being considered for a few reasons.
- He has done well at Cincy for a few seasons. Taking over a 4-8 team, and turning in two 10 plus win seasons in first 3 years and undefeated this year
- Will provide a path to get players from Ohio, which is huge for recruiting
- Cincinnati has been a good stepping stone for successful coaches at our rivals (ND and MSU)
- He's 47 years old
I'm not saying he is a homerun hire (I thought Harbaugh was) , but would seem far from being a known entity to fail here.
December 10th, 2020 at 4:29 PM ^
Eh. Cincy was a stepping stone for coaches 20 years ago. More recently, it's produced towering buffoons like Tommy Tuberville and Butch Jones.
December 10th, 2020 at 4:15 PM ^
Nice season? They are 8-0 this year which follows consecutive 11 win seasons. He's an excellent recruiter. He's reasonably young. He is a very good X's and O's coach and has built an excellent staff at Cincinnati. Luke Fickell is absolutely a viable candidate for Michigan. He is going to get a big time power 5 job in the next year or so, no doubt. I can't say he's any better of a candidate than Cambell or Hafley, but I would say you can make an argument for each of them. This is the type of hire Michigan needs. Michigan needs to find their Tressell, Stoops, Meyer (at Florida), Riley. These 3 have as good of a shot to become that as anyone out there.
December 10th, 2020 at 4:50 PM ^
Ohio State has played 5 games, Colorado has played 4 games, Notre Dame has played 10 games, Cincy is 8-0 and has played nobody in the process....this season is an absolute joke...due to the lack of any central leadership in College Football...so it is kind of funny how dismissive you are of 2020.
Fickell would be a garbage hire...and wouldn’t satisfy most Michigan fans...I mean even Coach Hoke could beat Fickell when he was at Ohio State...only thing entertaining about the hire would be the epic meltdown (again) on this Blog when he fails...any chance of rising out of mediocracy this next decade will be lost. ?
December 10th, 2020 at 5:23 PM ^
Citing Hoke beating Fickell shows just how little you understand about coaching in college and college football in general.
December 10th, 2020 at 6:42 PM ^
My friend runs an NFL team, my other friend is an agent for College Football Coaches (primarily in the SEC)...I know plenty about both NFL and College Football Coaching hires and what goes on behind those decisions...but ok thanks for the the lesson. ?
EDIT: WD...is that you? ?
December 10th, 2020 at 8:57 PM ^
Your friends probably know a great deal about coaching, not sure that means you do. I have plenty of friends who are doctors, doesn’t mean that you should trust my medical advice.
December 11th, 2020 at 12:02 AM ^
We were 1 ft away on 3 separate occasions (missed long passes) to taking a loss to the worst OSU team in decades, to an interim coach (Fickell) who was appointed last minute and took one for OSU while being forced to keep the old coaching staff in place. Anyone using that as a reason to discount Fickell, is not very in tune to what transpired that season.
December 10th, 2020 at 7:50 PM ^
It’s backwards thinking such as Fickell would be a bad hire that keeps us hiring mediocre coaches ala Rich Rod. We wouldn’t have hired Tressel for the same reason. Wouldn’t have promoted Day for the same reason. If you don’t think Fickell would significantly elevate this program, you are out of your mind, with all due respect.
December 10th, 2020 at 7:54 PM ^
Also, this might just be the beginning. Prep yourself for some bad news at the wide receiver position.
December 10th, 2020 at 10:22 PM ^
Jesus...Fickell is the Ohio State version of Hoke. Except Hoke actually is 1-0 against Fickell. My Ohio State friends think it is hilarious that Michigan people are talking about Fickell...they are all for it.
December 11th, 2020 at 9:41 AM ^
Anybody talking about Fickell’s loss to UM without also mentioning the circumstances behind it is being disingenuous. It was a battlefield promotion, the program was in turmoil etc. To act like that wasn’t the worst situation imaginable and that he has not grown as a coach since then is comical. Do you really think UM would beat Cincy??? We wouldn’t.
December 11th, 2020 at 10:06 AM ^
You act like he inherited a used car. Ohio State was 12-1 under the Vest the year before he was interim coach and 12-0 the year after under Urbz. And yeah...I think Michigan would probably beat Cincinnati.
December 10th, 2020 at 5:16 PM ^
I believe he is also the last OSU coach to lose to Michigan. So he has that going for him
December 10th, 2020 at 6:40 PM ^
I 100% concur - he is built to be a college coach and he recruits like mad. He’s also learned that part of the business under Meyer. Doubt he would be the guy for institutional reasons but he would get my vote.
December 10th, 2020 at 7:15 PM ^
I 100% concur - he is built to be a college coach and he recruits like mad. He’s also learned that part of the business under Meyer. Doubt he would be the guy for institutional reasons but he would get my vote.
