Coaching Candidate: Greg Schiano

Tag: coaching changes


1Dec 2014
Uncategorized 21 comments

Coaching Candidate: Greg Schiano

Greg Schiano

Greg Schiano
Age: 48
Current position: None
Head coaching experience: 68-67 at Rutgers (2001-2011), 11-21 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012-2013)
History: Schiano grew up in New Jersey and attended Bucknell, a D-II school in Pennsylvania. He was a linebacker and named team captain as a senior. He coached defensive backs at Penn State in the early 1990’s under Joe Paterno before becoming an assistant for the Chicago Bears, then moved on to be the Miami Hurricanes’ defensive coordinator for the 1999-2000 seasons. Those defenses at Miami helped him earn the head coaching job at Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights’ head job had typically been a black hole, but he took them from a 3-20 record in his first two seasons to a peak of 11-2 (and a win over Texas) in the 2006 season, culminating in a #12 overall ranking. His 9-4 season in 2011 launched him to the Buccaneers’ head job, but a slightly promising 7-9 season in 2012 turned into a disappointing 4-12 record in 2013, after which he was fired.
My thoughts: The job Schiano did at Rutgers was impressive because of how far he took them, but he never really showed an ability to get them over the hump. New Jersey does have a good amount of talent within the state, and while he did get some solid seasons out of guys like Ray Rice and Kenny Britt, nobody really developed into a huge star; the closest was Ray Rice, who – for reasons presumably unrelated to Schiano – would not exactly be a good reference when sitting in recruits’ living rooms with mom and/or dad. I might hire Schiano as a defensive coordinator, but he’s not head coach material for an elite program yet.
Likelihood of coming to Michigan: Schiano would probably jump at the chance to coach in the Big Ten at a place like Michigan. As a guy with roots in Big Ten country (or at least what is now Big Ten country), this could be a crowning achievement. He’s an Option B type of candidate with Jim Harbaugh, Les Miles, and perhaps others ahead of him, but Michigan ended up with a seemingly fringe candidate in 2011, too.

My wish list:
1. Bob Stoops
2. Les Miles
3. Greg Schiano
4. Mike Shanahan

29Nov 2014
Uncategorized 14 comments

Coaching Candidate: Les Miles



Les Miles
Age:
 61
Current position: Louisiana State University head coach
Head coaching experience: 103-28 at LSU (2005-present), 28-21 at Oklahoma State (2001-2004), 131-49 overall
Current salary: $4,300,000 per year
History: Miles grew up in Ohio and was an offensive lineman at Michigan under Bo Schembechler in the mid-1970’s. After being a graduate assistant at Michigan, he went to Colorado and then came back to Ann Arbor to be the offensive line coach for four seasons. He took a promotion to be Oklahoma State’s offensive coordinator, spent a few seasons coaching tight ends for the Cowboys (Dallas, that is), and was rehired at Oklahoma State as their head coach. A high-powered offense propelled him to the head coaching job at LSU, where he has mostly been known for suffocating defenses, particularly on his way to winning the 2007 national championship.
My thoughts: I have reservations about Miles because of some stories about how he has rubbed people the wrong way at Michigan with his actions in the past. The athletic department was fractured when Lloyd Carr retired and was replaced by Rich Rodriguez, and Michigan got past that right around the time when the student body and journalists turned on athletic director David Brandon, essentially forcing him out. There would certainly be some ruffled feathers if Miles were hired, so that would be a guaranteed bump in the road. They say “winning cures everything” so that might smooth things over a little bit. Miles has a history of running the ball a lot, getting athletic wideouts, having mediocre quarterbacks, and producing big-time players at all levels on the defense. Miles would be good on the recruiting trail with his accolades and midwest connections, and his style of play would be well received, too. The drawbacks would appear to be money and whatever shenanigans he pulled to make some long-time Wolverines angry. Miles also has a history of oversigning and then cutting “unworthy” players, which is a rampant issue in the SEC. That would not go over well at Michigan, but that is something that might be institutional and fairly easily fixed.

