Tag: coaching changes

Michigan Assistant Coach Rumors

Greg Roman could be Michigan’s next offensive coordinator

We as fans are never happy. We just got our dream coach, and now we’ll be concerned about who his assistants will be. When Jim Harbaugh was asked about filling his staff, he said, “Measure twice. Cut once.” So he wants to be careful about who he brings on as assistant coaches. Here is a look at some potential coaches to fill out the ten offensive and defensive staff jobs:

1. Jim Harbaugh, Head Coach: Signed, sealed, and delivered. Next.

2. Offensive coordinator: San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman has been with Harbaugh since the Stanford days, and some reports – as well as common sense – suggest that he will follow Harbaugh to Michigan. Roman is from New Jersey and has spent most of his time in the NFL, except for two years in Palo Alto. Roman has mostly worked with the offensive line and tight ends throughout his career, so I would expect him to help out with one of those positions.
Other possibilities: Andy Moeller, Tyrone Wheatley

3. Running backs: Buffalo Bills running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley has not been promised a return in 2015, and being a Michigan legend, he might feel a desire to return to Ann Arbor to help resurrect the program. Harbaugh might also float the idea of being a co-offensive coordinator, which would make a little more sense from Wheatley’s perspective. He has a desire to be a head coach someday, so one would expect him to be looking for some kind of promotion up the ladder.
Other possibilities: Reggie Davis, Fred Jackson, Roy Manning

4. Wide receivers: No, this isn’t the former Detroit Lions wide receiver, but San Francisco 49ers wide receiver coach John Morton is out of a job. Morton grew up in Michigan and played wide receiver at Western Michigan, so he’s a midwest guy and would presumably have some connections in the area. San Francisco’s wide receivers weren’t spectacular, but he has worked with some pretty big names in Anquan Boldin and Michael Crabtree.
Other possibility: Ronald Curry

5. Tight ends: Kentucky tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow has been rumored to be a possibility. Harbaugh has reportedly already reached out to Marrow, whose help in recruiting at Kentucky has been pretty impressive. Marrow grew up in Ohio and played football at Toledo, so he’s another midwest guy.
Other possibility: Reggie Davis

6. Offensive line: San Francisco 49ers offensive line coach Reggie Davis was with Harbaugh for each year in San Francisco. He has spent his entire playing (Washington, San Diego Chargers) and coaching (UNLV, Oregon State, San Francisco 49ers) career on the west coast. Maybe he’s attached to the lifestyle, family, and friends out there. If he comes with Harbaugh, he’ll be a much needed connection on the west coast.
Other possibilities: Tim Drevno, Andy Moeller

7. Defensive coordinator: Florida defensive coordinator and interim head coach D.J. Durkin has been a popular name floating around for the past few weeks. He worked with Harbaugh at Stanford and has experience working with special teams, defensive ends, and linebackers, so he could help out in any of those areas.
Other possibility: Greg Mattison

8. Defensive line: Oklahoma defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery has been suggested as a possibility. Montgomery, of course, was at Michigan for the first couple years of Brady Hoke’s tenure and then left for a bigger paycheck in Norman. Montgomery was only ever in charge of part of the defensive line at Michigan, so the only real reasons to move back would be another pay raise and/or control over the whole position group.
Other possibilities: D.J. Durkin, Roy Manning, Greg Mattison

9. Linebackers: Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Mattison might be a holdover from the previous staff to this one. Mattison has family in the area, loves the University of Michigan, is a pretty good coach with NFL experience, and is a great recruiter. He also has connections to Harbaugh and potential defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin.
Other possibility: Roy Manning

10. Defensive backs: San Francisco 49ers defensive backs coach Greg Jackson will be looking for a job. He is from Florida and played college football at LSU, so his potential connections in Florida and SEC country could help Michigan’s recruiting efforts in difficult locations.
Other possibility: Roy Manning

OVERALL
It would be unlikely that so many 49ers guys would follow Harbaugh to a college to which they have no connections, and other guys coming to Ann Arbor from the NFL (Wheatley, Moeller) would also be a bit of a stretch. Will all of those guys end up standing on the sidelines of Michigan Stadium? Probably not. But I would expect at least a couple of them, particularly Roman. Otherwise, some likely possibilities seem to include Vince Marrow and D.J. Durkin.

