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The answer is unequivocally …

The answer is unequivocally "Yes" in my mind. Chryst is a good play caller and he and JH are a dying breed of offensive minds that love the ManBall run game (JH has modernized a bit more than Chyrst, so would probably be good for Chyrst).

Cannot stand Stephen Godfrey…

Cannot stand Stephen Godfrey, so Split Zone Duo has been a hard no for me. Shutdown Fullcast I will check in on from time to time when CFB gives you the lemons (gold?) from a truly absurd weekend (like the Ole Miss-Tenn game at Rocky Top where Joe Milton ran out of bounds on the last play and Lane got a golf ball thrown at him -- you just knew SF was going to be special after that one).

I do love a good substantive CFB podcast, and I would recommend each of the following 3 (in descending order of substantive content): (1) the Cover 3 Podcast from 247, (2) the Cover 2 Podcast from Athlon, and (3) the Solid Verbal. I'm sure there are others and folks may have different views, but just my reccs here.  

The 247 guys do Win Totals and Locks pods to preview the season that are quite substantive and I enjoy them, if partly because I enjoy laying down a few small Win Total bets each year.  The Solid Verbal is great in season (for the unintiated, their weekly recap show during the season kicks off with the "Reverbs" of their listeners calling in and leaving voicemails expressing their good or bad emotions after the CFB week), but their off season stuff tends to stray from the substance a bit.  The Athlon guys do a solid job as well and I usually buy their preview magazine each year. 

CFB podcasts are kind of my thing - to listen to while exercising, in the car/train home from work, etc., so I usually do the MgoBlog pod, then 247, then Athlon, then Solid Verbal during weeks in season.  would be interested in other reccs as well.

Mandel is a notorious…

Mandel is a notorious Harbaugh and Michigan hater - he has been for years.  I take everything he says about UM with a huge grain of salt and while keeping that in mind (doesn't make it any less annoying).  Case in point with Mandel, and many other national CFB writers: they tend to significantly overlook and glide past PSU's struggles in 2020, while hammering Michigan's struggles in the Covid year in order to paint that into their narrative that Franklin is some Coaching Jesus that has PSU on the doorstep of something else and Harbaugh is just some whack. 

Two other things I'll point out:

- Maybe this is just me and maize colored glasses, etc., but I do think last year's team and staff turned around the culture of the program.  It was getting stale and I could see it from my couch.  We all saw the change the minute that "Jump Around" came on the stadium speakers at Camp Randall. Jettisoning Don Brown and Warriner and bringing in new, younger and fresh faces paid off bigtime. I don't think that is reverting. 

- yes OSU has a relatively difficult B1G conference schedule this year, but somehow they get both the Badgers and the Hawkeyes in Columbus (they travel to NW in their other cross-over game).

Also - your point about…

Also - your point about breaking up the ACC is a really good one, an item that not a lot of people have brought up.  I think I've read/heard that it would take a majority of ACC schools to dissolve the ACC, so 8 total.

B1G takes UNC, UVA, GT and...Pitt? Duke?

SEC takes Clemson, Fl State, Miami and either VT or NCST (Miami is not AAU).

I agree with everything in…

I agree with everything in this post, particularly the point about pressuring ND vs. incepting ND. Well said. 

For some reason I had always thought of Cal/Stanford together and Oreg/Wash together (history I guess), but if the B1G is going to take two of those 4 schools - and they will, because there is no way USC and UCLA joined the B1G without a tacit understanding of the B1G's plans for further expansion on the West Coast - for the first time in my mind I'm thinking Stanford and Washington are the two, not Cal and Stanford. 

I agree that Stanford is particularly attractive because that is another traditional rival of ND, and that would just push the the B1G even further ahead of the SEC as the most attractive option for ND.  The B1G then USC, Stan, Mich, Pur, and MSU as traditional rivals of ND.

I've always thought of Washington as being a Michigan cousin out on the West Coast, and think the Huskies are a much cleaner fit in the B1G than Oregon.

Looking East, I agree that the recruiting footprint in the mid-Atlantic is a thing.  In fact, it's a thing for both the B1G and the SEC. UNC and UVA are both flagship universities, good academics, etc.  Also, if you are those two schools, would you rather join the B1G or the SEC?  Those 2 would face such an uphill climb to football relevance in the SEC.  Remember that UNC and UVA are "the South's Oldest Rivalry" having played 120+ times since first lacing them up in 1892.  

