The next running back coach (WHEN IT HAPPENS).
First off, this post is in no way suggesting, theorizing, condoning, encouraging Fred Jackson to move on. At SOME POINT he will likely retire as most of us do from our respective jobs. If you want to go there, take it to another thread.
What I was hoping to discuss was who might make a good pick among the likely candidates we toss around WHEN Fred retires assuming things are much as they are now. Obviously we know Mike Hart is out there though I don't know whether or not he's still with Eastern Michigan now that there is a coaching change there. Tyrone Wheatley is obviously mentioned but is it a lateral or backwards move to go from NFL running backs coach to college running backs coach. Is he looking for an OC gig. I guess the third candidate with M ties I would wonder about is Thomas Wilcher the long time head coach at Cass Tech. Would a guy like that translate into better Detroit area recruiting? Are there any others with M ties out there at the position who might make sense.
Also.....not to thread jack myself but has anyone heard anything further about the recruitment. of Tyrone Wheatley Jr. My recollection is he's a 2015 TE/DE recruit and that he has an offer. I don't recall hearing about him making any trips in during the season or frankly anything about him since the summer.
January 17th, 2014 at 2:39 PM ^
Wok her won't translate. Reminds of when the legendary Ben Kelso (Michael Talley's coach at Cooley High) tries his hand in d 1. Did not work so well. He was was made for hs kids.
January 17th, 2014 at 2:56 PM ^
I kinda hate to think about Fred Jackson being gone. But like most Michigan fans I would love to see either Wheatley or Hart.
January 17th, 2014 at 3:12 PM ^
This applies to all potential future (and current) Michigan coaches: I don't care what their Michigan connections are so long as they understand what Michigan is and what the team needs to do to reach its goals. Michigan men and women are made... not born.
Go Blue!
January 17th, 2014 at 3:25 PM ^
January 17th, 2014 at 3:34 PM ^
January 17th, 2014 at 3:41 PM ^
I won't disagree with this. I fully admit its hard to get over my Michigan homerism. At this point I just want to see some GOOD Michigan Football!
January 17th, 2014 at 6:53 PM ^
dude. do you even know a damn thing about tyrone wheatley? let me fill you in a little bit on his resume:
1. basically raised his brothers and sisters himself, from a very young age.
2. all time YPC record holder at Michigan
3. 10 year NFL playing career
4. pisses excellence every single morning
5. current buffallo bills RB coach (they probably just hired him because of nepotism tho, right?)
his remarkable talents on the field aside, tyrone wheatley is one of the most badass and remarkable men to ever graduate from the university of michigan. do you think it's easy having your dad murdered and your mom ruined by addiction? this man has overcome more than anybody to get where he is and he DEMANDS excellence and accountability.
there is not a single candidate for that job that will be able to recruit better than Tyrone Wheatley. there is not a single running backs coach that has more NFL playing experience to draw on than Tyrone Wheatley. there is not a single parent that doesn't want their son to play for a man who singlehanded lifted his family out of the hood without any real support from his elders. and there is not a single candidate who has had to overcome more hurdles to reach his position of excellence than Tyrone Wheatley. NO ONE wants him just because he went to Michigan. EVERYONE wants him because he is the best candidate for the job. ANYONE who doesn't want him is flat out clueless.
January 17th, 2014 at 8:02 PM ^
January 17th, 2014 at 4:44 PM ^
My personal feeling is that the Position that the Coach represents is not all-important. However the ability to have their finger on the pulse of Metro Detroit HS recruiting is very important. Someone who is respected in the community and has the charisma to meet recruits and their families and bring in the very best ones.
We yearn to recruit nationally. But meantime Dan Tonio is hawking all of these local kids that we miss out on just due to class size and is turning them into juggernauts. From a distance, it seems like thats what got Michigan to where they are now....recruiting the best from Michigan plus some from Ohio.
As I posted in another thread, I think Derrick Green is the guy we need to make a splash (breakout season, etc). If he can do that with the aid of the improved OL and some NussCoaching then I think we will have success in recruiting RBs for some years to come. Lots of HS kids are going to want to follow in the footsteps of a 5* guy who came to Michigan and carried a lot of weight, so to speak.
January 17th, 2014 at 4:53 PM ^
There is really only one candidate in my mind. At least anyone I would know about. And that is Tyrone Wheatley. He has garnered much respect already and looks like he is headed into a career of coaching. Seems a good fit.
Please please please no Mike Hart. He has one failed season as a coach and although he was one of my favorite Wolverines (for 3.5 years, until the aftermath of the Little Brother game) of all time, he is not proven. Also, seriously, the guy was 0-4 against ohio. This is a negative. Never overlook that.
January 17th, 2014 at 6:52 PM ^
Don't hate on him just because he played at Michigan.
January 17th, 2014 at 8:20 PM ^
January 17th, 2014 at 8:22 PM ^
January 17th, 2014 at 11:28 PM ^
January 18th, 2014 at 12:24 AM ^
Should we really hire the EMU RB coach? Tyrone Wheatley is coaching RBs in the NFL and would be a homerun hire.
January 18th, 2014 at 2:00 AM ^
But how likely is it that Wheatley leaves Buffalo for Michigan?
January 19th, 2014 at 2:31 AM ^
Wheatley is the best choice IMHO. He played in the NFL after lighting it up as a legendary RB for us, he has coached in college and now in the NFL, he has sons who are big time recruits, and he has connections to the Detroit area which is a fruitful place for RB recruits during some years. Also, the bias our coaches and decision makers have for Michigan men, in this case, have no bearing on Wheatley's actual ability to coach our running backs. Given his credentials, I am actually glad we might be more inclined to take him than somebody else because few NFL position coaches would even consider going down to college to coach running backs. I don't really see a better fit. CMIIW.