Wolverine Wednesday: Is Everybody Working For The Weekend?

One of the biggest questions in this Michigan coaching search is, when will it be over?  Reports are Michigan wants a new head coach in place prior to the portal opening on 1/2.  There is also the need for the high school players that just signed contracts to attend Michigan next season to know who their head coach is  and if the coach that recruited them will still be on staff.  

The latest intel is:

• It seems Michigan is waiting to see what happens on Friday night between Alabama @ Oklahoma.  If Bama wins, there is a good chance DeBoer is out.  If they lose, he could be Michigan's #1 candidate. 

• Kenny Dillingham still seems to be in play and for most of us could have the highest ceiling of any candidate. If you can get Kenny today, I would lock that down.  Throw big $$$ at him and close this down! 

• There is a rumor that Jedd is out, which seems odd at this point. 

• Former Utah 66 year old Kyle Whittingham could be a stop gap coach.

My Take:  It seems DeBoer might be the top candidate and there must be some type of recopical feeling if they are waiting to this weekend.  Dillingham has an upside and brings great recruiting and offensive mind.  He is still young and the Michigan job can be very difficult for a young head coach.  I still believe it will be very difficult to pull the Bama coach even if he really wants the Michigan job.  Kyle is the break glass if everyone says no candidate.  He is known as a great guy and a very good coach but it would have to be a temporary relationship. 

If I were in charge of this search and I could grab Kenny today, I would grab Kenny today.  

Michigan Tuesday: No News is Good News

Michigan has a ton of insiders and a large fan/alumni base that is thirsty for any information on who the next coach will be.  We want to either "freak out" or celebrate the hire.   The problem with a lot of insiders is that news can leak out fast and that is not what you want during a coaching search.  

Case in point, last week there was"smoke" about a specific coach who was locked up and an announcement was forth coming.   When you have that type of buzz with out a signed agreement, it causes a chain reaction at the school where he is currently working and could work against U of M.  So working quietly behind the scenes is the way to get these deals done.  

As I have stated a number of times, some of Michigan's candidates are not currently hireable.  Having playoff games complete, will only help the conversations Warde or other are having in the background.  My hope this is not Warde's show.  

So far the recruits seem to be holding ground as Michigan has only lost a Bear and a Moose so far.   Also no significant movement towards the portal.    If Michigan can continue that trend while they prepare to face Texas and search for a new head coach, that is very positive trend. 

• JJ and Blake both had good games on Sunday.  Hopefully, they are both adjusting to the pro game and will have long NFL careers. 

• Michigan Basketball doesn't play until Sunday?  I need more Michigan BBall please! 

• Josh Pate on the LeBatard show said the NIL payments have increased to Michigan Football since Sherrone was let go. 

• Arch is back at Texas and Michigan is expecting he will play in Orlando. 

• Breaking news: Jadyn Davis Backup QB is heading to the portal.  Good luck to him. 

Michigan Monday: Nothing But Nonsense

How the Game Works:  Agents talk to schools with openings behind the scenes to get their guys raises at the schools they are currently at.   AD's not skilled at negotiation fall for it like a kid hearing the ice cream truck in their neighborhood. 

Coach Speak:  "I've never talked to anyone from School X and I'm very happy and dedicated to our school."   Which means the Agent has talked to School X and the process is working.  Or I have a team in the playoff in 4 days and I need to be locked down on things here.   If they wanted the School X job they sure as hell not going to state it in social media or at a press conference before a playoff game.  Don't forget this famous line by Dolphins Head Football coach Nick Saban: "I'm not going to Alabama!"

What Now?  I will go back to my earlier posts.  Who is hire-able at the moment?  DeBoer is not with a playoff game on Friday.  Jesse Minter is not, pretty much any NFL guy is not.  Sure, Biff can keep the ship afloat while Jesse makes a playoff run, but that is a long time.   Also, I think the Regents want a coach with head coaching experience.   Kenny Dillingham is hireable as ASU just has a bowl game but it sounds like Warde got played or didn't come strong enough with the offer.  Jedd Fisch just won his bowl game and continues to be the likeliest candidate.  

A Jedd Fisch hire isn't exciting as he really hasn't done anything of note at UW.  The Arizona turnaround was nice but Jedd just doesn't stir emotions of excitement for most Michigan fans.  What I really like about Jedd is he might bring his DC Ryan Walters with him who I consider to be one of the best DC's in college football.  He might get the UW job if Jedd leaves but his run at Purdue was not very good.  My son hates Jedd as the pick and thinks that hire would be a disaster.   Every time he reads a search update, he texts me, We are F'ed.   