The last point I'll mention, and I don't think this has been brought up a lot on the Board previously, but I do think the ADs and President arranging and approving these chess moves are thinking about the long term viability, and profitability, of their universities.  Go look at the comments made by the President of OSU in April - they want more students (high school and college) in the B1G footprint. Football revenue is just a small part of a university's annual cash flows, and ensuring access to students ensures access to profit.  North Carolina is one of the states seeing a population surge.  Of all our 50 states, more high school students leave their home state of California to go out of state school than any other state.  These are real considerations to the decision makers (in addition to recruiting). 

While I'm sure Washington…

While I'm sure Washington and Oregon would love to join the B1G, I'm not sure those two schools will be that high on the B1G's pecking order. 

With all of the B1G realignment, there is one thing that is certain and one thing that is probable - first, it's certain, basically public, that Notre Dame is the most lucrative and desirable remaining "free agent" target in terms of joining the conference, and second, it's probable that when USC and UCLA agreed to join the B1G, there was significant discussion about adding at least 2 more West Coast / Western schools in the future, to reduce travel, preserve some history and rivalries, etc. 

Combine those 2 factors together and IMO, that means Stanford and Cal seem more likely that Oregon and Washington to join the B1G.  Stanford is another traditional rival with ND - meaning another carrot for ND to join the conference - and the two schools would bring the No.Cal TV market as well as immense academic and Olympic sport prestige.  If there's just one school coming to keep an even number of teams, Stanford joins and Cal stays home.

The other factor is that neither the B1G nor the SEC have a foothold in Virginia or NC. Population is exploding in NC, and I think UNC and UVA are going to be extremely desirable commodities to both the B1G and the SEC (the SEC also does not have a foothold in either state).  Both schools are very strong academically, in basketball and various other Olympic and non-Olympic sports.  The population is also exploding in the State of NC.  

That's a potential 21 team league - the existing 14, USC, UCLA, ND, Stanford, Cal, UNC, and UVA.  Likely add one more team to create two 11 team pods if you will - maybe one of Oreg/Wash/Utah/Kansas/Duke/GT/Miami.

 

As others have said, the Pro…

As others have said, the Pro 575 will probably be big enough if you are strictly cooking for your immediate family, but if you can swing for another model with more grill surface area I would suggest that - as another poster said, if you're worried about space / capacity on a model before you buy, you're probably going to run into space / capacity issues at some point (e.g., you have folks over for a bbq).

I recently purchased a Traeger Ironwood 885 - got it with a $150 off deal Traeger was running for Father's Day, was my personal treat after a grueling 2021 at work, and I've been really pleased with everything I've cooked thus far and it's a lot of fun.  My first brisket came out amazing, and I've done wings twice now and the Traeger works well for those too (first cook was pulled pork, which was pretty good).  The Ironwood 885 comes with an upper grill rack that is pretty small, so it's useful to cook one big protein like a brisket (or fit 30 wings on the lower grate), but I haven't been relying on the upper rack for multiple items to cook simultaneously. 

If you're thinking about diving in to a Traeger, and I would give a thumbs up after my experience with the Ironwood 885 (won't speak re the new Timberline XL, I think that 1st Gen pellet grill seems to have too many issues)...would strongly recommend you look into and watch some YouTube videos from professional and semi-pro smokers.  Meat Church and Mad Scientist BBQ on YouTube have been really good resources explaining their cook approaches in a really straightforward way that is easy to replicate, and maybe give a look into the Traeger reddit community, lots of helpful folk there too. 

enjoy and good luck! 

Former collegiate rower here…

Former collegiate rower here.  U-Dubb is still and has been the dominant program in collegiate HW rowing, their crews were just always 8 ginormous dudes who pulled hard AF.

DesertGoBlue, if you like the Hydrorow that much I strongly recommend you search for a local rowing club and learn how to handle an oar (not that hard) and get in a boat; I have never sat on a Hydrorow but I spent many, many hours erging, and erging sucks (even if it is a decent workout).  Actual rowing (I only rowed 8s and 4s, could never learn to scull) is 10,000 times better than erging, plus club rowers frequently race which is where the fun really is. 