Otherwise, Michigan has a couple ace recruiters in its pocket with Mattison and Manning if they so choose to keep them. Manning is supposedly still in Ann Arbor and hoping to catch on with the new staff. I didn’t list him as option #1 at any positions above, but that’s partly because he has coached running backs, linebackers, and cornerbacks, and he played a hybrid defensive end position. Harbaugh could put him in a variety of spots, although Michigan’s cornerbacks performed questionably this past season under his tutelage. I would not want Manning to be in charge of all the defensive back positions by himself, but maybe a year of honing his skills with the cornerbacks could help him improve in year two of coaching the position.

Jim Harbaugh, Wolverine (again)

Jim Harbaugh

Today Michigan is expected to announce that they have signed Jim Harbaugh to be the next head coach. After finishing up his tenure as the San Francisco 49ers head coach with a win on Sunday, he and the 49ers “mutually agreed” to part ways. Harbaugh hopped on a plane on Monday to head to Ann Arbor, and he reportedly signed the contract last night. Several NFL teams were reported to be interested, including the across-the-bay Oakland Raiders, who made overtures to Harbaugh but were turned down.

I already posted a somewhat in-depth summary of Harbaugh’s career and accomplishments (LINK), so I won’t rehash most of that info.  Harbaugh played for Bo Schembechler at Michigan in the 1980’s, went on to a successful but unspectacular NFL career, turned around programs at San Diego and Stanford as a head coach, and then had a good four-year run with the 49ers. Despite making it to three straight NFC championship games – and one Super Bowl – the wheels came off during the 2014 season, when Harbaugh’s clashes with the front office became public and the team fell to 8-8, missing the playoffs. It had been understood for half the season that Harbaugh would not return, regardless of how the season turned out.

In my ranking of viable coach options, Harbaugh was #1 on my list for numerous reasons. First and foremost, I guess, is that Harbaugh embodies what Michigan’s administration, fans, and alumni want. He is demanding and intense, and for a program that deifies Bo Schembechler, that intensity pairs nicely. Harbaugh’s competitiveness showed during his career. He was never the fastest guy or the most accurate or the one with the strongest arm, but he was a Heisman contender as a senior and scrapped as a pro football player and coach to try to get to the highest levels.

Another somewhat nice thing about Harbaugh is that his desired personnel and systems are already mostly in place. He had to rebuild at San Diego and Stanford, while the 49ers job had some decent talent already in place. Either way, he wants to run the ball, pass efficiently, and play good defense. Michigan has recruited and developed the roster to do just those things. There are a couple highly touted running backs on the roster, some big-time recruits on the offensive line, some solid tight ends, and good defensive players at every level returning in 2015. The question marks are at quarterback and wide receiver, but a commitment to running the ball should take some of the pressure off of whoever wins the QB job. Harbaugh will regularly send out multiple tight ends, and with the current quarterback situation, he’ll probably use a fullback quite a bit instead of the read option that he used with San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

There are a few drawbacks with Harbaugh, as there are with any coach. Most immediately, he is a different breed of coach than Brady Hoke; Harbaugh is still a good leader, but he may turn off some players with his intensity. Hoke is a fatherly type and a great guy, by all accounts; Harbaugh is an in-your-face task master. Secondly, Harbaugh probably can’t be described as controversial, but he will be outspoken at times. Some of his antics, comments, and behaviors will be dissected by local and national media, such as his post-game handshake with the Lions’ Jim Schwartz a few years ago or his negative comments about Michigan’s academics when he was at Stanford. Lloyd Carr kept everything behind closed doors and was mostly tight-lipped with the media, and Brady Hoke was the same. In between, Rich Rodriguez was an outsider who ruffled some feathers by having a West Virginia accent and screwing up some Michigan traditions. Harbaugh will be given some leeway because of his local roots, but the spotlight will be bright.