My wish list:
1. Bob Stoops
2. Les Miles
3. Mike Shanahan

28Nov 2014
Uncategorized 9 comments

Coaching Candidate: Mike Shanahan


Mike Shanahan
Age:
 62
Current position: None
Head coaching experience: 8-12 at Los Angeles Raiders (1988-1989), 138-86 at Denver Broncos (1995-2008), 24-40 at Washington Redskins (2010-2013), 170-138 overall
History: Shanahan grew up in Illinois and played quarterback at Eastern Illinois before his career was ended by a ruptured kidney suffered on the practice field. He worked at various colleges (include Oklahoma, Minnesota, and Florida) as an assistant coach before becoming the offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos in the mid-1980’s. That was followed by his stints as head coach, interrupted by an offensive coordinator job for the San Francisco 49ers in the early 1990’s. He famously won two Super Bowls with quarterback John Elway in Denver, but he was fired in 2008 after three mediocre seasons. His stint with the Redskins was marred by the controversy surrounding Robert Griffin III’s knee injury, and he was fired by owner Dan Snyder at the end of the 2013 season.
My thoughts: Shanahan seems like a mediocre coach; he is good when he has good players, and he is bad when he has bad players. The one caveat – and the most impressive thing about him, in my eyes – is that he has taken some unheralded offensive linemen and running backs and made them very effective in the running game. Considering the negative publicity surrounding him following the RGIII fiasco, I doubt he would be a huge hit on the recruiting trail. The best thing going for him would be that he coached Elway to a Super Bowl fifteen years ago, right around the time when current high schoolers were in diapers. Shanahan seems like a guy who might be able to manage 8-4 or 9-3 seasons, but wouldn’t be much of a threat to make Michigan a national title contender.

My wish list:
1. Bob Stoops
2. Mike Shanahan

27Nov 2014
Uncategorized 10 comments

Coaching Candidate: Bob Stoops

It seems highly likely – if not inevitable – that the University of Michigan will be looking for another new football coach soon, perhaps even in the next three or four days. Rumors have been bouncing around since a couple weeks into the season when Michigan lost to Notre Dame, 31-0. Things have not improved much since then. Michigan’s most impressive win is either the close victory over a 6-5 Penn state team or the close victory over a 5-6 Northwestern team. The offense has been stagnant and special teams have been frustrating; defense has been the bright spot, but they struggle late in games.

In an effort to get a jump start on some new hope, I’ll be profiling a series of coaches whose names have been floating around as candidates. Some of them may be wishful thinking, while some may be our worst nightmare. At the end of each post, I’ll rank the candidate in order of my wish list. I’ll start off with a guy that would probably make quite a few fans and alumni happy.

Bob Stoops
Age: 54
Current position: Oklahoma Sooners head coach
Head coaching experience: 168-42 at Oklahoma (1999-present)
Current salary: $5,250,000 per year
History: Stoops grew up in Youngstown, OH, and was an All-Big Ten safety at Iowa as a player. He then coached the defensive backs at Kansas State under Bill Snyder and was co-defensive coordinator when KSU had an excellent run, which he used as a springboard to the Florida Gators defensive coordinator job under Steve Spurrier from 1996-1998, helping them win a national championship. He took over an Oklahoma team that had been 17-27 under Howard Schnellenberger and John Blake for the three years previous; Stoops proceeded to go 7-5 in his first year and then won the national championship in 2000. Since then he has only had two seasons of four-plus losses (8-4 in 2005, 8-5 in 2009).
My thoughts: Stoops to Michigan would essentially be a lateral move, but there have been rumors that he and the administration in Norman don’t quite see eye-to-eye. This is about the time in his career where he has to decide whether he wants to be in Norman forever or whether he wants to try other challenges. Stoops has an array of brothers scattered around college football (Mike is Oklahoma’s defensive coordinator; Mark is Kentucky’s head coach; Ron, Jr. is an assistant at Youngstown State), and Mark is making quite a recruiting impact in Ohio. With the family’s success and ties in the midwest, Bob would probably do a very good job of recruiting in the Big Ten imprint. Stoops has done a good job of producing NFL talent, and he has adapted his offense as the years have gone along while still playing solid defense. That monstrous salary seems like it would be difficult to overcome, especially with President Schlissel seeming slightly uneasy about the role of athletics at the university.

My wish list:
1. Bob Stoops

21Feb 2014
Uncategorized 9 comments

Brady Hoke announces new coaching responsibilities

The football program announced new coaching responsibilities yesterday, and most of the changes come on defense, where nobody has the same responsibility he had last year. The only change on offense is the hiring of Doug Nussmeier to replace Al Borges’s duties.

Head coach: Brady Hoke
Offensive coordinator, Quarterbacks: Doug Nussmeier
Running backs: Fred Jackson
Wide receivers: Jeff Hecklinski
Tight ends, Special teams: Dan Ferrigno
Offensive line: Darrell Funk
Defensive coordinator, Linebackers: Greg Mattison
Defensive line: Mark Smith
Cornerbacks: Roy Manning
Safeties: Curt Mallory
Offensive grad assistant (tight ends): Kevin Koger
Offensive grad assistant (offensive line): Michael Switzer
Defensive grad assistant (defensive line): Ernie Lawson
Defensive grad assistant (linebackers): Jerry Milling