Coaching Search: It has begun
January 5th, 2011 at 6:21 PM ^
Yeah, I wondered about that too. I guess we'll find out 7 days from now. But if that were really the case, I think DB would have cited it as a reason for the delay (wink, wink) - why endure all this pressure if he's got the guy in hand and just has to wait on the formality?
January 5th, 2011 at 10:17 PM ^
If DB has it locked up and has to wait seven days, reading reactions like the ones on this blog will give him fits of laughter. What "pressure" is he under if he has Harbaugh (or anyone else) locked up?
I don't think pressure from enraged keyboard warriors demanding an answer NOW really is something Brandon is going to worry about. Ever.
January 5th, 2011 at 4:55 PM ^
For the past two years I have thought he was a top five coach in the country (not because of the Gator Bowl). He has mentored Alex Smith (Heisman finalist), Chris Leak (National Champion), and Tim Tebow (Douche) who are all very very different types of quarterbacks. I guarantee that if he were to come, Denard would be staying put and we would have a 5 star recruit waiting in the wings when he graduated. I think Mullen is the absolute best bet as far as winning RIGHT NOW (even better than Harbaugh) and he would hopefully bring some of his MSU recruits with him. Do you honestly think he would turn down a $2.4 million raise if we offered him the job at $5 million?
January 5th, 2011 at 5:23 PM ^
January 5th, 2011 at 5:26 PM ^
But then would we have the money to pay his DC... which as we all know is vital
January 5th, 2011 at 5:04 PM ^
Oh man... I'm gonna need a drink.
January 5th, 2011 at 5:12 PM ^
Seconded. I thought that the explosion of MGoBlog would help remove me from the situation. What actually happened? I spend hours on Twitter.com (I am not "on" Twitter myself) searching and searching for any morsel of info I can find. I need mental help.
January 5th, 2011 at 5:10 PM ^
regardless of who it is, our defense will be the focus and that is what is ultimately the most important thing
January 5th, 2011 at 5:14 PM ^
retaining Denard. That should be the #1 task of the incoming coach. Fire Rodriguez and lose Denard = AD loses my money in 2011.
January 5th, 2011 at 5:31 PM ^
Denard. Is awesome but. I prefer a team. You need a coach that will lead this team defense. Denard is one guy. Talented sure. IMO a better Percy Harvin that can throw. You still have DG. I supported RR. But really. Does he win. No. Coaches are suppose to be apart of the whole team, offense and defense. He only cared about being "exciting and fun to watch"!
January 5th, 2011 at 8:36 PM ^
He doesn't care about $12.75.
January 5th, 2011 at 5:16 PM ^
Maizenbrew has a good piece on why Brady Hoke is nothing but mediocre. I don't think he would even be mentioned if he wasn't a Carr assistant. I like K.C. Keeler from Delaware. He's won championships in a playoff environment, sustained success and built a great staff.
January 5th, 2011 at 5:31 PM ^
i dont understand why people want Dan Mullen so badly. Yes he is an offensive innovator and has success in the SEC, but he offers no solution to our defense unless he brings Diaz with him to AA.
Gary Patterson would be a better option if we can pry him away from TCU
Brady Hoke does not impress me much but at least he wants the job and could try and take on the "savior" image
i dont know what to do
January 5th, 2011 at 5:38 PM ^
I guess the assumption would be that he brings Diaz with him? I'd prefer to up the level of talent to the point that they don't have to run a blitz-happy scheme like Miss St., but at this point, I'll take whatever works.
January 5th, 2011 at 8:12 PM ^
Diaz just split... Off to Texas.
January 5th, 2011 at 5:49 PM ^
I can't imagine a more unlikely candidate for "saviour" than Brady Hoke, in part because he will suffer from the same malady that RR did from the very beginning: "You're-not-who-we-wanted-itis," and I think it will be a more severe case.
All I can say is that realistic expectations for Hoke will be so low that he may find it much easier to exceed them than RR did his more lofty expectations.
January 5th, 2011 at 6:07 PM ^
A list of a few young up and coming head coaches in my opinion. Doubt they will be considered but thought i would add them to the debate.
Todd Graham- Tulsa age 46, head coach for 4 years, won 10+ games in 3 of those years. They beat ND this year if you remember that. seems like a good coach. negative no Mid west ties that i know of.
