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Michigan Coaching Speculation

808 Buck

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Not sure how the mods want to handle this, but I wouldn't mind having a thread to discuss this topic, rather than individual threads popping up all over. Obviously, Miles is a leading candidate. I'd throw DeBord and English's names in there, if 6xLoyd has any say in the matter. Brian Kelly may be a player. I will be interested to see if any UM people are still interested in Harbaugh. Keep any eye on Mike Trgovac, (ex-UM player, Panthers DC, another Youngstown product). Another interesting thing to watch is the hiring process itself - selection committee members, establishment of a timetable, and so on. Most of the qualified candidates will still be involved in their season, so you have all types of issues arising from that (ethically, current recruits, local fanbase/media questions). A lot of eyes on Ann Arbor over the next few weeks.
 
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CHRIS SPIELMAN: Michigan needs 'high energy' guy; maybe consider Harbaugh?

November 19, 2007
FREE PRESS STAFF
Former Lions linebacker Chris Spielman, who can be heard on WBNS-AM (1460) in Columbus, Ohio, talked with WXYT-FM this past week before the Michigan-Ohio State game:
On whether this is Lloyd Carr?s last game: ?I get that feeling. ? I think he?s tired, I think if he wants to coach he?s a good coach. Some people might disagree, but I think he does a good job. I just think Lloyd Carr is going to retire when he feels that?s what?s best for Michigan, not necessarily what?s best for Lloyd Carr. And so I kind of get the feeling that he is, but who knows? We?ve talked about that last year, the year before. It?s going to be Coach Carr?s decision but it almost seems like this is the time to do it and if you?re a Michigan fan and a Michigan player, what better way to send your coach out with a victory over Ohio State??



Cont...
 
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THE CANDIDATES: Who will replace Carr? The men U-M might consider

November 19, 2007
FREE PRESS STAFF SERVICES
Les Miles; Louisiana State head coach
PRO: Former U-M player under Bo Schembechler and assistant coach has spoken in the past of his desire to coach in Ann Arbor. Is considered open to any type of offense and defense and has a history of hiring top coordinators. LSU is ranked No..1 and is a strong recruiter. Also won as Oklahoma State coach.
CON: Timetable is an issue because if the Tigers stay No..1, they will play in the BCS title game Jan..7. He?s unlikely to leave during a championship run and U-M might need a coach sooner. LSU can make a strong financial push to keep him if he wins title. Faces $1.25 million buyout to come to U-M (but $0 for any other school).

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Kirk Ferentz; Iowa head coach

PRO: Rebuilt Iowa into a Big Ten title contender, was hired at Iowa by U-M president Mary Sue Coleman, is close with Carr. Has NFL experience as an assistant. Knows the Big Ten. Has strong defensive teams and has recruited elite talent out of Detroit area. Clean reputation in recruiting and regarding NCAA rules.

CON: Has struggled this season to a 6-6 record and faced a number of off-field problems with his players. Makes nearly $3 million a year, almost double what Carr makes.

Mike DeBord; U-M offensive coordinator

PRO: Knows ins and outs of U-M?s program, would likely be able to keep U-M?s strong recruiting class, would probably keep the staff mostly intact. Was Division I head coach at Central Michigan. Close friend of Carr.

CON: Struggled at CMU (12-34). U-M offense failed to meet preseason expectations this year. Might be too close to Carr, not enough change for some observers.

Ron English; U-M defensive coordinator

PRO: Defense has played strong for long stretches during his two seasons as coordinator. Is an excellent recruiter and is dynamic, especially on the West Coast. Loved by his players.

CON: No head coaching experience. Defense has suffered major breakdowns at end of last season and beginning of this one.

Jim Harbaugh; Stanford head coach

PRO: Former U-M quarterback. Longtime NFL quarterback. Was ultra-successful at non-scholarship University of San Diego in a scholarship league. Has turned around Stanford in just first year, upsetting then-No..1 USC.

CON: Publicly criticized U-M football program for its academic standards this summer. Has only one season of Division I coaching.

Jeff Tedford; California head coach

PRO: Is considered an offensive innovator and has won, pushing Cal into Pac-10 contention after decades of ineptitude. Has an escape clause from his $1.5-million-a-year contract if facility upgrades are not met.

CON: Has no Midwest roots and has given no indication that he wants to leave the West Coast.

Greg Schiano; Rutgers coach

PRO: Built Rutgers into a Big East title contender in less than a decade. Has elite experience and strong recruiting from his days as a Miami (Fla.) assistant. Makes less than Carr?s $1.6 million.

CON: Passed on Miami job last year, speculated to be waiting for the Penn State job to open when Joe Paterno retires. Was a Penn State assistant.

OTHERS

Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Mike Trgovac (former U-M player).

Miami Dolphins coach Cam Cameron (former U-M assistant).

Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly (former Grand Valley State and Central Michigan coach).
 
