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STOOPS IS NOT HAVING IT. Can't say I blame him for this response:
Bob Stoops asked about #Florida today, his answer: "I’m not a candidate anywhere else. I’m finished with that question.”
— Dari Nowkhah (@ESPNDari) November 17, 2014
WOULD JIM HARBAUGH GO TO THE ONE PLACE DEFINITIVELY LESS WELL-RUN THAN MICHIGAN? I hope you're all rolling your eyes super-hard at any suggestion that Jim Harbaugh's stuck on the West Coast for the rest of his life because his wife likes it there. Ian Rapoport:
…according to Rapoport, the Miami Dolphins, long rumored as a potential landing spot for Harbaugh, are no longer an option. Miami's recent success apparently has convinced ownership to keep head coach Joe Philbin around and, in any case, Harbaugh is "not on the Dolphins' radar." Moreover, Harbaugh's wife does not want to leave the Bay Area, limiting the number of locations he can consider.
Accordingly, Rapoport listed the Oakland Raiders as a "real possibility" for Harbaugh.
That's not very nice to his wife in the event that Harbaugh and the 49ers part ways.
"Honey, I lost my lucrative job."
"I CONDEMN THEE TO THE DEPTHS OF THE OAKLAND RAIDERS."
"But I thought I might return to home and restore the legacy of the place I grew up and played quarterback."
"Nope. Raiders."
"D'awwww."
Neither end of that conversation seems particularly likely, and neither is it likely that San Francisco would let Harbaugh out of his contract so he could move across town. There are a ton of pieces that would have to fall into place for that to happen.
Also there is this:
There is almost no chance a top HC candidate with choices would sign up with the Raiders to work under Reggie McKenzie.
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) November 17, 2014
(Not that Reggie McKenzie, this one.)
McKenzie is in his fourth year as the Raiders GM and has drafted well. As of a few weeks ago he wasn't thought to be under threat. Now maybe not so much with the Raiders riding a 15-game losing streak. The Raiders are kind of in the same situation as Michigan is with an interim AD, except an AD is only your boss in the technical sense that you can fire him—in college you are otherwise king of the mountain. Oakland would probably have to offer that level of control to get Harbaugh, and those arrangements have rarely worked out in the NFL.
THE THING ABOUT THE DOLPHINS ABOVE. That is some relief as Stephen Ross had previously been thought to be interested, for obvious reasons. Hearing that is no longer the case.
NO MULLEN FOR FLORIDA? Florida got the drop on Michigan but apparently they're not interested in the guy who's kind of a big deal right now:
Sources told me Dan Mullen & Rich Rod will not be among those considered to replace Muschamp
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) November 17, 2014
Okay by me. If Michigan does not get Harbaugh he would be my first choice.
SLIGHTLY INSIDER STUFF. A source inside the department relates that Hackett was explicitly brought in as a short term guy and there is no inside track to the permanent spot for him even if he decides he wants the job. FWIW, this person thinks that Hackett doesn't intend on pursuing the job long term.
Also, the search committee is on the verge of being formed. As in: it has not been formed yet, some weeks after Brandon was axed. They'll act as the primary point of contact with the search firm that does these things; still, any and all comments from Schlissel about taking a long time and getting the hire right should be taken seriously. Hackett's going to do the firing and almost certainly the hiring.
This is not likely to dissuade Harbaugh, who has a ton of reasons to want to come back to Ann Arbor and an unshakeable faith in his ability to kick ass. That makes the AD virtually irrelevant to him. Relevant to us, of course. To Harbaugh he's just the guy who clears out the underbrush so he can coach.
November 18th, 2014 at 4:02 PM ^
Ah, silly me, I forgot that anyone who takes more than 90 days to build the second-worst program in the SEC into a national title contender shouldn't be considered for this job.
November 18th, 2014 at 4:06 PM ^
the season you are refering to is the 2012 season, mullen's 4th as head coach. so not sure what the 90 days thing means, but he was 7-5 that year before the bowl. he followed it up with a 7-6 campaign, where he benched said "adjustment" qb
November 18th, 2014 at 4:08 PM ^
Ironically, I'm not sure what you are referring to, either. The poster I was responding to was bemoaning the idea of Wilton Speight running the read option, and I responded by saying that Mullen has adjsuted his offense to pocket-passing QBs in the past. Then you brought up his record that season.
Yes, Mullen went 7-5 for a few seasons while he built up the roster with sleeper talent. I think his roster at Michigan would be significantly more talented, and the competition less intense.
November 18th, 2014 at 4:10 PM ^
i'm refering to the article you quoted in the above post...have you watched any msu games? it's sloppy, very rich rod-esque and quite frankly very lucky. i don't want mullen and don't understand why the average um fan does besides the fact he's got the top team this year. my guess is the average um fan doesn't have a clue about mullen or watched any of their games.