Boys in the Boat talks about the "swing" that the UW crew achieved.  It is a pretty special feeling (as is capturing the bow ball on another boat or taking multiple seats on a boat, you can feel the enemy's despair), and this YouTube clip of the US Men's HW8 winning gold in Athens in 2004 is a pretty good clip depicting all 8 rowers swinging together.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upy01M11OHo&t=211s  

 

Kyiv will recover. Proud and…

Kyiv will recover. Proud and cultured people have lived there for millenia. 

Sorry, but Duncan Robinson…

Sorry, but Duncan Robinson and Franz go on this team before Stauskas, and it's not really close IMHO.

Seconded! 

Seconded! 

Rod Moore and McBurrows are…

Rod Moore and McBurrows are my two picks for breakout players next year.  I think its been said that Moore is going to replace Dax, and while there will be a drop-off I don't think it will be that much.

The D-Line next year is just going to be different.  I think its reasonable to expect more depth and a step forward on the interior with Mazi, Hinton and Jenkins all flashing this year, and new guys like Benny coming online.  I've been really impressed with Morris all year, although he is a Wormley-type that will flex between 3T and SDE I think not strictly Edge.

That leaves Edge; I agree Ojabo is likely to and should go pro.  Good for him.  Have to look at some combination of McGregor, Bennett, Harrell, Guy, Transfer Portal and Freshmen to replace production.  We obviously won't get THIS level of production but I think it's reasonable to assume one of that group of 4 flashes a bit like Winno and Uche flashed in the year before they broke out.

Is Aidan the best player of…

Is Aidan the best player of the Harbaugh era? To me it's either him, Jourdan Lewis or Devin Bush.  Interested in what other folks think.  Can make arguments for all 3.  I personally think Aidan has the biggest on field impact.

I believe it's been said…

I believe it's been said that Moore is being groomed to take over Dax's role next year.

Logged in to say this was…

Logged in to say this was pure gold, bravo.

Unfortunately I don't see…

Unfortunately I don't see this team beating OSU - their passing game & WRs are elite, and our CBs are not (Dax can only lock one of them up).  Our best chance in that game is playing Red Zone roulette and just let them gain yards between the 20s, force them to execute in the Red Zone, and avoid huge plays for TDs.

The MSU game is huge, and I actually think Macdonald should adopt a similar strategy in that game.  MSU's offense has been explosive but not that efficient.  I'm actually doubtful that Clifford will be 100% for the rest of the season (assuming its a ribs injury, and that will not fully heal if hes trying to play in the PSU-OSU game).  If Clifford isn't 100%, I really like our chances in that game too.

Dax is going to end up …

Dax is going to end up (should end up) playing the Tyrann Mathieu role in the NFL, that is where he is most impactful.  And that's exactly how Mike McDonald and the UM coaches should be pitching Domani Jackson and other secondary prospects from now on.

Their lack of pass rush…

Their lack of pass rush would be more concerning to me than secondary play if I was a Buckeye fan. 

Seems high. -17 seemed like…

Seems high. -17 seemed like the right number to me. Beat Rutgers and cover a -17 or -19 spread would be something. 

*glances at FFFF NIU Defense…

*glances at FFFF NIU Defense Chart* 280lb Nose Tackle?...they gonna die

I'm not sure who the staff…

I'm not sure who the staff is recruiting at LB and iOL. Deuce Spurlock and Mark Nabou...anyone else?

This is really cool and…

This is really cool and informative, thanks OP.

Hutch and Dax Hill played…

Hutch and Dax Hill played out of their minds last night. We all know about Aidan, but Dax's grade in UFR is going to be through the roof too. D-Line as a whole was very good, and with steady play from Morris, Jenkins, and roles for Welshoff and Whittley, looks like we have better depth than anticipated.  

As detailed in FFFF this week, the Huskies D was in a 2-high safety look for a majority of our time on offense, with the FS WAY back there.  The playcalling was no doubt a little concerning for the long-term prospects this year, but the O-Line put in work.  Way to get that unit a lot of confidence.