We were F'ed as soon as Harbaugh left for the Chargers.  It's really hard to find a good/great football coach.  Don't for a minute think the Alabama fans love DeBoer, in fact if OK beats them by 21, they might pay for his flight to Ann Arbor.  You don't want to be the guy that replaces Saban at Alabama.  Its a no win situation. 

The Warde Problem:  There is nothing worse then a leader who thinks they are one of the best in the country, when actually they are terrible at their job.  David Brandon clearly falls into this category and so does Warde.  These guys can't believe there is or was any narrative of them failing at their job.   I have no idea how Warde still has his job.  Yes, the Dusty hire was really good, but the long list of failures should out weigh any success he has had.  Also does anyone have any confidence at all that Warde can negotiate with Jimmy Sexton?  No, chance.  

Reports now are that Sherrone was having these "extracurricular activities" even when he was the OC and it was not a secret in the athletic department.  Warde went ahead and made him the head coach anyways.   Where is the Due Diligence?  It sort of reminds me of the situation with former Michigan LB coach Chris Partridge.  He was fired on false allegations.  None of this shows any consistency from Warde on his hiring/firing practices and shows a complete lack of leadership.

• Michigan Basketball continues to impress me.  They were on the road in a hostile environment against a guard that couldn't miss, who put up 20 in the first half.  They found themselves down by 9 in the 2nd half, but they stayed the course.  Got Maryland frustrated and beat them by playing sound basketball and won by 18 points.   It was maybe one of the more impressive wins they have had this season.  One thing is for sure, anytime Michigan goes on the road this year they are going to get that teams best effort, no matter their record.  

Michigan Friday: Shifting Through The Lies and Next Steps

As I mentioned yesterday, there are people to trust on this story and there are people that I don't.   Nobody from the national media will have the in's and out's of Schembechler Hall.  That doesn't mean they can't break news, what it means is they have no idea the backstories, etc.   I have seen a narrative nationally that Sherrone is in jail because this is some type of sexual assault case (we are still waiting on charges, but we do not believe this as anything to do with non-consensual sex).

Sherrone is expected in court today to face charges on whatever happened on Wednesday night after he was fired.  From what I have gathered: The investigation between the staffer and Sherrone has been on and off since the summer.  Both parties have always denied it.  Which didn't give U of M much to go on.  That changed this week when the staffer came forward and Sherrone was immediately fired.  

The Regents last night agreed to allow Warde to continue in his role.  My guess is the only reason they did that, was they don't have time to replace the AD and find a new head coach in this small window to save the roster, recruits, and the portal opening.  Even the President is an interim President.  Warde has absolutely failed at his job and has been the leader of Michigan athletics for some of the biggest scandals in the history of the department in the revenue generating sports.  To be fair, Michigan has a pretty good Basketball Program and Hockey program right now, which I'm sure helped Warde's case to continue. 

Now what?

I assume Sherrone's legal issues will get clearer today as he heads to court.  I feel for him and his family, but these issues are now his own.   I hope he is able to get his mind right, closes out his legal issues, moves away from Ann Arbor, and gets his life in order. 

If Warde doesn't have a candidate lined up, he again has failed at his job.  I don't ever like to compare Michigan to MSU, but they had their next coach locked down before they fired Jonathan Smith.   If this has been going on since the summer or longer and Warde hasn't been doing due diligence on the next Michigan head coach.  He is one of the worst leaders I have ever seen in any form of business. 

In business, you always know who is next in any role that reports to you.  If Warde is starting from scratch on this coaching search, we really have the wrong person running Michigan Athletics.   The Regents know this and I assume this is a test for Warde to see if he can pull another "Dusty".  

Timing again is the issue: 

Kalen DeBoer is in the playoffs 

Jesse Minter is in the NFL playoff race 

John Harbaugh is the head coach of the Ravens 

Jedd Fisch is preparing his team to play tomorrow in the soon to be the defunct LA Bowl.

I will throw you a name that is another hot candidate in the NFL.  Jeff Hafley, the Packers DC.  Jeff was the former DC of Ohio State, took the BC Head Coaching job and left on his own to become the Packers DC.  If you really want to make OSU fans nervous, shoot the money cannon at him.   It's obvious that timing is another issue here.

I doubt the Ravens are firing John, would love Coach Mac but he is not leaving Seattle.  You have to get to Jesse or Jeff before the NFL openings do and still they might want the NFL working hours over the College grind.   So that leaves Kalen and/or Jedd.   Bama plays OK in a week.  We can wait a week.

Warde find your Dusty magic once again and you better have been prepared for this situation, as it just didn't materialize out of the thin Michigan winter air this week.