November 18th, 2014 at 4:10 PM ^
Alright, fair enough
November 18th, 2014 at 4:17 PM ^
I watched him beat our asses a few years ago...
November 18th, 2014 at 4:47 PM ^
JH is, of course, first choice.
That said, Mullen would be a great consolation prize. He's a really good coach.
Yes, as an obsessed college football fan, I've watched quite a few Miss St games. To me, they resemble LSU - big, tough, physical, with inconsistent offense and very tough defense. LSU has been 'lucky' as long as Miles has been there - at some point one has to concede there's more to it than luck. I feel the same way about Mullen; his players believe in him and his program.
Interesting for you to compare him to RR, since he slaughtered him/Michigan in the infamous Gator Bowl - Mullen's second year at MSU.
What he's done there is remarkable. Miss St has been a crap program forever. They have won exactly ONE SEC championship - in 1941, and have the lowest all-time win percentage in the conference. They are Indiana.
Anybody that can get that program to challenge Alabama and LSU is pretty damn good IMO.
November 18th, 2014 at 6:13 PM ^
I've been saying the same thing (without the RR comparison), I really don't get all the Mullen love around here.
November 18th, 2014 at 4:32 PM ^
and the MSU fans hated Mullen until this year and Mullen didn't build anything, he filled the holes with JUCO players.
November 18th, 2014 at 4:40 PM ^
So he's having the most impressive season in school history by building nothing along the way?
Lol.
Only on mgoblog.
November 18th, 2014 at 6:10 PM ^
that's not fair. you can find plenty of nonsense on other sites too.
November 18th, 2014 at 4:49 PM ^
considering that they had all of two winning seasons in the 00's, I think that speaks to the general delusion of SEC football fans than it does to anything about Mullen personally. Jackie Sherrill is their best coach in history and is revered in Starkville and his record is WAAAAAAY worse than Mulen's... if MSU fans wanted him gone, it's because they're idiots.
November 18th, 2014 at 4:50 PM ^
November 19th, 2014 at 1:58 AM ^
That's exactly what was said about RR. I don't buy the notion at all that our roster is significantly more talented overall than MSU's. A "significantly more talented roster" doesn't crap the bed like we did against ND, Utah, Minnesota, MSU, and Rutgers.
November 18th, 2014 at 4:39 PM ^
answer: a fuck of a lot better than RichRod's during the same transition. Under Russell, MSU went 24-15 in three seasons which is incidentally better than or equal to any three year stretch we've had since 2007.
November 18th, 2014 at 3:49 PM ^
Brian - any idea how the prospect of an AD-less Michigan would sit with other candidates, like say Mullen?
November 18th, 2014 at 3:49 PM ^
November 18th, 2014 at 3:52 PM ^
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November 18th, 2014 at 3:57 PM ^
Sorry I figured the sarcastic undertone was implied. I hate the internet and its damn lack of tone!
November 18th, 2014 at 3:55 PM ^
Thank you Brian for pointing out the stupidity of the regular media comments about JH's wife being a major hurdle to any move away from the Bay area.
However due to the current negative weather patterns we are experiencing, I suggest all preliminary meetings, contract negotiations, real estate presentations and other transition discussions be done near or around San Fran.
November 18th, 2014 at 3:53 PM ^
All I know is we're either going to be very excited about the next UM head coach or very let down. Fun times.
November 18th, 2014 at 4:08 PM ^
November 19th, 2014 at 1:34 PM ^
Maybe we could did a canal from Lake Erie to somewhere in Ann Arbor and build a house on the water for the Harbaughs? Then tell them it's beach front property just like in San Francisco.
Maybe flood Detroit too while we're at it.
November 18th, 2014 at 3:57 PM ^
It's an occupational necessity. Rare are the coaches who remain at one place for more than a few years, and Harbaugh's prickly personality does not lend itself to long tenure.
My hope is he comes here, kicks ass for a few years, then returns to the NFL to win his SB.
November 18th, 2014 at 11:35 PM ^
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November 18th, 2014 at 3:58 PM ^
The world is ran by wives.
November 18th, 2014 at 4:02 PM ^
First thing's first.
Brady: YOU. ARE. OUTTA HERE
November 18th, 2014 at 4:07 PM ^
and weirdly, he's also pointing down with his other hand. it's like his hands are just permanently in a pointing position.
November 18th, 2014 at 4:04 PM ^
Harbaugh is pointing in a different direction than Coach B and Brady. :(
November 18th, 2014 at 4:05 PM ^
It's okay. "I gotta go answer my phone that might be Hackett calling!"