A couple of factoids:

A couple of factoids:

  • Washington has one of the youngest teams in America (something like 4/5 of their scholarship players are underclassmen per a graphic on last week's TV broadcast of the Michigan game).
  • the Saturday night game at the Big House will be:
    • the first road game of Wash QB Dyal Morris career
    • the first road game of HC Jimmy Lake's career
    • the first time that Washington has played a road game - or outside of the state of Washington - since 2019.
F this, I give up with this…

F this, I give up with this program shooting itself in the face.

Tier 1 -  Saban, Dabo (and…

Tier 1 -  Saban, Dabo (and Urban)

Tier 2 - Lincoln Riley, Ryan Day, Jimbo Fisher, Kirby Smart

Tier 3 - James Franklin, Dan Mullen, Brian Kelly, Paul Chryst

Tier 4 - Matt Campbell, Pat Fitzgerald, Kyle Wittingham

Tier 5 - everyone else of note, including JH

Lol, guy has never played…

Lol, guy has never played calls and would be DC? JH must be hiring him as a Co-DC. While I'm sure Mike Macdonald is a great guy, would have success recruiting, etc., Ryan Day would hang INFINITY points on him the next few years in the Game.

The tidbits in this thread…

The tidbits in this thread re potential/likely defensive staff members is the most interesting thing to me - strong candidates and post-CHRIStmas tRiUMPHs.

I have been pretty vocal on…

I have been pretty vocal on here since the MSU game that I personally think Moorehead would be a good hire here.  Go back to 2017, and Moorehead was the #1 OC and HC candidate on the market.  He took a roll of the dice going to Miss St. and I don't think that was a good fit for him. He went 8-4 in his first season at Miss St. and his second year was a mess because Willie Gay punched a teammate and Willie Gay and 9 other players cheated in glass and were suspended multiple games.

Moorehead is pretty clearly a better playcaller than Josh Gattis at this moment in time - maybe Gattis still has upside as a playcaller, but that remains to be seen (Gattis is, however, a damn near elite recruiter).  

Moorehead is from the NE and a large part of the reason why I think he'd do well here is precisely because a degree of staff continuity could be maintained - Gattis would retain OC duties but Moorehead (not JH) is the most natural mentor and supervisor of Gattis' offense. 

Offense wins championships in modern CFB. With the right defensive hires (and I think Warde Manuel could help ensure the pocketbooks are opened up for those hire), I do think Moorehead should be on the Tier-1 list of candidates with Matt Campbell and Jeff Hafley (IMO, behind Campbell, in front of Hafley and Tony Elliot, who i am skeptical about because he has been in the Clemson cocoon for so long and worry he would be able to rely on enough personal relationships to develop an A+ staff since it would be difficult to pull coaches from Clemson).

Yes.

Yes.

Agree 1000% with this.

Can…

Agree 1000% with this.

Can JH re-invent himself in more of a CEO role with a replenished staff? I think it's a possibility, and if JH gets extended this is the hope I will be clinging to for the next 12 months. We'll see.

I like Gattis both as a…

I like Gattis both as a recruiter and position coach (where I like him quite a bit and think he's already killing it), and I think he still has upside as a playcaller and OC.  However, I think that past two years have shown that Gattis isn't there yet as an elite playcaller (not to say he cannot get there or isn't on his way).

I have been vocal on here and on the 247 site that if JH wants to assemble the best possible staff, bring in Joe Moorehead as OC.  Hopefully Gattis can accept a co-OC role, but Moorehead is a clear upgrade as playcaller...and as we all say in the CFB semis, an elite offense is how to win games and recruits. 

This is an awful take by the…

This is an awful take by the OP.

Manuel hired Juan Howard and Mel Pearson, the baseball program is operating at its peak, I mean - 2020 was a trainwreck for JH but from all of the tidbits we are getting it sounds like Warde is being very responsible in approaching the Harbaugh situation: an extension with a lower buyout to protect the university's finances.

I'm willing to give JH a bit of a mulligan on 2020, but like many others on here I am somewhere in between "it remains to be seen" and "totally skeptical" that JH will get us to beating OSU once every 4 years or so.  However, I think everyone on this blog and in the fanbase overlooks the fact that the program is still more than one step behind OSU - first step is getting the program to solidly the number 2 program in the B1G and beating PSU, Wisc, Iowa, etc. with regularility and ease. Only once the program gets that type of momentum are we going to be closing the gap with OSU.

