CFB insider sheds light on timeline for Michigan coaching search
By David Wasson
Published:
As the seismic firing of Sherrone Moore by Michigan continued to reverberate across college football, ESPN’s Pete Thamel said Thursday on The Pat McAfee Show that the Wolverines’ job is still a premier opportunity.
“Michigan is one of the best jobs in college football, and obviously in this era has myriad resources that it can leverage,” Thamel said. “We saw that with the Bryce Underwood signing last year. It also comes at a time where we have seen about a dozen power jobs open and big coaches move, and about a half-dozen really high-profile coaches get extensions or get close to being extended.
“So, in theory, the pool for Michigan is smaller than it would have been if the job had opened in the traditional hiring and firing timeline.”
Thamel went on to say that the Wolverines will likely want to gauge Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer’s possible interest before working through any other coaches on their target list.
“I was told this morning that the timing won’t quell Michigan’s ambitions. Michigan, institutionally, feels like it can still go get a great coach,” Thamel said. “Michigan officials are in shock right now. It is hard to overstate the human nature to this here. I don’t expect a decision in 48 hours, in terms of having to gather yourself. There’s going to be a lot of board input on this. How much say does (Michigan AD) Warde Manuel have in this hire going forward will be a question.
“It is going to be, from a pure football standpoint, perhaps the most compelling search in this whole cycle.”
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
