It’s late on Thursday evening and some things are brewing with Michigan’s coaching staff, so here are some brief thoughts on the current situation:
Tim Drevno (OL/RGC) and Pep Hamilton (QB/PGC): Both of these guys are still in Ann Arbor. More specifically, they’ve been on the road recruiting for Michigan leading up to National Signing Day. Drevno played Top Golf with Rice transfer prospect Calvin Anderson, and Hamilton has been offering quarterbacks. Which one of these guys is going to go, and when? With the early signing period in December, it feels late to be making coaching changes, but maybe it’s important to keep in mind that the old “National Signing Day” in the first week of February has not arrived. It’s not uncommon for coaches to be moving after NSD, but we’re not there yet. I’m not a fan of coaches leaving as soon as kids sign on the dotted line, but that kind of thing happens sometimes. I’m not alone in the belief that one or both of these coaches need to go. Aside from the head coach, these two guys are the most culpable for Michigan’s abysmal offense in 2017. I don’t see how anyone on the staff, the fans, or the players can feel confident going into 2018 if neither one is replaced.
Dan Enos (WR): We all thought it was weird when Dan Enos signed on to be “wide receivers coach” when he’s historically been a head coach, an offensive coordinator, a quarterbacks coach, and a running backs coach. The belief a couple weeks ago was that he would become a coordinator in one phase of the game or another, and now he appears to be headed to Alabama to be their quarterbacks coach and assistant head coach. It’s kind of insulting to expect a former FBS head coach to wait around as a minor position coach just to see if one of your coordinators will leave, so Jim Harbaugh needs to poop or get off the pot when it comes to the Drevno/Hamilton situation. Otherwise, it’s very likely going to derail everything he’s trying to do in Ann Arbor, because Michigan needs to gain momentum next year.
There’s too much turnover: In the first year or two, I didn’t mind the turnover at Michigan. The Wolverines were bringing in up-and-comers (Chris Partridge, Devin Bush Jr.), and they were losing some other up-and-comers (D.J. Durkin). I believe there’s too much turmoil within the football program, both on the coaching staff and in the off-the-field personnel. Think of the people who have come and gone in just three years: Durkin, Rick Finotti, Jim Minick, Tony Tuioti, Greg Jackson, Tony Tuioti, Dan Enos, Tyrone Wheatley, Jedd Fisch, Greg Frey, Dan Enos, Kevin Tolbert, Brian Smith, Bam Richards. I’m sure I’m missing some, so that’s a partial list of coaches and recruiting personnel totaling 14+ people who have left. There was a rumor last week that Jim Harbaugh reached out to Mike Hart to see if Hart was interested in returning to Ann Arbor, and Hart said he was just fine with his place in Bloomington, Indiana.
Sherrone Moore (TE) and Al Washington (LB): From everything I have seen from Moore so far, I think he’s going to be an excellent recruiter at Michigan. The same can be said for Washington. I’m confident that Washington will mesh well with Don Brown on the defensive side, and we’ll see how Moore works out on the field with the tight ends. They might not bring a lot of name recognition, but at least they bring the aspect of being energetic recruiters to help Michigan get over the hump in some areas where they have been struggling. In addition, I think these guys are young enough where they won’t be pulled away for big-time jobs in just one year’s time. Coaches change jobs frequently, but hopefully these two can stick around for at least three to four years to keep some continuity.
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Excellent Gif.
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I was pretty excited about the Enos offer. But, I was also pretty excited about the Nuss offer, so maybe I’m not the best judge for it.
I don’t hate it if Drevno stays on as OC or as OL coach. I think next year will be an excellent measuring stick to really see what he’s capable of, because it’s very difficult to run an offense when you don’t have the necessary bodies to field a competent OL. Harbaugh has had 3.5 recruiting classes – we should have an OL by 2018.
I say I don’t hate it, because if Drevno stays on, hooray for continuity, hooray for Drevno working out. But I dislike it because if our offense looks like it would struggle against MAC teams, then I would hope Harbaugh would clean house, and then 2018 will feel like a wasted year. But with a new offensive coaching staff 2019, it might be an adjustment year, and we lose a lot of talent in 2019 so that’ll be wasted.
I have faith in Harbaugh, but I don’t know how many more years of “next year will be better” I have left in me.
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It is the freaking Pep that infuriates me with terrible QB play and poor WR route running. The guy doesn’t deserve his million dollar paycheck. If we gave half of that to Enos he would not have left
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My thoughts:
1 – Something needs to change in the offensive brain trust. I wasn’t in love with Enos, who seems like just a guy, but at least he was a different guy. Apparently he must have been in demand if Alabama wants him. I would have liked to see them bring back Fisch, though obviously a long-shot.
2 – I don’t mind some level of turnover, especially since several of the names on your list aren’t even official coaches. I prefer turning over a couple of spots each year far more than Carr’s blind loyalty. It helps build the tree, it helps bring perspective, and it is what you often see at successful schools.
3 – What about Warriner? Is he now like Enos and in a holding pattern to possibly become an OL/OC coach?
My gut feeling is that Harbaugh expected Pep to get an NFL job of some sort and then he’d avoid having to fire him. Now I think he’s waiting until after the Super Bowl and Signing Day to see if anything shakes out or if he needs to pull the plug.
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Magnus, unless I missed something I don’t think Enos left the Michigan program twice as noted in your Turnover section. Otherwise, thanks for comments on the coaching carousel… very frustrating, as I am not a fan, based on 2017’s performance, of either Drevno or Pep at this point.
Go Blue
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Should’ve fired Pep and Drevno and made Enos the OC — that would’ve prevented him from leaving like this
Makes our program look like Starbucks bathroom.
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My two cents worth: Drevno was fine 3 yrs ago with Ruddock at QB. Some coaches need certain pieces to be in place before they can succeed. Not every coach can be a Belichick or Popovich. With Saquon Barkley, James Franklin looks like a star. Let’s see how he looks without the stars this yr. I am hoping Shea Patterson is eligible and Drevno stays. If the offense still sucks, then the change can come next year. But I agree with Thunder that there has been too much turnover in our coaching staff. Let’s keep the HC, OC and DC for now.
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That was Jedd Fisch, not Drevno
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The fact that Saban wants Enos is a good enough endorsement for me. I wonder if the best moves would have been firing Drevno and Pep, hiring Enos as RB coach, Warrington as OL coach and getting a true OC, or just make Enos OC with Jay as RB coach. Also, does all this staff turnover mean Jim is hard to work with?
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I don’t think there’s much of a question that Harbaugh is hard to work with. It’s been shown at a couple different stops. But lots of those FBS head coach types are difficult to work with. Heck, what’s-his-name at EMCC is hard to work with. A lot of football coaches are assholes.
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Thanks. I meant Warriner and not Warrington.
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Buddy Stephens
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Thanks. I had a brain fart.
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