He’s going to be so good for…

He’s going to be so good for the Ravens offense next year. 

I have been on here and on…

I have been on here and on 247 saying that Moorehead would be one of my favorite choices as HC if JH was asked to move on, on the theory that he got a raw deal at Miss St, is one of the best offensive minds in the business (roll the tape back to 2018 and he would be #1 offensive coach we would want to hire to replace JH)) and he could continue with Gattis on staff as OC and WR coach under him.

If JH is able to pull in Moorehead while still retaining Gattis that is a grand slam (would still be a home run bringing in Moorehead if Gattis left).

I am also on the Hafley…

I am also on the Hafley train as well, although I would be happy with Campbell (or Joe Moorehead) too. The key with Hafley would be surrounding him with great and experienced coordinators, a great OL coach and other recruiters (Sherrone Moore, keep Warriner, hire Vince Marrow).

I still think Joe Moorehead got a raw deal at Miss St. (strange cultural fit, suspensions in year 2 in Starkville). if we went back two years ago he would be the #1 OC this fan base would want to hire. 

Personally, would suggest…

Personally, would suggest that the head coach keep Warriner, Moore and Zordich.  Zordich is one of the best in the business, hard to dispute that even this year with Gemon Green making strides. I still think Gattis has upside as an offensive coordinator, and he seems to be a relatively strong recruiter. 

I personally think Joe Moorehead should be considered a candidate here (he got a rough deal in his two years at Miss St, the second year was where 10 players were suspended 8 games each). An offensive staff of something like Moorehead, Gattis, Warriner, Moore and lets say Vince Marrow would be quite nice.

Everyone on this board acts…

Everyone on this board acts as if OSU is invincible.  Yes, they are MILES ahead of Michigan right now.  Not, they are not invincible - they've been had by friggin Iowa and Purdue. 

I generally like Bruce…

I generally like Bruce Feldman (wayyy much more than Stewart Mandel, who just whines and his other takes are not interesting) but this is a pretty poor list of potential candidates for Michigan.  Shane Beamer is on the list because that guy has cultivated media contacts into favorable press - as OU's associate head coach. The pool of potential candidates is much, much wider. 

 

I should add I didn’t…

I should add I didn’t include Bronco Mendenhall just out of personal preference (his success at UVA has come at the expense of an incredibly weak ACC), and I don’t think he’s a better coach than Wittingham.

however I could see why Bronco is worth considering/researching

Would add a few more names…

Would add a few more names to the list

-Dan Mullen would be my first call. I understand he’s probably unlikely to leave the Swamp but offer him Harbaughs compensation package and need to ask him given his track record.

-Cristobol should be on the list as well for reasons we’ve all gone over.

-Kyle Wittingham.  Hes been consistently successful at Utah

- would add Bryan Hardin to the list if he hasn’t been mentioned yet.

- Neal Brown and Billy Napier. Along with Hafkey they’re all a little light on coaching experience Relative to the other names thrown out.

-Joe Moorehead. He’s worth taking a chance; with the right defensive hires he would do well here.

Urban isn’t coming here, neither is Chris Peterson (retired from UW because that place was too much of a grind) or Pat Fitzgerald. 

Campbell, Leopold, Hafley, Fickell, Mullen, Cristobal, Wittingham, Harsin, Moorehead, Neal Brown and Billy Napier. Are there others who should be on that list?

Hafleywould be my choice 

I actually think you have…

I actually think you have made some pretty valid points in this thread, but Don Brown does need to go.  It's been 2.5 years since we got pantsed in Columbus by Ryan Day, Dwayne Haskins & Co. Friggin Indiana just turned in a better defensive performance against the Buckeyes than Don Brown has the past years, and if we're talking about evidence, look at how Penn State's defense has performed against the Buckeyes relative to ours the past 5 years.

I believe Brian, in his final entry for the season preview, predicted a 5-3 final record for this season.  Wins against PSU and Maryland mean we land one game below that prediction. 

A few things strike me about Harbaugh:

(1) he can be loyal to assistants and players to a fault.  You can't argue that he hasn't tried to adapt because he has - he brought in Gattis and to rev-up recruiting he brought in Campanaille and Al Washington - both really excellent moves; the staff turnover has been killing Harbaugh so I get why he retained Don Brown for this particular season, but DB has not shown the ability to adapt and we are inevitably going to get pantsed in Columbus again this year.

