Possible Replacement Coaches
There have been tons of posts about whether or not Michigan should fire RR. That is not the topic of this post. My question for the board is this:
IF Michigan does choose to fire RR at the end of this season, who are the realistic candidates to replace him? Not a wish list, but who is realistically out there that would want to leave their current job to come to Michigan?
I know that the popular candidate on this board, and everywhere else, seems to be Harbaugh. But, is there any reason to believe that he would come here?
Just curious what everyone thinks . . .
November 1st, 2010 at 11:09 AM ^
As bad as our defense has been this year, our O has been outstanding as they are leading the big ten in scoring in ppg. Because of this I really don't want to revert back to a pro style.
My top two guys are:
Chris Peterson at Boise
Kyle Whittingham at Utah
Both run the spread O and have had great defenses.
Too bad RR cannot just become our offensive coordinator.....
November 2nd, 2010 at 1:52 AM ^
Boise State does not run the Spread.
November 1st, 2010 at 11:20 AM ^
1. TRY! FIGHT! WIN!
2. Wayne Fontes
3. Durp Durp
4. GERG
November 1st, 2010 at 11:28 AM ^
lets get a coach on his way up. and yes, a lot of people here (in FL) think he is one of the main reasons for Urbans success.
November 1st, 2010 at 11:49 AM ^
for a second i misread your post as suggesting "MILLEN" for umich coach...
wow, got faint there for a minute...
November 1st, 2010 at 11:29 AM ^
If there is a change coming, please, let there be no "search." 1 man out, another in, keep as many recruits as possible.
November 1st, 2010 at 11:34 AM ^
The whole search thing is a recipe for recruiting disaster. If a change occurs this offseason - and I may be in the minority but I believe that there will be one - Brandon needs to handle it well, so that the new HC is ready to step in.
November 1st, 2010 at 11:31 AM ^
...when Saturday rolls around, please.
November 1st, 2010 at 11:42 AM ^
We met him in line at the Penn State Creamery and he informed us that his wife works there about once per month. He has amazing inside information which should totally help with recruiting--for example, he told us in confidence that Joe Pa actually dislikes the "Peachy Paterno" flavor that was named for him and instead prefers plain Strawberry.
November 1st, 2010 at 12:10 PM ^
November 1st, 2010 at 11:57 AM ^
Just as surely as UC's next coach is Dan Enos.
November 1st, 2010 at 12:16 PM ^
This offense is 8th in the nation in total yards!! #8!!!!!!!! At last check Denard was the second leading rusher in the nation. What more do you want?? It's obvious the defense is horrible (worst I've even seen at Michigan). But that's an entirely different conversation. For the life of me I don't understand why we hired Greg Robinson. He couldn't coach at UCLA, he couldn't coach for the Kansas City Chiefs and he couldn't coach at Syracuse. But somehow he's supposed to be the answer for us?? I don't think so. The decision to bring in Robinson is entirely on RRod and on that I'm sure we al agree. Do we even blitz anymore? Where is Greg Roh?? This is by no means a talented defense but I believe our problems have to do with the defensive scheme more than anything else...
November 1st, 2010 at 12:21 PM ^
bring in some ornery SEC Defensive Coordinator.....some guy who is too intense to have the people skills to be a Head Coach.....
dont tell me "not good to keep changing DC's", because when you are among the worst in the nation, it is REQUIRED that you change DC's.
November 1st, 2010 at 12:31 PM ^
I know a guy from Stanford and he says they would do NOTHINg to keep him. They won't pour $$ at football. He put Stanford football on the map out there and that's as far as he'll be able to take it. He could win the MNC here.
If it's not Harbaugh then the next coach MUST completely get, understand, eat, breathe, and sleep Michigan football and all the things that have gone on with it and all the things that will. And that includes putting Sparty back in it's place.
November 1st, 2010 at 12:36 PM ^
Well this thread became what we all thought it would be. I have no idea if Rich deserves a fourth year. Wannstache got a fourth year and made something of it so I guess anybody can deserve a fourth year.
I believe he deserves a fourth year solely because people in the Big Ten truly fear this offense. Joe Pa actually called a FAKE FIELD GOAL instead of kicking a field goal because in theory Michigan could score two touchdowns in 3 minutes. Would you have said that about either of the offenses we've fielded the last two years?
Here is what I have noticed. Offense atrocious in Year One, Inconsistent Year Two, Impressive Year Three. By year 4 or 5 this offense will be a machine. Starting in 2008 we have purged a significant number of Carr recruits and now we are in RR recruits country. Both quarterbacks are his most of the line is his, most of the skill players are his AND they have been in the system for two years or more. These are the results. They are great results. And honestly they could be even better.
The defense is where the offense was in 2008. RRod deserves one more year. A serviceable defense means a ton. And Mike Martin won't go pro. Mostly because there is a possible lock out next year and a rookie cap. There is very little incentive to leave next year rather than the year after.
