Michigan Football: Will Brandon Hire Miles, Hoke or Another for Wolverines?

By the end of Lloyd Carr's career, many Michigan fans were grumbling for a new direction for the football program. After watching the blistering teams that schools like USC and Florida where placing on the field, fans wanted a new system surrounded by speed that would produce national championships.

Coach Carr was outdated and the most storied program in history was beaten at home by lowly little Appalachian State in 2007, and worst of all, Carr could not beat the Buckeyes who were steadily producing national championship-caliber teams.

Never mind the fact that Coach Carr had led the program since 1995 compiling a 122-40 record including a 1997 split national championship with Nebraska. Michigan was competitive and the program regularly produced NFL talent.

The problem was that they looked slower and their schemes were outdated compared to those teams who recently beat them in a bowl game. To make matters worse, Ohio State looked bigger, faster and was better coached.

Michigan, in the final Carr years, looked unprepared one week like the Appalachian State week or highly prepared like his final bowl game against Urban Meyer's Florida Gators in the same season.

A change was wanted in Ann Arbor, and a radical change is exactly what the University of Michigan got in 2008.

There is no doubt that the athletic director at the time, Bill Martin, felt the pressure to make a change for the Michigan football program after the 2007 season.

When Coach Carr announced his retirement after the 2007, Martin set out to usher in a new era of Michigan football that could be updated to compete with the Buckeyes and other national title contenders.

When the search for a new Michigan coach began shortly after Carr announced his retirement in 2007, did Martin ever consider the fact that Loyd Carr was part of the Schembechler lineage and the new coach would be stepping into a difficult situation?

Michigan fans wanted the change, but the new coach also needed to be like Bo by taking charge and having his team prepared to play for every game. It seemed that Carr had lost his way.

The University of Michigan and its fanbase counted on Bill Martin to make the right hire. They set their sights on LSU coach Les Miles who was on the verge of preparing his team for a national championship game. He was a winner, he was brash, he was prepared and most importantly, he played for Bo.

Bill Martin was looking elsewhere. What many discounted at the time is that Martin's background was in business not athletics, and he wanted a young coach who was at the top of his game in 2007. The name at the time was the top consideration.

He wanted Greg Schiano who had revived the Rutgers program, and he almost got him. Schiano, however, had seconds thoughts about going into a difficult situation.

At the same time, Rich Rodriguez of West Virginia in the Big East Conference was looking for something different. He was the innovator of the spread option offense, and he recruited players like White and Slagle to come to such a place as West Virginia.

He was young, brash, prepared, and he was a winner at West Virginia. He was highly sought after in 2007, and he was almost hired by Alabama who instead settled on Nick Saban after Rodriguez decided to stay in Morgantown for another year.

After all, if he was good enough for Alabama then why would he not be a fit for Michigan?

Bill Martin hired Rich Rodriguez in 2007, and he believed that Rodriguez was exactly what the slumbering Michigan program needed at the time.

Three years later after Rich Rodriguez was fired by new Athletic Director David Brandon, Martin's decision to hire Rodriguez proved to be wrong.

Rodriguez brought his flashy offense to Ann Arbor, however, he left his defense and special teams back in Morgantown.

He never understood the environment that he was about to enter, and apparently he didn't care to research it either before leaving.

Sometimes learning from your mistakes can be a painful process.

It is three years later now, and Michigan is finding themselves looking a new football coach once again.

There is a difference, however, and it lies within the fact that Bill Martin is not conducting the search this time.

New Athletic Director David Brandon is conducting the search, and he is a man is who appears to be one who sticks to his words which a rare commodity in society today.

There is a distinct difference between Brandon and Martin, and Michigan fans must trust him from this aspect alone. Brandon also has a business background, however, he has played the game and he did play for Bo himself.

He knows what Michigan needs, and he prepared the Michigan nation for his search process the same day he dismissed Rich Rodriguez. 

He made it very clear that the media, polling and fan pressure will not affect his search or decision. He also made it clear that the person must be the right "fit" for the university of Michigan, and this did not mean that they had to be a so called "Michigan Man."

He knows that the team and fanbase is counting on him to make the right decision and he will. 

At this point, there is speculation about Les Miles returning to Ann Arbor. He did play for Bo and was a teammate of Brandon's for one year.

Miles, however, has an excellent SEC coaching job at LSU and that would be difficult for him to leave.

If Miles does return to Ann Arbor, he will have the backing of Brandon to be successful. If another coach like Brady Hoke is announced, however, Brandon will ensure that they likewise will have the support to make Michigan football once again relevant in the conference and at the national stage.

It would also be wise for Michigan fans to prepare themselves for someone other than Miles or Hoke. If this does prove to be the case, all bets are safe that Brandon has prepared them for the environment for which they are about to enter.

As a lifelong Michigan man, I want Brandon to do his research and hire the right coach who brings along a strong group of assistants and it is a safe assumption that this will happen this week.

The recruits have not signed yet, and if it is Miles or Hoke, then Michigan will probably still sign a number of their verbal commitments. A name Like Miles might also land some higher ranked recruits, however, Michigan will never know this until that day in February.

In the end, a recognized name would be nice for the Michigan program, however, the correct "fit" for the program would be even nicer.