Michigan Friday: Shifting Through The Lies and Next Steps

As I mentioned yesterday, there are people to trust on this story and there are people that I don't.   Nobody from the national media will have the in's and out's of Schembechler Hall.  That doesn't mean they can't break news, what it means is they have no idea the backstories, etc.   I have seen a narrative nationally that Sherrone is in jail because this is some type of sexual assault case (we are still waiting on charges, but we do not believe this as anything to do with non-consensual sex).

Sherrone is expected in court today to face charges on whatever happened on Wednesday night after he was fired.  From what I have gathered: The investigation between the staffer and Sherrone has been on and off since the summer.  Both parties have always denied it.  Which didn't give U of M much to go on.  That changed this week when the staffer came forward and Sherrone was immediately fired.  

The Regents last night agreed to allow Warde to continue in his role.  My guess is the only reason they did that, was they don't have time to replace the AD and find a new head coach in this small window to save the roster, recruits, and the portal opening.  Even the President is an interim President.  Warde has absolutely failed at his job and has been the leader of Michigan athletics for some of the biggest scandals in the history of the department in the revenue generating sports.  To be fair, Michigan has a pretty good Basketball Program and Hockey program right now, which I'm sure helped Warde's case to continue. 

Now what?

I assume Sherrone's legal issues will get clearer today as he heads to court.  I feel for him and his family, but these issues are now his own.   I hope he is able to get his mind right, closes out his legal issues, moves away from Ann Arbor, and gets his life in order. 

If Warde doesn't have a candidate lined up, he again has failed at his job.  I don't ever like to compare Michigan to MSU, but they had their next coach locked down before they fired Jonathan Smith.   If this has been going on since the summer or longer and Warde hasn't been doing due diligence on the next Michigan head coach.  He is one of the worst leaders I have ever seen in any form of business. 

In business, you always know who is next in any role that reports to you.  If Warde is starting from scratch on this coaching search, we really have the wrong person running Michigan Athletics.   The Regents know this and I assume this is a test for Warde to see if he can pull another "Dusty".  

Timing again is the issue: 

Kalen DeBoer is in the playoffs 

Jesse Minter is in the NFL playoff race 

John Harbaugh is the head coach of the Ravens 

Jedd Fisch is preparing his team to play tomorrow in the soon to be the defunct LA Bowl.

I will throw you a name that is another hot candidate in the NFL.  Jeff Hafley, the Packers DC.  Jeff was the former DC of Ohio State, took the BC Head Coaching job and left on his own to become the Packers DC.  If you really want to make OSU fans nervous, shoot the money cannon at him.   It's obvious that timing is another issue here.

I doubt the Ravens are firing John, would love Coach Mac but he is not leaving Seattle.  You have to get to Jesse or Jeff before the NFL openings do and still they might want the NFL working hours over the College grind.   So that leaves Kalen and/or Jedd.   Bama plays OK in a week.  We can wait a week.

Warde find your Dusty magic once again and you better have been prepared for this situation, as it just didn't materialize out of the thin Michigan winter air this week. 

Michigan Thursday Continued: Michigan Head Coaching Candidates

Michigan again finds itself in a head coaching search at the wrong time.  Last time it was months late, this time its weeks late.  Which is better but not great.   This time there is not an option on the current coaching staff. 

On the other hand, I'm not sure many of those guys would've been on Michigan's radar anyway.  The thing you have to consider is:

#1 - Is the coach hirable?

#2 - Do they want to coach at Michigan?

#3 - You can only trust a few people on this.  Everybody is going to have an opinion.  The ones that throw out names like Urban Meyer and Brian Kelly have no idea what they are talking about. 

My list:

#1 - Jesse Minter - Look at the success Mike MacDonald has had at Seattle.  Jesse will be inline for an NFL head coaching job very soon, with his success in LA.   He is a wizard on defense and could let Chip call plays on the offensive side.   A great recruiter and what I consider the best fit.  Not ever being a head coach is a concern, but like I reported earlier today, his dad was the head coach at ND and could help him navigate the waters.   Hire him before the Giants do!  (he also might have an NCAA show cause)

#2 - John Harbaugh - John is a perfect fit and his time in Baltimore might be coming to an end.  I think he is a better coach then his brother but will have NFL options if he leaves Baltimore and is not really hireable until the end of the season anyways.   The timeline really doesn't work but I would love to have him. 

#3- Kalen DeBoer - The rumor is he wants the job.  The Alabama fans do not like him because he is not Saban.  He would be a good option as he turned UW into a real football program but has had limited success at Bama.  He is in the playoffs and not really hirable at the moment, even though Georgia took him to the woodshed last weekend. 

#4 - Kenny Dillingham - Young coach with a huge upside. Down side is this would be a huge job for him with just head coaching experience at ASU.  I love the ceiling but he could be another crash and burn young guy.  

#5 -  Jedd Fisch - Turned around Arizona but has struggled at UW.  I liked him better as a candidate after Arizona but he would bring head coaching experience and a ton of coaching experience in total.  Good Shit Jedd could easily be a t-shirt. 

#6 - Brent Key - He went to Tech so it might be a tough pull but the guy has won a lot of football games at an academic institution.  I wouldn't be excited about it but I wouldn't hate it either. 

