But seriously though, who is Plan B?

Submitted by DeBored on

Miles says "no" strangely, Mullen says no contact, no smoke around Mora, etc.  Meanwhile, Kawakami is adamant that Harbaugh is an NFL guy.  So who is our Plan B?  Is anyone else hoping that we at least get rejections from Patterson and Stoops to indicate that we at least TRIED?  If Harbaugh ends up not being the coach, who do we end up with?

And if it's Schiano I QUIT LIFE.

MGoBoard

GoBlueRandy

December 16th, 2014 at 10:41 PM ^

I just keep going back to how long this process is taking. Hackett couldn't possibly be dragging this out without a) being fairly confident in his chances with Jim and/or b) having a solid backup plan in place. This is all going to work out and then we can all go back to over analyzing/panicking about the next important issue that will inevitably arise.



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Roc Blue in the Lou

December 17th, 2014 at 12:07 AM ^

Or, c) Hackett's doing BOTH a and b simultaneously.  Harbaugh is clearly option A, AA, aaa, aaaba, etc. and Hackett is giving JH the full press, while also respecting his professionalism in not quitting on his team during the season.  We WILL get an answer from JH and, as many hope, Hackett seems optomistic enough to wait to hear it from JH himself on or about 12/28.

 Meanwhile, the search firm is gathering, vetting and preparing a secondary short list of prime Plan B candidates, while we give JH a full oportunity to consider and respond.  Of course this work is, and should be, happening behind the scenes--NOT behind the paywalls...so, it isn't public and we are afforded little "comfort" by way of exposure regarding said backup plan.  I believe this was the essence of Hackett's plea for PATIENCE at the very beginning.  But, TJMO.

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Doughboy1917

December 17th, 2014 at 12:49 AM ^

Roc has it right.  

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the search firm IS contacting candidates, gauging interest and telling them this is all preliminary, explaining that if things move forward, Michigan officials will contact them. That gives candidates the ability to deny being contacted by Michigan.  

While Michigan waits for Harbaugh's decision, the search firm is creating a list of plausible, interested candidates and conducting preliminary interviews, background checks (don't want any surprises after introducing your new HC), etc.

At least, that's how I would do this kind of search.

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Brodie

December 17th, 2014 at 4:07 AM ^

I believe a couple of things are true about Mora

A. he doesn't see himself as a college coach

B. he turned down jobs last year because he expected an NFL offer that never came

C. he's now come to terms with the reality of his situation and might listen if we called

Far  from the home run, but I think he is our plan B. Just like he was UCLA's kinda Carroll, he could be our pseudo Harbaugh. He checks a lot of boxes and UCLA is a peer school academically, which Schlissel would dig. Plus his name keeps coming up and he went out of his way to praise Michigan while talking to Rich Eisen.

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LSAClassOf2000

December 16th, 2014 at 10:52 PM ^

I was pretty sure it was Till Zelichick. Not much of a resume when it comes to coaching, but he has a name close enough to someone of more renown that some may be briefly fooled by the hire. 

In all seriousness, the lack of apparent action makes me think that we've either got a realizable shot at Harbaugh by best estimates or there are backup plans in place at this point. The timeline kills, but I would rather see desirable scenarios unfold than make a panic hire. 

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HarBoSchem

December 17th, 2014 at 12:29 AM ^

for witholding that information?  I understand, Harbaugh is still employed by SanFran, but if it's not him, then wouldn't it be wise to get them into Shembechler Hall ASAP?  Still has assistants to "interview" from the previous staff and or new assitants to hire period.  The recruiting dead period is only on the coaches, the kids can call whenever they want, so you have to think about holding on to the recruits we have left.  But I do think you are onto something with someone already being delivered.   

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Maize and Blue…

December 16th, 2014 at 10:46 PM ^

Here is a name not yet mentioned on here anywhere - George O'Leary, Central Florida.

He is a good football coach, his teams go to bowl games, he recruits well, has Florida connections, and is a nice guy - yes, I did meet him once, and he was a good guy.

He may have stretched the truth on a job application, but who among us has not stretched the truth now and again ?

The wife says,"Dear does this dress make me look fat?" you say, "Of course not, you look as good as the day I married you." instead of, "No dear, the dress does not make you look fat, the fat makes you look fat." /s

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Mr. Yost

December 17th, 2014 at 1:24 AM ^

He actually doesn't recruit well at all. He's lazy when it comes to recruiting and just uses his ties in New York and Georgia. He doesn't really recruit Florida, his assistants have and the top guys that they got from Miami were all from David Kelly who was fired as part of a scandal at UCF that led to their AD getting fired.

He's get off my lawn/grandpa nice. Sweet, cares about those around him, etc. - but he's far more often a grumpy old man.

UCF fans don't even really want him, they've tolerated him because they've had recent success. But pre-Bortles. They wanted him canned and they still moan and complain about him week in and week out.

They've always wanted a younger coach, they REALLY wanted Strong before he went to Louisville. It's a VERY young fan school, which means a VERY young fan base, it's also the 2nd largest school in the country.

I've said this for 4-5 years. If they had Strong or Rich Rod, they'd be in the ACC right now. GOL hasn't held them back, but he hasn't pushed them forward either. They are Lloyd Carr, drive you nuts conservative in everything they do with that program and the younger fan base can't stand it.

We have far more tradition and blue hairs...so it there isn't as much of a cry for Uniformz. But 2/3 of UCF's fan base is WolverineDevotee. I really don't have to say anything further because that explains it all.

UCF should've been the Boise with better momentum, location, resources, etc. Instead they may have missed the boat. Rich Rod would've made a national power out of them, same with Strong or someone else with Florida ties and some innovation. Even if those coaches would've all been gone by now, UCF would be where Louisville is - maybe further.

O'Leary has been smart and he's hired GREAT assistants and he really only sticks his nose in when he feels he needs to. He's like Paterno in the final years.

Speaking of which. He's going to retire in the next 2-3 years along with Frank Beamer. They're best of buds. Frank isn't very hands on anymore either. Loeffler and Foster run the show in Blacksburg.

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trustBlue

December 17th, 2014 at 4:29 AM ^

Aside from being almost 70, O'Leary has a rap sheet that includes:

  • Lying about his degrees, which forced him to resume from the head coaching job at Notre Dame on his first day on the job.  
  • Faced a wrongful death lawsuit for the death of one of his players after berating him throughout practice.  The player subsequently collapsed and died.  
  • Currently being sued by a former assistant for racist remarks, including advising coaches to check African-American players "to make sure their gums are blue, because they are bigger, faster and stronger than (African-American players) with red gums."

If we are disqualifiying Les for oversigning, then I'm pretty we're not going anywhere near O'Leary.  

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Bluemama

December 16th, 2014 at 10:50 PM ^

Our backup has to be Miles. I think Hacket played with him at Michigan. If Schiano is on the table as second choice I would of rather honestly have kept Brady.

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Victor Valiant

December 16th, 2014 at 10:50 PM ^

It's probably Miles, despite his off the record denial. I would assume other plan B options are Wittingham and Mora. I'd also think Todd Graham would be at the top of the list, but there has been very little smoke around him the last month or so.

Break glass options: Narduzzi/Addazio/Schiano

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