Wilcher wants to go back to college
There's an article in the FREEP today featuring Thomas Wilcher (Cass Tech head coach, former UM running back) and his desire to coach at the collegiate level. This is how it ends:
The coach who could see his players’ potential now needs someone with enough clout to envision the impact he could make at the college level. “I guess,” Wilcher said, “I’ve got to find somebody who will believe in me.”
Should Harbaugh make this a reality next offseason? It gives us another alum with coaching experience. Plus, I'd hate to see OSU, MSU or PSU snap him up.
LINK (for subscribers). There is a way to view the full article without a subscription, but I don't want to do so and get the thread nuked.
February 11th, 2021 at 11:05 AM ^
*goes back to work*
February 11th, 2021 at 11:05 AM ^
Yes, get him on as a recruiting coordinator and pay him 150-200k a year and see how he does.
February 11th, 2021 at 11:17 AM ^
Agreed, you can't start filling every position coach spot with HS coaches that will help recruit... We need talent development too.
Money should never be a barrier for Michigan Football... hiring a HS coach as a recruiting coordinator, analyst, etc., see how they do, then promote them to a coaching position if they are good. The Chris Partridge method.
edit: per JonnyHintz's comment below, this is a bad idea now. It prevents us from recruiting CT for a few years if he isn't a coach.
February 11th, 2021 at 11:27 AM ^
Wouldnt that mean we couldn't have anyone on Cass Tech for 2 years? It seems like position coach or bust for me
February 11th, 2021 at 12:09 PM ^
The answer to your question is yes, but I think you sit down with him and evaluate whether you can afford that for a 2 year period based upon the group coming through. With Mike Hart in the fold, Wilcher’s natural fit as RB coach is taken. There’s been enough coaching turnover that if you can get him in the building in some capacity, you can start to think about the next step from there.
February 11th, 2021 at 11:38 AM ^
If Michigan paid me $75k per year I will help them recruit. I'd have to do it in my off time from work which is why I would accept lesser pay than normal. OK, how about $50k per year because I would need to learn the ropes.
February 11th, 2021 at 11:53 AM ^
Sorry to comment jack, but thought it was related:
Sam Popper, who I think was a student on Michigan's recruiting staff, hosted players on visits, and was a big part of pulling in some big fish, is now the Director of Recruiting Strategy for Oregon. Dude seems like he's a rising star and was a big loss for us.
https://twitter.com/oregonfootball/status/1359555569829388288
February 11th, 2021 at 12:08 PM ^
Did you guys here we lost a janitor at Schembechler Hall too? Program is falling apart.
In all seriousness, if he was that critical, I'm sure Michigan would've kept him. Sounds like a promotion Michigan likely wasn't willing to offer. Could develop some good West Coast connections and come back to Michigan in the future.
February 11th, 2021 at 12:34 PM ^
Thanks for your sarcastic reply. Yep, having someone leave the program and become Director of Recruiting Strategy at Oregon within a year or two of leaving the program is exactly the same thing as losing a janitor /s
February 11th, 2021 at 12:52 PM ^
Did that janitor solve complex mathematical equations?
February 11th, 2021 at 2:19 PM ^
Hopefully he can at least spell "hear" correctly
February 11th, 2021 at 4:55 PM ^
Age and username match.
February 11th, 2021 at 12:13 PM ^
Yeah, you can give him a chance to show what he's got and prove he brings value. Michigan can always recruit pretty well, but if he can show a knack for connecting with guys and identifying talent then you can see where it goes.
Now, if he wants to show how good a coach he can be he'd likely need to go to a smaller program in the area (your directional school level) and prove his mettle there.
February 11th, 2021 at 11:08 AM ^
He's done a legendary job at Cass Tech and I'm sure somebody will give him the opportunity he seeks. Not sure if it should be UM at this point? We already have a significant number of coaches that are alums and/or have strong ties to the state. The only spot I could forsee opening now would be if Jaybaugh decides to branch out or has another NFL opportunity. I actually like Jay and think he has done a great job coaching and recruiting - so I'm not advocating for him to leave, but if he did, I think Wilcher would be a strong candidate to add.
