Semi OT: (Speculation Thread) How NFL Coaching Carousel Could Affect College (and Michigan)

Submitted by Mr. Yost on

With the success of Chip Kelly, a number of college coaches are rumored for NFL jobs. And even if just 1-2 jump for the NFL, it could still send a domino effect throughout the college ranks and causes 5-6 guys to move around.

At Michigan we've been rumored to have anywhere from 0-3 spots left, doesn't seem like anyone knows or can get get any confirmation. HOWEVA, plenty of prospects may become an option with the moves.

Bill O'Brien is rumored to the Texas which would put PSU's class into question

...if O'Brien goes to the NFL, Al Golden is the name mentioned in the PSU circles. This would put Miami's class into question.

Charlie Strong would be an obvious perfect fit in Miami. He's also a finalist for the Texas job.

So the Louisville class gets tossed in there.

...not sure who Louisville would hire.

Other potential changes...

Vanderbilt - James Franklin to Texas
Florida St - Jimbo Fisher to Texas (Fisher just signed a huge extension)
Baylor - Art Briles to Texas (I know Briles signed an extension, but Texas would pay the buyout)
Notre Dame - Brian Kelly to Detroit Lions
Texas A&M - Kevin Sumlin to Washington Redskins ( know Sumlin signed an extension, but the Redskins would pay the buyout)

(then of course the carousel would continue with the 2nd level of guys who would replace these guys)

Anyway...here's a thread to keep track of the rumors for today.

newtopos

December 31st, 2013 at 1:41 PM ^

To be fair, though, somehow we decided to pay $4 million for a coach that has never won a conference title, and is barely .500 lifetime (even coaching in the MAC and MWC).  (The fact that Brandon hired Hoke and Borges doesn't surprise me; the fact that he is wildly overpaying them is somewhat troubling.)  If John Harbaugh -- a Super Bowl winning coach who has won 2/3 of his games in the NFL, is in his prime, has a great coaching tree (e.g., Chuck Pagano coached under him), has Michigan ties, and is not a diffiicult personality (like his brother) -- were really an an option at $7 million a year, Michigan would be foolish not to pay it.  

 

gwkrlghl

December 31st, 2013 at 11:07 AM ^

Ace Williams is well documented as the absolute least credible source for Michigan news on the internet. He is a pissy teenager spewing garbage for clicks. So many of his big rumors have come to nothing and are damaging to the players he writes about. The dude is an utter hack and should be ignored at all costs

UM Fan in Nashville

December 31st, 2013 at 10:12 AM ^

FYI, our buddy Ace is at it again. I will not post what rumors he's trying to spread or post a link, but I've already seen someone on here mention said rumors. 

Tread lightly with these rumors and support our team to the fullest.

graybeaver

December 31st, 2013 at 11:12 AM ^

I wasn't sure if it was creditable, but it was interesting.  Now I know that it is garbage and who the source is.  Sorry!

Don

December 31st, 2013 at 11:17 AM ^

The only possible reason would be that he wants to make even more millions than he is now, and doesn't care that he'd be stepping into the black hole of NFL coaching jobs.

He's now at one of the most prestigious head coaching jobs in college football that is a national brand with its own TV network it doesn't have to share with anybody, while the Lions have been the laughingstock of the NFL for almost a half-century. Outside of the Detroit area, nobody in the country gives a shit about the Lions, except as a punchline for jokes.

If he's got a burning desire to coach in the NFL, he just needs to wait for a better job to open up, and he won't have to wait long.

Magnus

December 31st, 2013 at 11:24 AM ^

I don't really get this mindset. Granted, the Lions have only won one playoff game since 1957, so I get that it's not a good destination. But virtually every new head coach steps into a bad situation. That's why the team needs a new head coach. It's rare that NFL head coaches go out on top. There are how many head coaching jobs open this year - six so far? The Buccaneers aren't in a good spot, nor are the Browns, Vikings, Redskins, etc. And I don't know that any of those teams have the kind of talent that the Lions currently possess with Stafford, Megatron, Bush, Suh, etc.

mGrowOld

December 31st, 2013 at 11:25 AM ^

I dunno Don.  Forget the past 56 years of total abject failure for a second.  If Kelly was going to cherry-pick and existing roster to have the most players already in place to fit his particular system I think the Lions are PERFECT for him.  One of the reasons Chip Kelly went to the Eagles and not the Browns was the current roster was set up for success and wouldnt need to be broken down and overhauled.  In short, Kelly chose a roster he knew he could win with immediately.  I dont know if there's a better fit in the NFL for Kelly's pass-heavy spread offense than the Lions to be honest.

Now.....can Kelly himself handle the NFL and will the players not want to kill him?  That I don't know.

Don

December 31st, 2013 at 12:30 PM ^

"Lions are well positioned to contend for the Super Bowl"

"don't know that any of those teams have the kind of talent that the Lions currently possess"

"they are (talent-wise) good-to-really-good at almost every position group."

Yet somehow with all this talent, the Lions have gone 4-12 and 7-9 the last two seasons. In the NFL team stats they're middle-of-the-pack in total defense, ypg/yielded, ppg/yielded, 23rd in passing yds/game yielded, and amazingly enough got the third-fewest number of sacks in the league at 33.

Their offensive rankings are better, but I've seen other Lions teams with relatively productive offenses that haven't done anything of importance when it came to crunch time.

There are a number of other franchises that are in worse shape than the Lions, so from that standpoint things could be worse. But "well-positioned to contend for the Super Bowl"? They're going to have to do a lot more than they've done to convince me of that.

991GT3

December 31st, 2013 at 11:28 AM ^

involved with coaching vacancies in the NFL or college level. Hoke and staff are not going anywhere. Accept it as fact and hope they learn from the past two years and improve for the coming year.

They are who they are and we need to support them until which time they are dismissed or leave.

maize-blue

December 31st, 2013 at 11:39 AM ^

I remember a few years back when TCU was rolling, alot of people thought Gary Patterson would be the heir to the Texas throne. What ever happened to him?