To the coaching question it comes down to Harbaugh vs. RRod. I think Jim is more likely to go pro than come to Michigan but if you want to fire RRod than Harbaugh is your next best bet. If Harbaugh doesn't come the guy I really, really like is Pat Fitzgerald. More because even though they appear outmanned and outgunned often, they always play with discipline and give themselves a chance to beat anyone.
November 1st, 2010 at 1:06 PM ^
Joe Pa actually called a FAKE FIELD GOAL instead of kicking a field goal because in theory Michigan could score two touchdowns in 3 minutes.
I think JoePa called for the fake because we don't have a special teams coach and he also knew our defense = like going through butter with a hot corn on the cob
November 4th, 2010 at 6:10 AM ^
Most schools don't have a ST coach. The fact we don't have a dedicated ST coach wouldn't have factored into it; you are correct about the defense.
November 1st, 2010 at 12:43 PM ^
Who would our QB be in his system? Fact is, neither Tate nor Denard can consistently throw while standing in the pocket. Devin can, and he would be my first guess as to who would take over at QB, but really, that doesn't bode well. I'm terrified what switching back to a pro-style offense could mean for this program after seeing what happened in RR's first two years on offense.
November 1st, 2010 at 12:53 PM ^
Best candidate: Greg Robinson.
/s
November 1st, 2010 at 12:54 PM ^
But after three years, the PSU game has me seriously considering the future possibilities at head coach. I was on the Harbaugh and Petersen bandwagons three years ago and nothing has changed.
I would probably add Pat Fitzgerald. Don't know enough about Mullen.
But I agree with several of the posters that we have to have a coach next year that runs or would feel comfortable running the spread. Otherwise we are destroying the only improvement that has been made since 2007 and setting us back even futher. If we can't get a "can't miss" guy who likes the spread I think we have to roll with Rodriguez for one more year.
November 1st, 2010 at 12:58 PM ^
I have no idea if it's real or not. It's hard to see how Harbaugh would ever say anything about a Michigan player, unless he recruited him.
I could Tate being the QB and DRob being a back or slot, ala Harvin at UF. Harbaugh would see the value of Dennard on the field and utlize him in any way he could. Any coach worth his salt would find a way to have him on the field.
On the "throwing his Alma Mater under the bus", well he is doing better with tougher academic standards at Stanford than either Michigan or ND. He obviously cares about Michigan and wants them to do it the right way, the way they did it when he was here. He may not have handled the situation well.
The DUI- everyone drive under the influence, right? /s
November 1st, 2010 at 1:19 PM ^
Cares about Michigan, enough to trash the school and the people who work for the school in public. If he cared about the school, do it in private. Everyone makes mistakes, but until he starts to handle the situation better, I hope he never comes here. And if he did, I will support him. But, I will never defend him unless he makes amends to all the people he trashed.
November 1st, 2010 at 3:35 PM ^
It's one comment and Jamie Morris (I think it was he who said he's never talk to JH again) and Harbaugh have made up, so as fans, we should also get over it.
Also, I attended (and paid a lot of tuition as I never recieved a scholarship) Michigan for 6 years, but Harbaugh was the QB, and his Dad a coach. You can't argue with his love for the school, 1 comment aside.
November 1st, 2010 at 3:45 PM ^
You are telling me to get over it. I don't care if he made up with Jamie Morris. Has he ever apologized to the University and the staff in Admissions and the Athletic departments. I paid tuition also, so I don't get you comment about that. Funny kind of love for you school to openly criticize and make other negative comments.
Interesting you are telling me to get over it, when your line is boycott the FREEP. Will you ever get over the FREEP and read that crap again. At least the FREEP never claimed to love the University of Michigan.
November 1st, 2010 at 2:07 PM ^
The most obvious solution is this:
HC: Jim Harbaugh
OC: Rich Rodriguez
QB Coaches: Tony Dungy & Barry Sanders (for the wildcat formation we use, of course)
RB Coach: Eric Dickerson
WR Coach: Jerry Rice
DC: Bill Cowher
DBs Coach: Deion Sanders (minus violations)
DL Coach: Rod Marinelli (to sharpen our shovels + bring outstanding will)
LBs Coach: Mike Singletary
What do you guys think?
November 1st, 2010 at 2:16 PM ^
If Rodriguez decides that enough is enough and he goes off to coach at Wazzu or Tennessee, I think either Ken Niamatulolo or Paul Johnson should be our next coach. Both are triple-option coaches, so they'll be able to utilize our offensive players well. We're in no position to transition to pro-style yet.
November 1st, 2010 at 2:32 PM ^
We're closer now to switching to pro-style than we were 3 years ago switching to read-option, belly-ball.
November 1st, 2010 at 3:32 PM ^
Denard may be a bit out of position for an NFL style QB, but who else? Also, I think Denard could be really good in a shotgun spread NFL O.
November 4th, 2010 at 8:59 AM ^
It doesn't seem like there are a bevy of realistic candidates.....