schreibee

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!!!

Joined: 11/02/2009

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Carl Spackler

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)?  

Joined: 08/01/2008

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ElBictors

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..?

Joined: 03/27/2015

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Leaders And Best

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.

Joined: 09/09/2009

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Mr. Yost

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.

Joined: 07/25/2011

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Brodie

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.

Joined: 11/19/2008

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kevin holt

January 16th, 2017 at 4:10 PM ^

He wants more influence and control over playcalling I think. If Drev left we could have had Fisch and Wheatley calling plays. I'm kinda worried that Drevno might be the one calling the plays where we get frustrated, but who knows. Hopefully we don't feel like the wrong coach left.

Joined: 03/16/2010

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FauxMo

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? 

Joined: 06/17/2010

MGoPoints: 137563

BursleyBaitsBus

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? 

Joined: 01/20/2016

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Magnus

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.

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Mr Miggle

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.

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BlueCube

January 16th, 2017 at 1:35 PM ^

intentionally ignore a loyal Wolverine unless he's happy where he's at. If he feels ignored he may not help as much. What you are bringing to your team is someone loved by Cass Tech and who likely has the respect of the other Detroit coaches from his playing days as well as coaching. Hopefully Cass Tech will find another Wolverine to replace him but it will be a long time before Thomas Wilcher is forgotten by the students at Cass Tech. I personally don't see the problem. It seems like a win to me.

Joined: 12/12/2013

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jalenwestman

January 16th, 2017 at 7:29 PM ^

The main reason I would want a connection with those two schools is that their kids come from all over the place. That could lead to the map harbaugh wants to recruit from. If he is getting the best kids from ______ state, it starts the pipelines for those states and high schools. I call it.....operation jersey all over again. We do need to be the ultimate destination for Detroit though as well.

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BrownJuggernaut

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.

Joined: 10/02/2010

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