December 10th, 2020 at 4:32 PM ^
I have no idea if Hafley will good or not, my crystal ball isn't that clear. Not much evidence on this guy
December 10th, 2020 at 1:10 PM ^
Count me in the anybody but Harbaugh club. He has to go!
December 10th, 2020 at 1:21 PM ^
I’m sorry but this is one of the worst sentiments one can express about anything, but especially about the leader of a large organization — head coach, CEO, president, etc.
I’m not saying that Harbaugh doesn’t need to be replaced, I’m saying that he needs to be replaced by someone who is better, and “anybody” is not that. Warde needs to assess the why’s and wherefore’s of the problems and solve them, not just “find someone new.” This is akin to “throwing money at the problem” — money is a tool, not a solution, and a misused tool is, often times, worse and doing nothing at all.
December 10th, 2020 at 1:24 PM ^
Bang!! the old "anyone but Harbaugh" hire is likely to get us another 4 years of misery.
December 10th, 2020 at 1:33 PM ^
I think Texas is a perfect example of what NOT to do. Mack Brown was run out of Austin and no they’re, once again, rumblings of coaching change. $40-50M spent, and likely more on the way, and Mack looks pretty good now in hindsight.
When Carr expressed to Martin his desire to retire Martin should have begun finding the best replacement. Instead, he did nothing and assumed when the time came he’d have the pick of the litter — how’s that worked out for Michigan since 2007? Does Carr’s well thought out replacement give us The Horror? Do we get the RR years? Hoke?
Do it right or don’t do it at all.
December 10th, 2020 at 1:50 PM ^
You can certainly question the cultural fit of RR (maybe with a deeper look he doesn't get hired from that perspective), but at the time it appeared to be a good football hire. Remember RR had turned down Alabama the year before. Hindsight is 20/20, but when they were made the RR hiring (and Harbaugh for that matter) looked good.
December 10th, 2020 at 5:02 PM ^
Alabama was kind of a wreck when RR turned down that job, just saying.
December 10th, 2020 at 1:59 PM ^
I put as much of the blame on Lloyd as anyone.... Knowing he was on his way to retirement, why wasn't he looking for a assistant that he was comfortable turning the team over to? Obviously its going to be the AD's decision, but I feel like he should have had a dog in the fight and it would have been a stretch to think English or DeBoard were the guy.
December 10th, 2020 at 2:03 PM ^
I thought he did, Les Miles, but the dysfunctional administration and people in the athletic dept help torpedo that.
December 10th, 2020 at 2:10 PM ^
There was literally ZERO chance Carr was going to let the program be turned over to Les Miles. ZERO. there is serious bad blood between the two
December 10th, 2020 at 3:16 PM ^
Didn’t someone say Les Miles banged Carr’s wife?
December 10th, 2020 at 4:55 PM ^
I thought it was Moeller's wife. I could be wrong. I don't pay close attention to shit like that.
December 10th, 2020 at 11:24 PM ^
Moeller’s
December 10th, 2020 at 3:07 PM ^
Haa! You got it backward - Lloyd torpedoed the shit out of Les! Rumor was that Les banged another assistants wife, and Lloyd didn't like him. For some reason, I recall that 'other assistant' as being Gary Moeller, but I'm probably wrong on that...
December 10th, 2020 at 9:01 PM ^
Harbaugh is also likely to get us another 4 years of misery.
December 10th, 2020 at 1:36 PM ^
Good Lord people. I didn't mean that literally. I'm not suggesting we hire my mailman or my aunt Diane. I mean any of the plausible candidates we've discussed on this here platform.
December 10th, 2020 at 1:51 PM ^
Don't count out aunt Diane.
December 10th, 2020 at 3:19 PM ^
FWIW she is still in play!
December 10th, 2020 at 2:52 PM ^
Did you consider Aunt Diane with good assistants?
December 10th, 2020 at 4:53 PM ^
So, by "anybody," you actually mean a very short list of "somebodies." Got it.
December 10th, 2020 at 4:56 PM ^
Can your Aunt Diane recruit DTs?
December 10th, 2020 at 1:39 PM ^
I agree with you for once, Sten. However, "better" is pretty subjective.
Harbaugh has a better resume than Campbell, but given how one team seems to go balls out for their coach and the other doesn't and never really has here, I would say Campbell is currently a better option.
But it can't just be just anybody.
December 10th, 2020 at 2:20 PM ^
Cant really disagree. I do not think harbaugh is the right guy to lead the program. However, I think that if he was given another year, there may be more candidates on the horizon. Hafley could look better as a canidate if he strings together a 8-9 win season next year. It could be nice to see if Campbell can continue the success and compete to get into the title game again next year at Iowa State. Hell, who even knows if some mid-major program turns a page in 2021 who we can poach.