November 18th, 2014 at 4:53 PM ^
They are the Axes of Life!
November 19th, 2014 at 1:35 PM ^
Yes, he's coming.
November 18th, 2014 at 3:59 PM ^
...Jimmy would tear across the fragile plain of Big 10 football?
It would be an extraordinary thing to behold.
November 18th, 2014 at 4:39 PM ^
Like going undefeated 3 years in a row during the regular season?
Yes its there for the picking with the right coach and the right talent. The Big 10 is so bad now that out of 8 conference games you should have 5 essentially byes with the talent OSU and UM is pulling down. At this point any game not against Wiscy, Neb, MSU and OSU (of which we are skipping 2 of those many eyars) should be a 80%+ win for UM based on 'crooting. Some other dude in the conference is doing that.
November 18th, 2014 at 3:59 PM ^
Thank you for clearing up the stuff about Harbaugh as it relates to the AD situation. I like Baumgardner (as MLive people go) but his bit about how "no big time head coach would take a job where there is an interim AD" is ludicrous. I doubt any big time coach has ever taken a job thinking that the AD who hired him would be there his entire career. As a coach you expect that your AD will likely change at some point. Why would his having an "interim" tag on his title be any different?
November 18th, 2014 at 4:43 PM ^
I agree. The only time it really matters that an AD wasn't the one who hired the coach is when it goes badly. There's slightly less loyalty to the coach if the AD didn't hire him. But that being said, I doubt there's an AD out there that would prefer to fire a coach. It's not like a new GM coming in and preferring to have "his guy" as coach.
A new coach is going to come in and know he has 3-4 years to have things working. That would be the case even if we had the permanent AD on board.
November 18th, 2014 at 4:01 PM ^
It seems that part of why Harbaugh is ruffling feathers in SF is that he wants more roster control than the GM will give him. The other aspect is that he may have a shelf life with his players - they can only handle his coaching style for 4 years or so.
Now if only there were a coaching situation where he could have roster control and turnover he might be a long term fit.....
November 18th, 2014 at 4:02 PM ^
November 18th, 2014 at 4:03 PM ^
The main issue is that he still has a year left on his contract in San Fran. They would likely get a high pick from a needy NFL team looking to trade for a good coach. San Fran can keep him from going to Michigan by not releasing him from his contract, should they choose. My thought is he'll go to Michigan if he wants because he'll tell any other team he doesn't want to be the coach there. Don't think it's a bidding war though, should be one way or the other, if this makes any sense.
November 18th, 2014 at 4:08 PM ^
I believe JH can opt out of the last year of his contract. SF doesn't have to release him. I may be wrong though.
November 18th, 2014 at 4:16 PM ^
November 18th, 2014 at 4:34 PM ^
Have you seen his contract?
November 18th, 2014 at 4:42 PM ^
November 18th, 2014 at 5:00 PM ^
NFL contracts are different than college contracts. Teams don't have to protect themselves from players/coaches leaving for other NFL jobs because league rules prohibit teams from contacting players/coaches under contract without permission. Teams don't need a buyout in the contract because another team would have to trade assets to acquire a coach under contract.
I don't think NFL teams worry too much about the possibility of a coach leaving for a college job. Most think it's unlikely that a successful NFL coach would want to leave for a college job, and that if a coach doesn't want to be there anymore, it's better to move on anyway. Much like Bobby Petrino was able to up and leave the Falcons for Arkansas, I think it's a safe assumption that if Harbaugh wanted to take the Michigan job, there would be nothing holding him back.
November 18th, 2014 at 4:24 PM ^
Shit. Okay we will give them Funchess in trade. Everyone okay with that?
November 18th, 2014 at 4:06 PM ^
49ers part ways, then Jim has to take the Raiders job or coach H.S. football? I doubt it. Whatever Rapapport's sources are, I just can't believe that one. If Jim and the niners split, then the options are whatever team he wants in the NFL that has an opening or MIchigan.
I don't see him going to another college program. He wouldn't go to the Raiders. That is the worst place in the NFL. If Michigan is a dumpster fire, then Oakland is a forest fire with 40 mph winds and one galss of water.
It would seem that Harbaugh's style doesn't lend itself to the NFL for long stretches, may 1-2 years. He seems built for college coaching and his best destiny is Michigan (I'm only slightly biased here). If the timing and $$ are right I think Jim AND Mrs Harbaugh move to AA and restore Michigan to the glory that is only a memory now.
November 18th, 2014 at 4:05 PM ^
I don't like that we are dragging our feet on the AD search. Can we please just get something right? Holy shit.
November 18th, 2014 at 4:25 PM ^
Maybe dragging is the right way....let's watch this play out.
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