Michigan Football: Wolverines Can't Afford to Struggle in Coaching Search

Brady Hoke has been dismissed and is now part of Michigan football history. Next up is Michigan’s third coaching search in the past seven years.

Interim athletic director Jim Hackett needs to fill the vacancy quickly and efficiently—something his predecessors failed to do during previous searches.

Tony Ding/Associated Press

“My objective is to find the right coach for the University of Michigan,” Hackett said while announcing Hoke’s dismissal. “An individual that will recruit the best student-athletes and put them in a position to win in the classroom, on the field and in the community. This is what makes Michigan world-class.”

He implored the media to be patient with the process, but with every passing day, the pressure will grow.

"We're building what we call 'swim-lane charts' that show candidates' timelines for their availability—they may be in bowl games, they may be wherever they are in their status—and we compare that against our swim lane," said Hackett sounding more like a former CEO than an athletic director conducting a coaching search.

Michigan’s previous athletic director, David Brandon, also used a corporate process when he hired Hoke. The method ignores that hiring a football coach is very different from recruiting a new CEO or vice president.

A long selection process may be commonplace in the private sector, but it is detrimental when pursuing a football coach.

Leon Halip/Getty Images

The longer the process takes, the more rumors will run rampant about candidates turning down the job. Agents will start leaking their clients' names to gain leverage for new contracts. Fans will scream for a decision to be made. Nebraska and Florida are also searching for new coaches, and as the season ends, there will be more schools doing the same.

A long delay also puts Michigan’s next recruiting class in jeopardy. News that Hoke’s assistants have been told to stop contacting worsens the situation. The class that had shrunk as Hoke’s fortunes waned this season is in danger of completely evaporating.

Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

Hackett needs to find a replacement who not only shares Hoke’s positive attributes but also produces on the field.

Jim Harbaugh is the consensus pick of many fans to replace Hoke. After him, the choices became less obvious. Hackett must recognize the need to move quickly while understanding that a bad hire would be devastating to the program and his personal reputation.

Bad football hires have ended the tenure of Hackett’s two direct predecessors. Bill Martin rebuilt the athletic campus but is most remembered for hiring Rich Rodriguez. David Brandon grew the athletic department and oversaw the renovation of Crisler Center but is blamed for Brady Hoke.

Despite being tagged as the interim athletic director, Hackett seems to enjoy the position and might be settling in for a long stay.

Unless he bungles this coaching search.

Phil Callihan is a featured writer for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotations obtained firsthand

Follow @PSCallihan