Butch Jones- Cinncinati age 42, strong ties in the state of michigan, CMU assistant from 1998-2004 and HC at CMU from 2007-2009 with an overall record of 27-13, and mac record of 20-3. 1st year at cinncinati was rough, but watched them play oklahoma and that game was better than i expected. negative, he has followed Kelly from CMU to Cinnicinati, can he build and sustain a program of his own? as well as west virginia ties to RR (2005-2006).
Bronco Mendenhall- BYU age 44, head coach the last 6 years, overall record of 56-21, has made a bowl game every year. 4 seasons of 10+ wins. Was a DC before being a HC. negative he is a west cost and mountain guy no mid west connections.
stats from wiki
January 5th, 2011 at 5:45 PM ^
then he's screwed the pooch in an amazingly incompetent fashion.
Brandon knew for a while before he was formally offered the AD job that he would get it. As a regent and alumni player, he certainly wasn't blind to the fact that RR's job tenure coming out of the 2009 season was in jeopardy, and that it was a distinct possibility RR wouldn't do well enough to retain his job. Brandon should have been on the phone and email non-stop well before he got the AD job to get a sense from knowledgeable football people inside and outside the Michigan football family just who would be logical candidates to replace RR, just in case 2010 went in the dumper. He then should have spent weeks if not months as soon as he became AD compiling a short list of 4-5 candidates who were likely to seriously consider UM offers. That would have included contacting by any means possible one Jim Harbaugh to gauge his interest, so that by the end of the season DB would know damn well whether Harbaugh belonged on the short list. Once the review was finished and RR was canned, the "search" should be done.
I hope that DB did all this and more, and that the term "search" is simply his euphemism for "negotiations." If his admin assistants are now scouring wikipedia and espn.com and cfn for basic information on possible replacements, then he's really better off in the pizza world.
January 6th, 2011 at 5:00 AM ^
I think DB was really close in closing on JH. Probably leading up to the New Year, JH was all on board. However, JH did watch the gator bowl game and probably lost some interest and a NFL job became more appealing. I think DB should have had a plan B and C in place!
January 5th, 2011 at 5:47 PM ^
Sorry if I missed this but I didn't see it anywhere else. According to ESPN, all the assistants were fired. So does that mean Fred Jackson will not even be returning as running backs coach?
January 5th, 2011 at 5:53 PM ^
he'll be rehired. But if not, didn't Hayes say he would be at Michigan as long as Jackson is?
January 5th, 2011 at 5:53 PM ^
he'll be rehired. But if not, didn't Hayes say he would be at Michigan as long as Jackson is?
January 5th, 2011 at 5:54 PM ^
The firing of all the assistants does not really mean much. Whoever is named coach can come in and name Jackson the rb's coach again. He was "fired" before RR came as well.
January 5th, 2011 at 10:02 PM ^
Maybe temporarily, but RR made all LC's assistants interview for their jobs and then fired them permanently. From what I heard (from a close source), he had them all sit in a waiting room and, after brief interviews, they got taken out one-by-one.
January 5th, 2011 at 6:30 PM ^
was a sign that someone had already been signed and was demanding to bring an entirely new staff.
January 5th, 2011 at 5:47 PM ^
about Gary Pinkell? Don't know alot about him other than he's done a good job at Missouri and runs a spread variation. Does he have defensive credentials?
January 5th, 2011 at 5:50 PM ^
I don't see why people are upset with Brandon. Do you really think he is just starting the search right now? I'm sure he already has a list and has begun contacting people. Brandon came in a difficult situation and has done a great job so far. Nobody is used to everything being on lock down, but that's exactly what he has done. Why is that a bad thing? It's more important to get the right guy in, which he pledges to do, than this years recruiting class (most of the recruits said they would stay even if RichRod was fired).
It's going to be a tough couple years, but I have full confidence in Brandon. This is what he was brought in for and he certainly is running the Athletic Department as a business.
EDIT: regardless of who the coach is I think it is very important that the fanbase supports him, unlike with RichRod.
January 5th, 2011 at 9:11 PM ^
What reasons do you have? I am really just asking.
January 5th, 2011 at 5:49 PM ^
Brent Venables
January 5th, 2011 at 6:09 PM ^
ESPN Insider is linking to MGoblog for the article on the front page (for some reason I can't comment there). The article there talks about Pattersons chances, though no real news is included.
