Michigan Head Coach Situation
Hoke is Out
With the long expected dismissal of Michigan Head Coach Brady Hoke, the Wolverines are looking for their third head coach in eight seasons. Hoke’s legacy is that of great recruiting classes and disappointing results, decreasing win totals and increasing tensions. Hoke’s hire, like that of his predecessor Rich Rodriguez, was a result of many of the best candidates for the job being disqualified from the job, whether by choice of the coach or by the man doing the hiring. This time around, however, the best candidates for the job are all in prime position to quit what they are currently doing and take over a football program that is desperate for a Big Ten Championship and national relevance in college football.
The question of course is, who are these head coach candidates, what makes them such a hot commodity for the Michigan job, and what are the chances that they take the job? Below is a shortlist of candidates in order of who I think is the best fit for the job.
Jim Harbaugh – San Francisco 49ers
Harbaugh is flat out the best candidate for this job, and any job in college. He has an excellent track record of taking programs at both the collegiate and professional level and building them up to championship contenders. In three seasons at the University of San Diego he went 29-6 with two conference titles, was 29-21 at Stanford with a 12-1 season and an Orange Bowl win to cap it off, and is currently 43-16-1 with the San Francisco 49ers, reaching three consecutive conference championship games and losing in Super Bowl XLVII. Harbaugh’s record is all the more impressive when one considers that Stanford had won only a single game the year before he showed up and that the 49ers consistently underachieved until he took over.
So why didn’t Harbaugh take the Michigan job when it was last available? By all accounts it was not even offered to him by then-athletic director Dave Brandon, who was sacked a month ago. Harbaugh has also allegedly been on the outs with the university after being passed up for a previous coaching job with the school and for Michigan’s laxer academic standards for student-athletes. He was also being wined and dined by NFL teams in 2011, making Michigan a less attractive job on the whole. This time, with an athletic director whose ego isn’t bigger than the room he occupies, and with Harbaugh very limited on options, the match is far more likely to be made. Harbaugh more than likely will not return with the 49ers next season, regardless of the final standings and rumors are that the team will look to trade him. The snag here is that Harbaugh has no obligation to stay with the team he is traded to, and there are no rules prohibiting an NCAA team from interviewing an NFL coach.
While Harbaugh’s abrasive style and personality has pushed him out the door in the NFL, coaches at the college level can be more demanding with their players without losing their player’s attention. There are still a few hold ups that might nix a Harbaugh-to-Michigan deal. First, Harbaugh may still hold a lingering grudge against the school for not hiring him earlier; second, Harbaugh won’t have to deal with recruiting if he stays in the NFL; and third, if San Francisco makes the playoffs, Michigan may not have the time or patience to wait for Harbaugh to become available, given the considerations of recruiting and building an assistant staff.
Les Miles – Louisiana State Tigers
I see Miles as being the most likely candidate to be walking the sideline for the Maize and Blue next season, despite not being candidate number one. Miles has given every indication that he would love to coach the team; the opportunities just have not been the most fortuitous for either side. When Michigan wanted to hire Miles in 2007, the Mad Hatter was busy coaching his soon-to-be National Champion Tigers. When the job came open again in early 2011, Dave Brandon, according to writer and maven of all things Michigan football, John U. Bacon, had said that Miles would become the coach at Michigan “over my dead body.” Now that Brandon is out of the way, and Miles “only” winning eight games at LSU this season, the time is right for this connection to finally be made.
There has been plenty of grumbling from the Michigan fan base about Miles finally becoming the head coach. The loudest critique of Miles is that he is 61 years old and might not be around for very long as coach, when Michigan could get someone younger who will be around for longer. Let me explain why this complaint is flawed. For one, Bill Snyder is 75 years old and is still coaching ranked teams in the middle of nowhere, so there goes the age argument. As for Miles not being around for three decades, the last two coaches Michigan hired were supposed to be around for over 20 years, but neither lasted even half of a decade. No one need worry about what the team is going to do in ten years, when the team can’t even win now.
Greg Schiano – ex-Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Schiano’s tenure in the NFL was less than spectacular, and like Harbaugh he seems to have rubbed many the wrong way. However, Schiano worked magic with Rutgers, taking a historic doormat and making them contenders in a BCS conference. Schiano is relatively young (48), he’s had success at the college level, can be hired right away, and brings a familiar attitude and style of football to the Michigan Wolverines. While hiring Schiano wouldn’t be a coup by any means, he would bring the throwback mindset that so many in Ann Arbor are enamored with, and would “win with integrity,” for whatever that is worth.
David Shaw – Stanford Cardinal
It was a down year for the Stanford Cardinal, but any time a coach can win at a program with academic standards as high as Stanford’s, he is a guy worth taking a look at. Shaw brings the same positives that Schiano does to the table, minus the prior connections to the job: he has integrity, he brings a power run offense, he wins (a 41-12 record at Stanford), and he’s not that old (42). If only he could have beaten Michigan State in the Rose Bowl…
Bo Pelini – ex-Nebraska Cornhuskers
After being canned by the Huskers on Sunday, Pelini is an interesting candidate for the job. He can be a loose cannon at times, which might scare off a program that stresses integrity as one if its major tenets, but the man can win football games. Pelini never won less than nine games in a season, a high-water mark that the men and women who bleed blue would die for at this point. However, for all the W’s Pelini has to his credit, he has never coached in a BCS bowl and has been criticized for not winning the big games. Nonetheless, consistency is the ex-Husker’s main selling point.
Pat Narduzzi – Michigan State (DC)
If you can’t beat them, hire away their stud defensive coordinator. Narduzzi has been torturing Michigan offenses for years now and should be ready for a chance to be head coach at a big time program. It’s hard to imagine that Michigan would swallow its pride and entertain the idea of wooing the enemy, but if Narduzzi can turn two- and three-star recruits into NFL players, imagine what he could do with the talent Michigan pulls on a yearly basis. As unlikely as it is to happen, it would likely be hugely successful.
Teryl Austin – Detroit Lions (DC)
Austin is a complete wild card, but one worth considering for the job. He’s never been a head coach at any level (neither has Narduzzi), and is only finishing his second year as a defensive coordinator, his first in the NFL. Austin was a defensive assistant with the Wolverines for four years at the turn of this century and has gotten some buzz as a head coach in both the college and professional levels. Austin is the mastermind behind the current number one defense in the NFL, with the Lions no less, and could be a huge homerun with the right opportunity.
Thank you for reading. Follow me on Twitter – @LWOS_Sibo. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
For the latest in sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
