Michigan Should Fire Rich Rodriguez, Go After Jim Harbaugh (Or One of These Guys)
Michigan Wolverines head coach Rich Rodriguez is on the hot seat.
OK, to be fair, Rodriguez has been on the hot seat for a while, especially since he guided the team to its first consecutive losing seasons since 1962-63. But the temperature on said hot seat became just a bit hotter with Saturday's embarrassing 37-7 blowout loss to Ohio State in Columbus.
Yes, the Wolverines have shown a bit of progress this fall, posting a 7-5 regular season record and becoming bowl-eligible for the first time under Rodriguez.
But following Michigan's seventh straight loss to the Buckeyes, there are plenty of fans and alums calling for Rodriguez's head.
It's unclear whether athletic director David Brandon will keep RichRod around for the final year of his contract or cut ties and start the process of looking for a new head coach.
Brandon told the Associated Press on Monday that he'll stick to his original timeline on evaluating Rodriguez and his coaching staff, waiting until after the bowl game to make any decisions on the future of the coaching position.
But many are already speculating on possible successors to Rodriguez in Ann Arbor, and since I've already decided that RichRod needs to go, that's precisely what we're going to do.
Jim Harbaugh
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The most obvious replacement for Rodriguez and one of the hottest coaches in America, Harbaugh is a U of M alum who played for four seasons (and was a three-year starter) under legendary coach Bo Schembechler. When he left school, he was among the top five in passing attempts, completions, completion percentage, passing yards, and touchdown passes in Michigan history.
A first-round draft pick of the Bears in 1987, Harbaugh had a solid 15-year career in the NFL.
He's found considerable success in the coaching ranks, spending time as an assistant at Western Kentucky and with the Oakland Raiders, before getting a head-coaching job with the University of San Diego.
After three seasons and a 29-6 record with the Toreros, he took the head job at Stanford, where he's turned the program into a national power. This year, the now 46-year-old Harbaugh has led the Cardinal to an 11-1 mark and is primed for a BCS bid, and that's a big part of the reason he's been rumored to be in the running for the Michigan job and, potentially, the San Francisco 49ers job if/when either should become available.
Harbaugh is young, he's a Michigan man and he is just the kind of up-and-coming coach who Brandon could hire and (hopefully) not have to replace for 25 years.
If Brandon were to give Rodriguez the boot, Harbaugh would undoubtedly be the odds-on No. 1 candidate to get the job...but that doesn't necessarily mean he'd be interested.
If Harbaugh were to turn down the Wolverines, here are 13 other big-name past, present or future coaches who would be interesting fits in Ann Arbor.
Les Miles
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Like Harbaugh, Miles is a Michigan man. He was a two-time letterman offensive lineman under Bo Schembechler in 1974-75.
And though he's now been at LSU for the last six seasons, he coached under Bo in Ann Arbor for two years in the early '80s and returned to coach the Wolverines' offensive line from 1987-94.
ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit reported back in 2007 that Miles had accepted the Michigan job and would take over for outgoing coach Lloyd Carr, but Miles and LSU quickly denied it and Miles stayed in Baton Rouge, winning a national title a few weeks later when the Tigers beat Ohio State in the BCS National Championship Game.
Is it likely that Miles would leave LSU now when he wouldn't three years ago? No.
But despite his crazy season on the bayou, he'd have to be in the conversation if Michigan were looking to replace Rich Rodriguez.
Gary Moeller
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Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that AD David Brandon bring back the now 69-year-old Moeller to replace Rodriguez at the helm.
But there have been rumors that Moeller—who led the Wolverines to a 44-13-3 record from 1990-94, including a 4-1 mark in bowl games—could be in the running to take over for defensive coordinator Greg Robinson should he be asked to leave.
Following his controversial departure from Ann Arbor, Moeller—who was asked to step down after a tape surfaced of him drunk at a local restaurant and he was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct—spent nine years in the NFL, mostly as a defensive coach. Could he be the answer on that side of the ball?
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Mike Hart
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Sure, little No. 20 is still playing in the NFL for the Indianapolis Colts. And we root for him each and every week.
But the 24-year-old has already made it clear that coaching the Wolverines would be his "dream job" somewhere down the line.
"That's something I've always wanted to do," Hart told the Indianapolis Star last week. "I want to coach college, hopefully a head coach some day and hopefully at my university."
Interestingly enough, Hart also has a bit of history with Jim Harbaugh. He bashed the former Wolverines quarterback in 2007 for "elitist" and "arrogant" comments he made about Michigan's student athletes.
The plot thickens.
Steve Mariucci
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OK, I know Mariucci went 6-6 in his only season as a college head coach (1996 at Cal) and sports a mediocre 72-67 mark as a head man in the NFL (split between the 49ers and Lions).
But Mooch is a Michigan guy: He was born and raised in Iron Mountain, Mich., is a longtime friend of current Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo and was a three-time All-American quarterback at Northern Michigan.
Yes, he's been working as an announcer for the NFL Network for a few years now, but he was reportedly contacted about the USC job after Pete Carroll left for the NFL.
Especially with his background as a coach in a spread offense, it seems like he could be a good fit to help Denard Robinson reach his potential over the next two years.