Stop talking about these guys:  Meyer, Kelly, Miles and Gruden.  I also don't see Louisville's Jeff Brohm being a fit but could be in consideration.  Unbelievable bad timing for Matt Campbell. 

Michigan's Regents need to figure out very fast what they want to do with Warde as the AD has to hire the new coach very quickly.  

Michigan has to re-secure their recruiting class and the portal opens in early January.   They need to add depth and keep their current roster from jumping.  

Did I mentioned they have a silly exhibition on New Years Eve as well?

Conclusion:

If you want to hire a coach today, its Jedd.   If you are willing to wait a few weeks, DeBoer is an option.  The high ceiling guys like Minter and Dillingham might be too risky coming off the issues the programs has had the last few years. 

Michigan Thursday: Tries To Make Sense of The Situation

I'm having a hard time with this.  Our world as Michigan Football fans got turned upside down in what seemed like 3 hours yesterday.  When a musician, comedian, or actor does something criminal, we say "can you separate the art from the artist?"  Many can not.  I will try to do that today.   Because that is the only way I can see through this fog. 

The Job as Michigan Head Football Coach 

From day 1, I have been consistent in saying this job is too big for Sherrone.  It's too big for most football coaches.  This job ate up Gary Moeller, Rich Rod, Brady Hoke, and now Sherrone.  Bo, Lloyd, and Jim were far from perfect but they understood what it took to be the Michigan Head Football Coach.  This is not just a football job, its being the CEO of a very large Football Organization.  Very few coaches are ready for that responsibility or can handle it if they are lucky to find themselves with that role.   Sherrone was gifted this role and that was a mistake from day 1. 

The signs were evident quickly.  Sherrone completely went into his first season without a QB and not finding anyone in the portal that could pass the ball.  He also hired a unhireable DC from the NFL, who will make $2.7M next season.   Now that season did have some highlights but what many saw was a defense that could've been the best ever and an offense that might have been the worst ever.  

This season Sherrone again screws up the QB situation in the portal.  He signs a QB with an injury that would not allow him to play this season.   So the plan of Bryce learning and becoming the starter, is thrown out the window and suddenly Bryce is the starting QB days after his 18th birthday.  

Something was off this season but it was hard to put a finger on it.  Michigan seemed to play free and loose when Biff was the head coach but differently when Sherrone was running the show.  We took that as the unpredictability of a young team.  But maybe it wasn't?  Jack Tuttle went on the Wolverine Wire Podcast early this season and said that Sherrone had lost the locker room.  Nobody really believed it.  Now it looks to be true.  The job was to big for him.  Sherrone's situation also seemed to be the worst kept secret at Michigan.  National Media seemed to know and even John U Bacon had heard rumblings for years.  The job was too big for him. 

Then yesterday happened.  The investigation into Sherrone's improper contact with a staff member caused him to be fired with cause.  Then there was a incident at the staffers house later that afternoon that caused the police to be called and Sherrone spending the night in jail under protective custody.  A horrible conclusion to a horrible day.  

It's time for Warde to move on.  I've never been a fan of Warde's as he has been at the center of scandals with the football, basketball, and hockey programs.  He brought us Dusty, which I'm very thankful for.  But has mismanaged pretty much every other situation.  Warde being the head of the CFP last season was laughable. A clear move by a bunch of over paid AD's, that couldn't read a room if their life depended on it.   The Regents need to do their job and remove him as early as today.   Michigan Athletics needs a Jim Hackett type of leader now and I expect the Regents understand that. 

I will get into my top candidates for this job later today. 

The Man

Sherrone had the worst day imagiable yesterday.  He lost his job, his career, millions of dollars, his family, and his temporary freedom all in one day.   I don't want to guess at his current state of mind, but it looks like he had a mental breakdown where he wanted to hurt himself or others.  He started the day expecting to prepare to face Texas and ends up in jail that night.

Now, clearer heads will say that Sherrone brought this on himself.  Which he did.  This situation seems to be happening at an alarming rate at many programs across the country.  Everyday it seems there is a similar story about a coach or AD resigning or getting fired for improper contact with a player or staff member.  Still that is not an excuse for what happened yesterday. 

When you put a person in a role like this when they are not ready, it can destroy them.  It drove Moeller to have an incident at a Southfield Bar, RR's break down at the awards ceremony, Hoke losing control of his team.  They lose the line between this being their job and their life.  Your life is at home with your family, your job is at Stadium and Main.  The job was too big for all of them.

Warde needs to take some blame for this.  If he had to pick between the two coordinators, I still believe Jesse would have been a better choice.  His father who was on staff, was the head coach of ND.  If there is a similar situation to Michigan, ND is a good comp.  

As a man, I feel awful for Sherrone and his family today.  They have very young children. As a Michigan fan, we all sort of knew Sherrone was on borrowed time.  Sherrone was about to start his make it or break it 3rd year.  Michigan now has to move fast with many decisions.  We will get into the next steps later today.  

Breaking News: Michigan Fires Sherrone Moore for Cause

 

More to come as the story continues to break.  Terrible time to look for a new coach.   

I have one wish for Christmas now, please bring Jesse Minter to Ann Arbor!   Please!!!