(2) Team Attitude/Confidence and Tone-Setting. None of us know how much of the offense is Gattis' offense and how much is Harbaugh's influence - we're not in the meetings; purely based on changes in recruiting targets, you'd have to say that Harbaugh has ceded influcence over what kind of players are recruited for our offenses to Gattis.  Having said that, I do think Harbaugh is likely still a micro-manager and I think his role-playing of coach with cleats tossing footballs in warmups is to the detriment of the team.  At the most successful programs, the coach is the CEO overseeing the entire operation and setting the tone for the entire team, not warming up the QBs. We come out flat every game and have never won a big-time road game with Jim at the helm.  That's an attitude problem and it starts with Jim, the rest of the coaches and then (importantly too) the players that are leaders on this team.

(3) Most importantly, something about Jim changed after the 2016 OSU game. We can all see it. Everyone that reads this board consistently has heard rumors about Jim having medical issues looked-in to during the past few years (as one who was known to enjoy a tin of skoal back in the day myself to help de-stress, I've also noticed that coincidentally Jim has stopped dipping while on the sidelines too). Maybe it's the medical stuff Jim has been dealing with, or maybe it's the fact that in 2017 he took his foot off the pedal a bit because he knew he had a young team and a struggling QB in O'Korn so an attitude adjustment to keep his team staying positive was needed, and he never really put his foot back on the gas again.  

If you're asking me what's wrong with the team, it's a combination of items (2) and (3), not necessarily item (1).  If you're asking me what's wrong with the program, well, I've got news, I think up until this year the administration has been perfectly fine with Harbaugh's performance, other than being competitive with and occassionally beating OSU.

I actually disagree with the…

I actually disagree with the premise that it was suddenly Harbaugh's playcalling or Harbaugh's plays when Cade came in.  

What did feel pretty clear was that Cade McNamara has been preparing to run the offense from the second half of Saturday's game his whole life. All of his reps in HS in Nevada and at 7-on-7 tournaments...you could see that translate to the plays.  In a complete rarity for UM quarterbacks, he seemed to know pre-snap where he was going with the football and why. I think there is something to be said for the fact that Cade is the byproduct of the modern Power-5 QB industrial complex if you will - the kid threw thousands of passes during HS, some in games and some against air at 7-on-7.  I think Shea came from the same background (I don't think any of Harbaugh's other QBs have), so while we'll have to see how things play out I was encouraged by Cade's play (small sample sizes and Rutgers caveats do apply).

I think Gattis and Jim have been trying to craft gameplans that cater to Milton's strengths, which are deep shots down the seams and down the field, some QB running on power running etc.  It absolutely baffles me, however, how we have gotten so far away from the gameplan we saw against Minnesota that featured a lot of horizontal plays and built-on the gameplans of last season with the Zone Read, Arc Read, Split Zone and power packages.

I don't think we can ever go back to the Harbaugh man-ball offenses of old - the game has moved on.  Modern offenses need to stress test defenses, consistently take whatever easy yards a defense gives them and punish defenses for their tendencies.  The guys on the Cover 3 Podcast at 247 Sports (excellent CFB podcast) started referring to UM's offense before the Minnesota game as the "dirtbike offense" due to the dimunuitive nature of our WRs.  That's speed in space, and stressing the defenses horizontally has to be a regular part of our offensive gameplan, and it just hasn't.  There's not some unwritten rule that we can't throw to our RBs more than twice per game. With Cade in at QB, that improved. 

Chris Evans, Blake Corum, Giles, Henning, Sainistrill and even Ronny Bell - it's incumbent on the coaches to get them the ball quickly - and in space! - and either the coaches or the QBs just haven't been doing that consistently.  That should be the identity of our passing offense, and it just hasn't.

Also, fire Don Brown.

 

Don Brown needs to be fired…

Don Brown needs to be fired tomorrow. This is embarassing.  Green, who is an average BIG player, is the only one on that unit currently playing with any passion. Don Brown is down two DEs that are future high-end NFL draft picks and he is still running his same defense.

They're still going to…

They're still going to destroy Michigan so I wouldn't get too cocky.

