Michigan Should Take Cue From 2006 Alabama and Act Boldly
By Ty Duffy
Michigan ranked No. 1 on Pat Forde’s list of college football dumpster fires. In many minds, Greg Schiano is creeping from possible to probable territory as Brady Hoke’s replacement. To put it mildly, things look bleak.
How does Michigan find the light? It’s worth revisiting a program that was in a similar state not to long ago, Alabama.
The Tide did not hire one underwhelming “Alabama Man” with ties to Bear Bryant. They hired two: Mike DuBose and Mike Shula. Sandwiched between were Dennis Franchione, who slipped away to Texas A&M amidst serious NCAA sanctions, and Mike Price, fired in May after a notable strip club incident.
Alabama appeared plagued by dysfunction and rabid, demanding boosters in 2006. Many doubted a coach could win there. It was a job Rich Rodriguez could turn down, to stay in the Big East. Then Mal Moore hired Nick Saban away from an NFL team. After a transition year in 2007, Alabama has gone 48-7 in regular season SEC play. If not the nation’s best job, it’s right there.
The lesson for Michigan: act boldly.
Let Brady Hoke go before the Ohio State game. Rip off the bandaid. Beating the Buckeyes may be gratifying. It won’t absolve the last 14 dire months of Michigan football. Ending the speculation is best for all involved. Especially, say, kids who are lined up to enroll early at Michigan and have a decision to make.
Hire an athletic director. It’s an important job. It’s not as important as the decision he/she needs to make. Five or six weeks should be long enough to sound out prospective candidates, to conduct interviews and to evaluate resumes. Michigan’s only difficulty with this should be deciding which type of qualified candidate. Experienced AD? Young, up and coming AD? Experienced/Up and Coming AD with Michigan ties? Any of the above would be an upgrade over Dave Brandon.
Pursue the coach you want with gusto. “Good” is not good enough when you have to compete with Mark Dantonio and Urban Meyer. Michigan is not convincing the national media it is an elite job. It is convincing one coach it is the right job. Maybe that involves previous ties to the school. Maybe that involves ego stroking and money. Maybe that just involves finding the right under the radar guy who is not 100 percent happy with its present lot.
Hard to pull someone from an NFL job or a successful college football program? Jeff Long, rumored to be among the top candidates, did both in his last two hires…at Arkansas.
Even without Dave Brandon, it’s easy to see the Michigan situation devolving into a repeat of 2010. Michigan reaches a bowl game at 6-6 and delays evaluating Hoke until “after the season” in January. The Wolverines go after Jim Harbaugh, fail and then dither about firing Hoke before ultimately deciding to do so. Michigan rapidly runs through a list of candidates who don’t want to leave in mid-January to a school with an interim AD.
The Wolverines hire the one coach certain to come: Greg Schiano, a nice guy and strong recruiter with unclear coaching acumen. Basically, Brady Hoke, again.
Don’t let that happen.
Picks
Dan Mullen kicked down the back door on us. Miami could not quite hold on. But, nonetheless, we went 3-2 last week to move to 39-26-1 on the year. Here is who we like in this week’s underwhelming slate of games.
Vanderbilt (+29.5) at Mississippi State… Not much to like about Vanderbilt, but this is a trap for the Bulldogs. It’s right after Alabama. It’s right before Ole Miss. One could argue those are the biggest games in Mississippi State’s football history. This is not and that is too many points.
Arkansas (+3.5) vs. Ole Miss… Look ahead spot for Ole Miss before the Egg Bowl. Like LSU, this is a bad matchup for the Rebels. They have an elite pass defense. Arkansas will run it on them all game. We don’t trust Bo Wallace in a sloppy, out of rhythm sort of game on the road, especially without Laquon Treadwell. A loss here could be bad news for Mississippi State.
Purdue (-1.5) vs. Northwestern… Huge letdown potential for Northwestern after beating Notre Dame in South Bend last week. The Wildcats travel for a second-straight week. The last two games were battles that went down to the final play. Purdue has showed flashes this season and has had a bye week to regroup after a stretch of Michigan State, at Minnesota, at Nebraska, Wisconsin.
Tennessee (-4) vs. Missouri… The Tigers have played a soft schedule. Tennessee has played a brutal one. The Volunteers may just be the better team. Butch Jones’ team fought against Alabama, came back on the road at South Carolina and crushed Kentucky last week. They are moving the ball well with Josh Dobbs. Tennessee secures a bowl trip, with comfort.