Also, they claim that Manny Diaz is about to sign with Texas to be their DC
January 5th, 2011 at 6:44 PM ^
FWIW, Schefter just tweeted that Wade Phillips has been hired as Texan's DC
January 5th, 2011 at 7:23 PM ^
I think he means University of Texas, not the Houson Texans, for Diaz.
January 6th, 2011 at 8:56 AM ^
Correct, University of Texas. Of course the same bit also Teryl Austin could be getting the job. I think at this point, they're just guessing
January 5th, 2011 at 6:13 PM ^
is Josh McDaniels.
He's from the Midwest (grew up in Canton, Ohio and went to John Caroll in Cleveland), is young (like 34 years old) and no one is going to be poaching him for an NFL job for a while. Plus he coached for Bellichek ans has certain "Kiffen-esque" qualities where I bet he could recruit.
January 5th, 2011 at 6:16 PM ^
His only college coaching experience of any kind is two years as a grad assistant at Michigan State! Next to that resume, Hoke is Jim Tressel.
January 5th, 2011 at 6:24 PM ^
1. Harbaugh
2. Patterson
3. Bellotti
4. Malzahn
5. Gruden
January 5th, 2011 at 11:49 PM ^
What about Tony Dungy? He is on the Big ten commercials and he is from Jackson. I would love to have him.
January 5th, 2011 at 10:02 PM ^
He lost his competitive drive, but would the thought of Denard and Co. bring that back in any way? And 5M. Just a thought, but damn I could envision great things.
January 5th, 2011 at 10:07 PM ^
It's being reported that Tom Bradley has been hired at Pitt.
January 5th, 2011 at 11:15 PM ^
... one of the top High School coaches in the country
1) Massillon Coach?
2) Cass Tech?
3) Dr. Phillips?
4) Green Bay, Wisconsin Coach?
I am sure - given how successful some of those programs are, we might get the next Bo & our recruiting would be intact - giving us a pipeline into some good school.
/sarcasm + optimism
January 7th, 2011 at 9:25 AM ^
ND tried that with Faust and it was a disaster.
January 5th, 2011 at 11:48 PM ^
Not as excited as before but I would dance in the streets to have him instead of Brady Hoke.
January 5th, 2011 at 11:56 PM ^
Harbaugh or Miles. And Harbaugh seems highly unlikely.
January 6th, 2011 at 1:14 AM ^
Not that it matters at all, but I say we throw a few million at Miles and see if he comes back. I think we could get denard to stay if we bring him in. He seems like he could run a hybrid of both power and spread. Devin could definitely fit in, but I just hate to have a Heisman front runner transfer. Most schools get a player with this skill set once every 10-15 years, some have never had one. We have one and are on the brink of possibly losing him. Right now DB is on top of my jackass list, but I hope he proves me wrong.
January 6th, 2011 at 12:14 AM ^
If Harbaugh goes to Miami - what happens to Henne? If they draft another QB and demote Henne to backup, that could be an awkward Woodson-Griese-Hutchinson Golf Fundraiser this year.
If the 49ers are out, and Jeff Ireland and Jim Harbaugh don't mesh or Jeff Ireland doesn't want to concede a lot of control - things could turn our way.
Does anyone know if Devin Gardner received his medical redshirt? They already let James Rodgers (Oregon State) know that he recieved one.
Who specifically was relieved today? The head coach and the whole staff? What is the status of Fred Jackson? Can't imagine they let him go - his son plays here and he is a legend.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:37 AM ^
Coach and all staff were let go. This has been pointed out before elsewhere on the blog, but F Jackson was "fired" last time too. This is not atypical for coaching changes... You let everyone go and rehire the ones you wanna keep.
January 6th, 2011 at 5:13 AM ^
Barwis is the only coach under contract. I wish he would stay with the next coach. But he will probably resign and follow RR!
I'm not sure if DG medical red shirt was approved yet? Hopefully it will be!
January 6th, 2011 at 4:53 AM ^
Brady Hoke or Les Miles? I'm not really sure which one I would prefer! I wish JH was on his way! DB will pick a coach with Michigan ties!
January 7th, 2011 at 9:19 AM ^
If only DB had half your zeal, or is your period key broke?
January 6th, 2011 at 8:33 AM ^
we'll know. Harbaugh's situation should be settled. LSU will have played. Thus, if either Harbaugh or Miles are options, we'll know by then. In the meantime, if anyone other than Hoke is considered to be an option by DB, the feeleres will have gone out. If there's any receptiveness, the negotiations will be underway by Friday and a decision by Sunday.