Romeo Crennel
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OK, I'll admit that I'm pulling this one squarely out of my rear end. But it would make lots of sense.
Crennel, the defensive mastermind who helped Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots to multiple Super Bowl wins, seems to be doing well in Kansas City, where he was hired to be the Chiefs' defensive coordinator prior to this season.
But would another head-coaching gig, albeit in the college game, be enticing to the 63-year-old?
He could be a great candidate to fix the porous Michigan defense. There aren't many guys out there I'd rather oversee a makeover of these proportions.
Jim Tressel
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OK, I know this is never going to happen, but hear me out on this one.
First off, be honest, Michigan fans. Who among you wouldn't kill to have a coach like Tressel leading the Wolverines?
Between his obvious skills as a leader, recruiter and head coach (he has a combined record of 240-79-2 at Youngstown State and Ohio State), his Midwestern roots (he's originally from Mentor, Ohio), his age (he's just 57 and could coach at this level for another 15-20 years), his avant garde style of dress and his ability to talk smack.
Remember when Tressel, just after he was announced as Ohio State's new coach back in January of 2001, said this to Buckeyes fans at halftime of the OSU-Michigan basketball game:
"I can assure you that you'll be proud of our young people in the classroom, in the community and especially in 310 days in Ann Arbor."
It's something I would have loved my team's new hire to do. And his success against the Wolverines—9-1 in his 10 years in Columbus—is obviously nothing to scoff at, either.
Breaking the bank to bring Tressel to Ann Arbor would be the greatest coup in college football history. So why not give it a shot?
Chris Petersen
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Sure, he's been ridiculously successful at Boise State—going a ridiculous 59-5 over five seasons with two Fiesta Bowl wins.
But with the Broncos' devastating overtime loss this past weekend and the letdown of losing out on another undefeated season and a BCS bowl bid, could the time be right to pry Petersen away?
Gary Patterson
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The current coach at No. 3-ranked and undefeated Texas Christian University, Patterson would also be a long shot for the Michigan job.
With the Horned Frogs headed to the Big East in the fall of 2012, there's definitely more exposure to be had there than in the Mountain West.
But would the lure of coaching in front of 100,000-plus fans each week against teams like Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin outweigh annual matchups against UConn, West Virginia and Cincinnati? I'd have to think so.
The 50-year-old Kansas native turned down an overture from the University of Minnesota a few years back, but might this job be the payday and challenge Patterson is looking for?
Bob Stoops
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Another long shot, Stoops has had a ton of success at Oklahoma, and the Sooners are again in line for a big New Year's Day bowl game to kick off 2011.
But at age 50, could a move back to the Midwest be appealing for Stoops, who grew up in Youngstown, Ohio?
He's already making $5 million annually, so the price to lure him would be astronomical, but he's the kind of big name who could make an immediate difference in Ann Arbor.
Kirk Ferentz
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Ferentz, who has been the head man at rival Iowa since 1999, compiling an 88-57 record in Iowa City that includes two Big Ten titles, was another coach rumored to be in the mix of possible replacements for Lloyd Carr three years ago.
But the native of Royal Oak, Mich., decided to stay with the Hawkeyes and signed a contract that will keep him with Iowa—at least theoretically—through 2020.
The subject of regular rumors when NFL coaching opportunities open up, there could be significant competition to land Ferentz if the Michigan decision-makers wait until the pro season is over with.
Bringing Ferentz over would require a good bit of cash, but a hiring on this level would go a long way toward soothing the concerns of the Michigan faithful.
Jimmy Johnson
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No, I know it doesn't make any sense. And no, it's not going to happen.
But how great would it have been to see Johnson leading the Wolverines in his coaching heyday?
He was a fantastic recruiter, he went 52-9 with Miami and he led the Hurricanes to five straight New Year's Day bowl games.
Remember what those are, Michigan fans?
Jon Gruden
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Sure, Gruden has made a name for himself as a Super Bowl-winning NFL coach. And rumors have abounded of late about him leaving the Monday Night Football announcer's booth for the Miami Hurricanes' sidelines.
But why not bring Chucky to Ann Arbor? It's a simple transition from one U of M to another.
He's still just 47 and he's a native of Ohio, so he's got the Midwestern coaching pedigree.
He's one of those so-called offensive geniuses, so he'd be able to work well with Denard Robinson and Michigan's already (OK, occasionally) potent offense.
And yes, he'd require a huge contract, but wouldn't the name recognition and recruiting ability be worth it?
Bill Cowher
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Cowher is another big name who's regularly at the top of NFL teams' wish lists. He turned down the Bills this past offseason and is currently a studio analyst for CBS' The NFL Today.
The Steelers head coach for 15 seasons and a Super Bowl champ, Cowher is still just 53 and would be just the kind of hard-nosed (and hard-chinned), defensive-minded coach who could turn things around in Ann Arbor.
Who's It Going to Be?
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So who's it going to be, David Brandon?
The decision to get rid of RichRod should be an easy one. Who'll be enticed to replace him will be a tougher one.
But the future of the Michigan football program is in your hands. Please take that responsibility seriously. And please choose wisely.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