February 11th, 2021 at 11:34 AM ^
I'll echo your sentiments with Jay - he's been an above average position coach and a great recruiter. I don't necessarily want to see him go, but he needs to at some point if he wants to be able to stand alone as a coaching entity. Otherwise, he risks the curse of family patronage his entire career. And I think he's better than that. He's off to a great start as a coach, but will need to get out from under the family tree soon if he wants to continue that trajectory.
February 11th, 2021 at 12:02 PM ^
Agree with this take. He's basically been doing the equivalent of a corporate rotational development program. He's covered TE, ST, and RB. He's definitely on the path to becoming an OC and I'm sure the plan is to eventually become a HC somewhere.
February 11th, 2021 at 11:10 AM ^
Hire him as an analyst but walking right on to a coaching staff isn't always the best move. I also believe there would be a recruiting issue for a season while he is being hired per new ncaa rules.
February 11th, 2021 at 11:17 AM ^
As you mentioned: Per NCAA rules, Hiring him as an analyst would prevent UofM from recruiting anyone from Cass Tech for a few years (not sure the exact amount). As much of a pipeline as that school is for us, that’s not a good move. The upside we get from players coming out of CT is better than what we would get from Wilcher as an analyst.
it’s ultimately an on-field position or nothing.
February 11th, 2021 at 11:20 AM ^
I believe it is 2 years
February 11th, 2021 at 11:28 AM ^
Yes, looked it up to be sure. It’s 2. So Michigan being shut out from Cass Tech in the 2022 and 2023 classes would be less than ideal. Again, the upside you’d get from those players probably outweighs Wilcher’s contributions as an analyst
February 11th, 2021 at 12:04 PM ^
Ok... as coach, its ok, but as analyst, its a 2 year block. Didn't know that.
Next year I would imagine one coaching opening... if I had to bet it'd be either Jay or BJM to the NFL. Not that I want this... I like both. But I'm surprised Jay has stayed this long... and BJM already interviewed.
I do think that Wilcher will end up somewhere else, before to us.
February 11th, 2021 at 12:09 PM ^
If the coach is hired to an on-field role immediately you can keep recruiting out of the school he came from.
If the coach is hired as an analyst, then you run into the new rule. It was put in place to restrict programs from hiring a bunch of "analysts" that don't do anything to just land a player.
Your edit beat my response, but yeah you got it.
February 11th, 2021 at 11:21 AM ^
If that's the case, perhaps he could go deep cover. Work at OSU for years, learn their systems, than come back to UofM.
February 11th, 2021 at 12:03 PM ^
Analyst at msu for 2 years, analyst at osu for 2 years, assistant coach at Michigan?
February 11th, 2021 at 11:16 AM ^
I don't see an easy entry point to an on the field role at the moment (though staffs change every year).
Hart should be here for a while so RB coach doesn't make sense.
Jay has been a good TE coach and is back to that along with ST.
No reason to hire him as an OL coach with Moore sliding over and Wilcher having no high level experience there.
And now Bellamy is here to coach WRs.
Defense is an entirely new staff that will be around for at least a couple of years (barring promotions to other programs).
Could be a useful recruiting guy if he has connections outside of Detroit since Bellamy kind of takes care of that for the moment. Analyst position (though that screws with Cass recruiting) to help him get into the college ranks maybe and see where he can go from there/have him in case of departures.
February 11th, 2021 at 11:18 AM ^
If we don't hire him someone else will. We don't want to start a pipeline that doesn't end in Ann Arbor
February 11th, 2021 at 11:32 AM ^
Should hire him as the recruiting coordinator. We will lose on CT kids for two years but could get equally good players from other schools. Assuming he is a good recruiter and manager, it is worth the cost.
February 11th, 2021 at 11:33 AM ^
Don't we all
February 11th, 2021 at 2:41 PM ^
I ain't ever going back.
February 11th, 2021 at 11:34 AM ^
It's about money.
Go Blue.
February 11th, 2021 at 11:34 AM ^
Maybe start at Ferris State, Wayne State or Grand Valley and build a resume.