The answer to your question…

The answer to your question is Yes, coupled with the other thread currently on the Board on revolving coordinators and lack of a coherent offensive philosophy and identity.  Add on top of that piss poor coaching and lack of ability to energeize and inspire your players, and you see where we are.

On reflection, I guess I…

On reflection, I guess I should clarify this comment - the critique above is more of an indictment on the defensive coaches, Don Brown in particular (sound familiar), than Josh Ross.  Wisconsin did the same pre-snap motions with TEs and FBs and end-arounds last year in the beatdown at Camp Randall. It's like they didn't even watch the tape.

Not to single one player out…

Not to single one player out - because I could then single out the QB, the entire offensive line and the entire defense - but for whatever reason, Paul Chryst is kryptonite to Josh Ross.  Two years in a row Josh Ross has just been out of place on defense and busted multiple times.  Love the attitude the kid plays with, but it seems like all of the misdirection and pre-snap motion really put Josh in the spin cycle again today. 

I'm going to amend…

I'm going to amend/supplement my list, as others have pointed out Neal Brown has been doing some impressive offensive coaching at WVU.  Maybe we will go 2 outta 3 from WVU

As much as it pains me to…

As much as it pains me to say it, I do think Harbaugh has reached his ceiling and the program is never going to get over the hump while he is HC.  Whether the administration and boosters decide this is acceptable/unacceptable and want to make a head coaching change is an entirely different analysis, and one none of us can control. Unfortunately I think it's likely Harbaugh is here in 2021, and we will be in for more of the same.

Having said all of that, if the administration did want to make a change, the rationale for doing that - and asking the favored son of the program to step aside - is that this program needs to take the next step and get back to competing for B1G championships, and once in a while, a CFB spot. 

If I was running the coaching search, a few guiding principles:

-don't care if the HC has ties to Michigan or not, preferably no at this point

-HC must have an offensive background or a defensive minded HC with enough gravitas to pull a Tier-1 Offensive Coordinator (that rules out Fickell in my mind).  A good offense beats a good defense in 2020, and I don't think Fickell is there yet.

-OL and DL coaches need to be master teachers of technique; the program needs to do whatever possible to retain Ed Warriner, and get an upgrade from Shaun Nua.  DC would be an extremely important staff hire, with enough experience and technical savvy to adapt to oppossing offenses.

-Ideally every other coach on the staff is an above average recruiter.  Can't just have 1 Al Washington or 1 Sherrone Moore on the staff at a time, need multiple quality guys at that level.

With all of that said, here are a few of the candidates that come to mind (first candidate is my preferred choice, all others are just listed out w/o any ranking):

1) Dan Mullen (I would likely list Mario Cristobal next, but I think there is even less of a chance he comes to UM than Mullen)

2) Kyle Wittingham

3) Joe Moorehead

4) Jeff Brohm

5) Scott Satterfield

6) Billy Napier

7) Matt Campbell

8) PJ Fleck

9)  Chris Klineman

10) Bryan Harsin

Ideal DC candidates: Barry Odom (currently at Ark); Mike Elko (TXA&M); Brent Pry (PSU)

Ideal OC candidates: Josh Gattis (yes); whoever is the OC at UNC; anyone who is versed-in/has been successful with the power spread.

Neg away.  There is no such thing as a riskless hire in this exercise; we all thought we were getting a riskless gift from heaven when Jim Harbaugh was named our coach and we were - he was the best possible coach the university could have hired in that moment.  For whatever reason, Jim hasn't been the same since the 2016 OSU game, the program isn't getting over the hump and Jim is getting paid like a championship level coach, which he flat out is not.  I'm sure 1 of the 10 guys above can do just as good a job as Jim at getting their doors blown off by OSU and losing to every ranked team it plays on the road (I asked last week - what has been Jim's biggest win as coach, can someone please point it out to me?).  It's sad we're here, and I was first in line thinking The Game would be deciding B1G championships and CFB spots every year, but we're not close to that at all. 

I look forward to not watching the team at all this fall and will opt-out of caring and being despondent over the beatdowns that are coming our way from PSU, Wisconsin and OSU. Will be fascinating to see what the university does and what the fanbase wants the university to do at the end of this season and the end of 2021.