Head coaching swim lanes?

Submitted by TK on February 2nd, 2022 at 10:30 AM

I posted a discussion a few weeks ago about IF Harbaugh left, who would be your preferred choice to replace him and it was negged to Bolivia. I guess for being too early. Well it looks like we are knocking on the door now. So let’s revisit. 

Balas is saying there are only 3 candidates. Matt Ruhle, Bill O’Brien or Mike Hart. He thinks Hart would be the choice above Gattis. I don’t see Gattis sticking around if he is passed over, but you never know. But assuming there are more than 3 and you are Warde Manuel, what is your pecking order for pursuing coaches?

College coaches:

1. Luke Fickell/ 2. Dave Aranda 3. Matt Campbell:  I see zero chance that Fickell would accept the job here, but probably worth putting out a feeler. Not sure on Aranda or Campbell or how high they would be on our list. 

Internal:

4. Josh Gattis: Broyles award winner, would be good for keeping things intact with what should be an exciting offense. 5. Mike Hart: Michigan legend and considered a bright young football mind. But he’s not even a coordinator here. Is he ready?

6.  Bucs run game coordinator Harold Goodwin. Former UM lineman and respected enough to be the Bucs interim coach when Arians had Covid.

7.  Bama OC Bill O’Brien. Doesn’t excite me but maybe I’m wrong. 

8. Carolina HC Matt Rhule. Is said to have some interest. 

These are not ranked for me in order, would like to hear opinions on what order of preference everyone has. 

massblue

February 2nd, 2022 at 12:50 PM ^

Both can be kept.  Make Weiss OC.  He is not going to be OC with the Vikings.  Jay wants to get out of his father's shadow.  Just as he did not go to Stanford when Jim was there.  I can see him sticking around for a few more years and then get a HC job at some school.

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OldSchoolWolverine

February 2nd, 2022 at 10:35 AM ^

To say zero chance Fickell, is silly, considering he almost left Cinci for MSU.  If there ever was a time for him, it is now.

Rhule is surprising... was he benefactor of being in the top recruit fertile ground, or a great coach, or both ?  Hiring a southerner is a big risk, because of the effort of the local schools sandbagging recruiting like they did effectively to RR and then Drevno.

Its odd that I didn't remember Goodwin, and he was in the program my final two years, but oddly I remember his brother who played later.

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jmblue

February 2nd, 2022 at 11:02 AM ^

But a key difference is that Bo hired Mo as an assistant and mentored him into the head job.  When you're trying to break into the coaching ranks, you don't turn up your nose at any job (see: Michigan alum Thomas Wilcher working for Sparty). 

Fickell's an established head coach and can go wherever he wants.  Now that he's taken Cincinnati to the playoff, he can stay there and be a rock star and wait out the OSU job (which seems to be his plan).  

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Watching From Afar

February 2nd, 2022 at 11:03 AM ^

This lacks context.

Yes, Moeller was a captain at OSU. But his coaching career never touched OSU. Coached under Bo at Miami and followed him to Michigan immediately as a coordinator. Coached at Michigan for 8 years before going to Illinois and flaming out. Where did he go after? Back to Michigan for another decade before taking over for his boss/mentor.

And that's not to say Fickell will definitely say no. It's to say the situations aren't that similar.

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1408

February 2nd, 2022 at 11:43 AM ^

Dismissing Fickell is pure nonsense.  OSU did not do right by him when they threw him into the fire after Tress left and told him "you will not get the head coach job."  

Allegiances change very quickly in this sport.  He has a recruiting profile that is very midwest-oriented.  What are the ideal jobs for him?  PSU?  Frames just signed a long contract.  ND?  New coach.  OSU?  Day appears to have less NFL interest than we thought, could be there a while.  Plus they picked Day over Fickell.

MSU?  Almost happened.  He declined it because of the culture of the program.  

That leaves Michigan.  Never discount how ambitious these people are.  Allegiances can fall fast in the face of opportunity.  Look at Harbaugh.

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clarkiefromcanada

February 2nd, 2022 at 10:55 AM ^

@OldSchoolWolverine

Team Matt Rhule over here

Rhule was at Temple when I was there doing some grad work and I followed his team and his approach closely. He's PSU alum and would get the whole B1G and rivalries angle. He won at Temple and, along with his staff, recruited exceptionally there. Very good at talent identification and very hard worker. The NFL is currently littered with Matt Rhule Temple diaspora (the coaches that followed him were and have been terrible).