February 11th, 2021 at 11:55 AM ^
He's already around 50+. I feel like if he wants to move up to D1 ball, he really needs someone to take a chance on him now. I don't want this to happen, but it would be smart of MSU to take him on on an on-field role. It would be their way of getting someone local in metro Detroit and be a direct parallel to Bellamy at Michigan. Alternatively they could pursue Jermain Crowell as well since he's been very good at recruiting players to Belleville.
February 11th, 2021 at 2:29 PM ^
If the WWW has good information, Thomas will be turning 57 this year. I'd guess that he'd be satisfied with some sort of assistant coach / position coach job. He doesn't have enough runway left for anything beyond that.
February 11th, 2021 at 11:37 AM ^
He would probably be great! But....this sounds like a little bit of penis envy with the hiring of Bellamy.
February 11th, 2021 at 11:43 AM ^
Can he still land the Triple-Lindy??!?
February 11th, 2021 at 11:48 AM ^
We are pretty full with on-field coaches with minimal college experience.
Don't really want him off the field as then we cant recruit Cass for two years.
February 11th, 2021 at 1:31 PM ^
This might actually be the best time to hire Wilcher for a non-coaching role.
We haven't offered any of his players in the 2022 class. Maybe we lose out on a 2023 recruit, maybe not. If Wilcher is good at the job, he should add more than enough value to offset that possibility.
February 11th, 2021 at 11:48 AM ^
Toss a coin to your Wilcher ♪♫♪♫♪
February 11th, 2021 at 11:48 AM ^
Back to school? For those old enough to remember...
EDIT: AZBlue beat me to it, but this is a visual reference.
February 11th, 2021 at 12:03 PM ^
The quiet part: I don't know that he's a particularly good position coach (he was an RB for Bo).
I know how they recruit against him at King, WB, Belleville, and Oak Park. He's had some talented dudes come through there, but only Lano Hill (whose younger brother chose to go to MLK) didn't arrive in college needing some major coaching up.
Boubacar Cissoko
Thomas Gordon
William Campbell
Teric Jones
Delonte Hollowell
Royce Jenkins-Stone
Terry Richardson
David Dawson
Delano Hill
Jourdan Lewis
Michael Onwenu
Donovan Peoples-Jones
Jaylen Kelly-Powell
Will Gholston, Mikey Weber, Damon Webb--it's not just the guys who went to Michigan.
February 11th, 2021 at 12:26 PM ^
A lot of those names are DBs. Do you think that some of that lack of coaching (especially on defense) is because Crowell (who was DC at Cass prior to becoming HC at Belleville) didn't do a good job with them?
February 11th, 2021 at 12:39 PM ^
It seems like you're using this as an argument against Wilcher, but how many freshmen arrive on campus and don't need major coaching up?
At least DPJ, Lewis and Onwenu all played significantly as freshmen and I would argue were pretty much as ready as you could expect as players at their position (cue Denny Green - they are who we thought they were).
February 11th, 2021 at 12:47 PM ^
I'm saying this is what they use to recruit against him. I don't know enough to make an argument of my own. You are correct that it would be more unusual for a freshman to be ready to play Big Ten football than the other way around. It's also true that it's unusual for high schoolers to believe they'll be one of them.
February 11th, 2021 at 12:08 PM ^
If he isn't good with foreign languages I'd suggest a General Studies (BGS) at LSA.
February 11th, 2021 at 12:12 PM ^
Well played.
February 11th, 2021 at 12:15 PM ^
Sure seems like we should scoop him up if only to keep someone else from hiring him for his Detroit connections
February 11th, 2021 at 12:23 PM ^
The staff is already full so hire him as an analyst? Then you can't recruit out of Cass for 2 years.
Hiring him to an on-field role just because of his Detroit connections (Bellamy provides that as well) isn't really a valued hire unless he has great coaching chops.
Generally not a great idea to make personnel decisions based on other teams potentially scooping a coach up. You hire the guys you want, not the guys you don't want others to have (though those populations do overlap sometimes).
February 11th, 2021 at 12:20 PM ^
I's say yes as long as he fits the new culture you are building. Give a small role, let him step and grow from that point. Find the right people and get them in the right positions.
February 11th, 2021 at 12:21 PM ^
It would be tough being a high school football coach and going back to college. All that time spent in class and labs and doing homework again.