Lastly, I do not believe Harbaugh is a long-term answer at Michigan. Unfortunately, virtually everyone agrees that he wants a Super Bowl ring. He might fall in love with being Michigan’s coach, but I think there’s a good chance that in, I don’t know, four years, he might want to head back to the NFL. However, if he can get Michigan back on the right track and develop a coaching tree like he did at Stanford, then Michigan might be okay post-Harbaugh. The Wolverines might be looking for a new coach in 2018 or 2019, but he set Stanford up for success (they won double-digit games for the first three years after he left) and could do the same in Ann Arbor.

Regardless, I’m happy Harbaugh is back at Michigan. This was the ideal choice at this juncture, and interim athletic director Jim Hackett somehow made it happen. Harbaugh will be welcomed back with open arms, Michigan is getting some positive publicity, and we should see some improvement on the field next year. Hoke did a good job of recruiting a roster full of talent. Now we can watch as Harbaugh molds that talent into a quality football program once again.

Current FBS Coaches Coaching at Their Alma Maters

Kliff Kingsbury, the most photogenic coach in college football, coaches where he played college football.

In the midst of a coaching search that has a lot of “insiders” believing Jim Harbaugh will return to Michigan as its head football after playing in Ann Arbor in the 1980’s, I thought I would take a look at current college coaches who are at their alma mater. Harbaugh could be the first Michigan player to return as head coach since Bump Elliott, who played at Michigan in the 1946-1947 and then compiled a 51-42-2 record as the head coach from 1959-1968.

Troy Calhoun, Air Force (59-44 since 2007): Calhoun was a Falcon quarterback from 1983-1986. After a career as an assistant in both college (Air Force, Ohio, Wake Forest) and the NFL (Broncos, Texans), he returned to Air Force in 2007. The Falcons made an impressive turnaround from a 2-10 season in 2013 to completing a 10-3 year with a win over Western Michigan in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl a few days ago.

Hit the jump for the ten other coaches on the list.

Scott Satterfield, Appalachian State (11-13 since 2013): Satterfield was a Mountaineer quarterback from 1991-1995. He has spent most of his coaching career as an assistant for ASU, with brief trips to Toledo and FIU. Hired as the new head coach in 2013, he went 4-8 in his first year but improved to 7-5 this year, which included a loss to Michigan in the Big House. The Mountaineers are ineligible for a bowl game after moving up from FCS.

Bryan Harsin, Boise State (11-2 since 2014): Harsin was a Broncos quarterback from 1995-1999. He returned to Boise State in 2001 as a graduate assistant and worked his way up the ranks, eventually going to Texas as co-offensive coordinator and then to Arkansas State as head coach in 2013, where he went 7-5. When Chris Peterson got the job at Washington, Harsin was brought back home to Boise, where the Broncos will play Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl on December 31.

Paul Haynes, Kent State (6-17 since 2013): Haynes was a safety at Kent State from 1987-1991 and has since spent over 20 years in the coaching ranks, including as an assistant for Kent State, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Louisville, Michigan State, and Ohio State. His first head coaching gig is not going particularly well, as the Golden Flashes went 2-9 this past season.

Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern (60-53 since 2006): Fitzgerald was a stellar linebacker for Northwestern in the mid-1990’s, earning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year twice, being a consensus All-American twice, and winning the Nagurski and Bednarik Awards twice each. He began coaching linebackers at Maryland, moved on to Colorado, and then Idaho, before returning to Northwestern under head coach Randy Walker. When Walker tragically passed away, Fitzgerald was promoted to head coach. He has one 10-win season under his belt but has gone 5-7 for the past two seasons.

Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State (83-44 since 2005): Gundy was an Oklahoma State quarterback from 1986-1989. After former Oklahoma State coach Les Miles moved on to LSU, Gundy was promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach; he had previous stops at Baylor and Maryland as an assistant. Since then Gundy has shown a pretty steady ability to put points up on the board and has three double-digit winning seasons. He has also been mentioned in Michigan’s coaching search, although it seems unlikely that he would leave his alma mater, despite a disappointing 6-6 season in 2014 (his worst record since going 4-7 in his firat year).

David Shaw, Stanford (41-12 since 2011): Shaw played high school football at Rochester (MI) Adams when his dad was an assistant coach for the Detroit Lions. He then went on to play wide receiver at Stanford from 1991-1994, as well as joining the basketball and track teams. After some small-time jobs and quality control stints, he worked in the NFL for the Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens before joining Jim Harbaugh’s staff at Stanford, where he was the offensive coordinator from 2007-2010. When Harbaugh bolted for the San Francisco 49ers in 2011, Shaw was promoted. He won 11, 12, and 11 games in his first three years before falling off to 7-5 this past season; the Cardinal will play Maryland in the Foster Farms Bowl on December 30.

Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech (12-13 since 2013): Kingsbury was a record-setting quarterback at Texas Tech under Mike Leach. After a meandering NFL career, he started coaching at Houston, moved on to Texas A&M to help Kevin Sumlin and Heisman-winner Johnny Manziel in 2012, and then took the Red Raiders job in 2013. A promsing 8-5 season in 2013 fell to a disappointing 4-8 record this past year, including an embarrassing 82-27 loss to TCU.

Matt Wells, Utah State (19-9 since 2013): Wells was a quarterback at Utah State from 1993-1996 and then coached at Navy, Tulsa, New Mexico, and Louisville before returning to Utah State as an assistant in 2011 under Gary Anderson. When Anderson left for Wisconsin after the 2012 season, Wells was promoted and has since gone 9-5 and 10-4. The 2014 season culminated with a win over UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl a couple days ago.

Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech (229-115-2 since 1987): Beamer was a cornerback for the Hokies in the late 1960’s. After some coaching stops at The Citadel and Murray State, he got the job in Blacksburg in 1987 and is now the longest tenured coach in the FBS. He had eight  consecutive years of double-digit wins from 2004-2011, but has since gone 21-17, including a 6-6 record in 2014. The Hokies will play Cincinnati in the Military Bowl on December 27.

Paul Chryst, Wisconsin (0-0 since 2015): Chryst was a quarterback for the Badgers in the late 1980’s. He has lived the nomadic life of a coach for most of his professional career with stops at Oregon State, the San Diego Chargers, and Wisconsin, among others. He was the offensive coordinator for the Badgers from 2005-2011 but booked it for Pitt’s head coaching job in 2012. He went 19-19 in three seasons there, but when Gary Anderson left Wisconsin for Utah State, the Badgers came calling again. He was just announced as Wisconsin’s new coach and has yet to coach a game there, although it seems likely that he will be able to continue their success since he was a big part of it for seven seasons.

CONCLUSIONS
Not many. Most of these guys have been pretty successful at their alma maters, although unsuccessful coaches usually find themselves without jobs pretty quickly. It would be great if a potential Jim Harbaugh hire could result in a Frank Beamer-like run that lasts about 30 years, but Harbaugh is too old for that and could feasibly bolt back to the NFL after a few years. Interestingly, none of the above guys ever turned into even mediocre NFL players. Almost all of them returned to college to coach within a couple years of graduating, and Harbaugh’s solid NFL career would immediately be the most impressive on this list. That’s not really meaningful, but it’s a little interesting.