While at Temple the guy turned around a 2-10 program, beat Penn State and should have beat ND (noting the absolute worst PI in the history of pro-ND PI calls...which is saying something). Fun Fact: Rhule was an assistant at Temple under Al Golden (solid coach) and his wife worked at the school as a Dietitian. Rhule went to the Giants as a coach and his wife kept her job at Temple up to and including his tenure at Temple as HC. Hard working regular people. 

If you can win at Temple (and Baylor) I'm interested to see what he'd do at a place like Michigan. This is no Mel Tucker experiment. The guy is the real deal. 

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mGrowOld

February 2nd, 2022 at 11:07 AM ^

You may think it's silly but it's also 100% accurate.  I know two people who are fairly close to Fickell personally and to say he hates Michigan would be a massive understatement.  That dude was born and bred to despise us and trust me, he does.

You might as well put Ryan Day on the list of possible HCs.  We probably have a better chance of pulling him than we do Fickell.

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mGrowOld

February 2nd, 2022 at 11:59 AM ^

So I'm curious what you base your opinion on.  Because I actually know people who know him and they both say there is absolutely 0.0 chance he would have anything to do with Michigan.  I'm guessing you believe that every man has a price so if we just throw enough money at him he'll surely come our way right?

Just so you know that's not the way all people work.  Some people hate (or love) something with so much passion money doesnt move the needle for them.  You might not like that or even believe that but trust me, it exists and Fickell is one of those individuals when it comes to Michigan.

Ask yourself this.  Could you envision Bob Ufer, the guy who demanded all his surgeons be Michigan grads prior to undergoing open heart surgery, announcing OSU games if "the price was right?"  I sure cant.

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1408

February 2nd, 2022 at 12:21 PM ^

I am basing my opinion on my belief that you are incorrect when you say you know people that have a fulsome understanding of Luke Fickell's current psyche on this topic.  

Ultimately, these are two football teams.  This isn't Greece vs. Turkey.  People should stop overinflating it.

Comparing a head coach's psyche to that of a stadium announcer, albeit a famous one, is entirely inapposite.  

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TK

February 2nd, 2022 at 10:35 AM ^

Something I did not realize but just looked up is that Matt Rhule is making a ton of money. His deal was 7 years 62 million. I assume he wouldn’t take a pay cut to come here so it would take a $10 million a year deal. To me that seems like nonsense so I would probably put him way low on the list of wants or based on probability. 

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notinmyhouse

February 2nd, 2022 at 11:24 AM ^

10 million dollars a year and big NIL deals are the going rate.  The Michigan athletic director and alums better deal with this the right way, because it's not going to change, the genie has been let out. Otherwise, just hired her and nobody coach, leave the Big Ten and join the Ivy league, which is I am sure where some of the presidents would like us to be

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NonAlumFan

February 2nd, 2022 at 10:36 AM ^

Hart was the assistant HC at Indiana, and people are saying he was groomed to be the next HC at Michigan too. Gattis would be interesting, he might bring some things from Saban that he couldn't under Harbaugh. Rhule did great things with bad college teams, similar to Harbaugh's Stanford turnaround.

I did not want Harbaugh fired after last year, and I think it would be a blow if he left (especially on NSD), but there are some exciting prospects if he goes!

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Carpetbagger

February 2nd, 2022 at 11:37 AM ^

It could be because they are both young assistants whose only reason for being considered is not being the guy before them. But I wouldn't have picked Ellerbe as my comp.

I'm assuming given his posting history he just picked Ellerbe to get a rise out of people. It's pretty easy to troll when your mark is so touchy.

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rob f

February 3rd, 2022 at 11:27 AM ^

Nice of you, 'bfeeavveerr', to essentially admit to what many of us already know: you are here to troll.

https://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/mgoboard-faq

I suggest you click the link and read what Brian says about trolls/trolling. 

This is your one and only warning ⚠️: continue to troll the board and you WILL be banned. It's been going on for quite some time AND more and more frequently of late; it's time for it to end. From this point forward, the ball's in your court, I'll be more than glad to endorse your choice.

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