Also interesting is that 7 of the 11 players on the list were quarterbacks; the others were a cornerback, a wide receiver, a safety, and a linebacker. A lot of coaches played quarterback in their athletic days, probably because they’re used to leading and they’re generally pretty intelligent guys. Quarterbacks also have to pay attention to everyone on the field because they have to understand backfield play, blitzes, coverages, protections, route combinations, etc.

Regardless of his potential level of success, it would be an extremely interesting homecoming for Harbaugh if he were to take the job. It’s not often that elite football players return to their alma maters as head coach, and this could be the best homecoming story since Heisman winner Steve Spurrier developed a powerhouse as the Florida Gators’ head coach.

Coaching Candidate Rumors

Jim Harbaugh

Brady Hoke’s firing was publicly announced on December 2, so it has been 17 days since Michigan has had a head coach. Obviously, athletic director Jim Hackett is waiting on Jim Harbaugh, who declined comment about the Michigan job when asked on Thursday afternoon. News leaked – from one side or the other – that Harbaugh had been offered a 6-year, $48 million contract but Bruce Feldman says that figure is inaccurate (LINK).

Rumors persist that Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops would be Michigan’s #2 option, but he might be off the table because someone of his coaching stature would not want to play second fiddle to Harbaugh. I say there’s no shame in being the backup to an NFL head coach who would potentially be coming back to his alma mater. That’s not an insult to Stoops, but hey, the guy has won more championships than Harbaugh.

LSU head coach Les Miles told reporters off the record that he would not be coming to Michigan.

A lot of people have been saying that Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen is not even being considered, but he has yet to sign a rumored contract extension with MSU. He may not be on Michigan’s radar, but he seems like a guy who might be waiting for some dominoes to fall in the coaching world before he marries himself to the Bulldogs for too long (or for too big of a buyout).

Meanwhile, potential Plan C option Steve Addazio signed an extension with Boston College through 2020 (LINK). Another potential coach, Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman, has been hired as Houston’s head coach for five years and $6.75 million (LINK).

With Pitt head coach Paul Chryst taking the job at Wisconsin, the Panthers are now looking for a head coach. While they probably wouldn’t be able to poach an established head coach, they may be able to snag an up-and-coming coordinator or head coach. Western Michigan head coach P.J. Fleck just signed a contract extension through 2020, but there are still guys like Greg Schiano, Tom Bradley (former Penn State defensive coordinator, current WVU assistant head coach) and Pat Narduzzi hanging around. I could see Schiano or Bradley taking the job, but Narduzzi seems to be holding out for something better than Pitt since he rebuffed UConn last year.

Coaching Candidate Rumors

Tyrone Wheatley, if for not other reason than bringing back happy memories.

THERE IS NOTHING TO WRITE.
I have a few posts waiting to be completed, and even a few that are already finished. But a lot of them have to do with recruiting, and I don’t think anyone cares much about recruiting right now. All Michigan fans care about is who the next coach will be, and I can’t say I blame them. As Michigan fans, we can’t move forward. (On the other hand, I have been moving forward with catching up on Parks and Recreation.)

Detroit Sports Rag contributor Jeff Moss tweeted

out last night that there has been a “sea change” in the reporting on Michigan’s head coaching job. Other Twitter feeds have also changed their tune somewhat, based on someone in Michigan’s administration supposedly giving info that Jim Harbaugh could be leaning toward returning to Ann Arbor. Moss also said that he will release the source of this information at 9:00 a.m. today, so that ought to be interesting.

Aside from Harbaugh’s return, there have also been rumors that:

• Former Michigan running back Tyrone Wheatley, currently the Buffalo Bills running backs coach, will return as co-offensive coordinator
• Former Michigan offensive line coach Andy Moeller, currently the Cleveland Browns offensive line coach, will be Wheatley’s co-offensive coordinator
• D.J. Durkin is being considered as the defensive coordinator. Durkin was at Florida under Will Muschamp and is currently their interim head coach; he also worked for Harbaugh at Stanford