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Whatever Carr says Monday, one thing he will not say is this: "I hope Les Miles replaces me." And he won't say it to Martin or higher-ups, either.
People inside the program say there is a rift between Carr and Miles. Just because Miles played for Bo Schembechler does not mean he would have been Schembechler's choice to run the program.
At this point, I think Carr realizes his successor is not going to come from within the program. But that doesn't mean it has to be Les Miles.
This is where Carr still holds some cards. I think he will time his announcement based on what he thinks is best for the future of the program. Part of that is recruiting. Part of that is the hiring process.
 
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LSU chancellor Sean O'Keefe: Miles not interested in Michigan

November 19, 2007
By Glenn Guilbeau
Louisiana Gannett News
BATON ROUGE ? Talk is growing hot again at Michigan about football coach Lloyd Carr possibly resigning at the end of the season, but LSU coach Les Miles is not talking.
"Nothing's changed," Miles said after practice Tuesday regarding a possible opening at his alma mater. "And nothing's going to change."



Cont...


LSU chancellor Sean O'Keefe, meanwhile, said he is not concerned at all about Miles leaving LSU for Michigan.

"From what he's expressed to me recently, Les is very happy at LSU and not interested in Michigan," O'Keefe said Tuesday. "He's extremely pleased with his contract and with the support from the university he has received."

Miles contract was restructured in the summer of 2006, increasing his salary from $1.3 million a year to the current $1.8 million a year. But O'Keefe said LSU will not hesitate to make more adjustments should the need arise.

"We'll do what we need to do so that he can remain as happy as he is," O'Keefe said. "I'm certainly amenable to discussing anything with Les Miles. But I can tell you he absolutely wants to be right where he is now."
 
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FLASHBACK: Close friend of LSU's Miles: 'I think Les will consider (U-M job) strongly'

Miles' former player at Okla. State: 'He was never an Oklahoma State Cowboy, and I don?t think that he?s an LSU Tiger right now. I think he?s always going to be a Michigan man.'

November 19, 2007
By PETE THAMEL
New York Times
Editor's note: This story originally published October 5, 2007

BATON ROUGE, La. ? From his stiff-brimmed hat to his fiery demeanor and hands-on style, Louisiana State University coach Les Miles embodies the old-school discipline that Bo Schembechler defined for 21 seasons at Michigan.
Miles has emerged as one of the country?s most prominent coaches. His Tigers are ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press poll and will play host to No. 9 Florida in a key Southeastern Conference game on Saturday. But a large question looms across the college football landscape: Will Miles step into his mentor?s shoes as the next Michigan coach?



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?When and if the opportunity comes up, I think Les will consider it strongly,? said John Wangler, a former Michigan quarterback and a close friend of Miles. ?I don?t think there?s reason to tap dance around it. He?d have to look at it seriously.?
 
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PAT FORDE: Michigan can do better than Les Miles if it has to replace Carr

November 18, 2007
FREE PRESS STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES
ESPN.com's Pat Forde talked with WDFN-AM this week about Michigan:


On LSU coach Les Miles, a possible contender for the Michigan job, if it opens: Good recruiter? Yes. Gutsy? Yes. Perhaps insane? Maybe. But I don?t watch his teams play and say wow that?s an extraordinary well prepared team with a great game plan that?s going to out smart you. I was there when they loss to Kentucky and I mean they had a running back Charles Scott, who ran the ball five times in the first half for 91 yards and touched it two more time. What are you doing, give the guy the ball, he?s hot as blazes, he can?t be stopped, and they don?t give him the ball. I just don?t understand the way he goes about things. I don?t think he?s a bad coach by any means. He is a great recruiter I think and he?s kind of kept that pipeline going that Nick Saban got started into LSU, they got talent on top of talent there. I would not figure that your getting him and your going to immediately out coach Jim Tressel or Urban Meyer, people like that.

On if Michigan can do better than Les Miles: I think they would have the opportunity to. I think they would get the cream of the crop of people. Les Miles will certainly be there. I have a very good idea that if this came open a couple of years ago (Atlanta Falcons coach) Bobby Petrino would have crawled up there. That?s the guy who can X and O with anybody I?ve ever seen in the game. You may be able to get like Jeff Teford who maybe is worn out with trying to get facilities upgrades at California, who I think is a great strategist. I think there are a lot of options out there that you wouldn?t just have to go with Les Miles. Now, he?s got the pedigree, he wants the job. Would he be a terrible choice? No.
 
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CPD

Coaching becomes a young man's racket

11/19/2007, 4:29 a.m. ESTBy JIM LITKE
The Associated Press
(AP) ? One of the four or five best coaching jobs in football is open, beginning today. Lloyd Carr could have stayed on at Michigan for as long as he wanted, yet at age 62, what he wanted to do was leave now. That says as much about the state of the college game as it does about Carr.
At a time when some members of the profession cheat to hang onto average jobs and some lie to lock up good ones ? see Saban, Nick, and the University of Alabama ? Carr walked away from one of the finest on his own terms. No one was holding the door open for him. Carr reworked his contract last winter so he could retire as coach after this season, accept another job at the university and collect deferred compensation. Then, he secured a deal guaranteeing his assistants will be paid through next season, whether Carr's successor keeps them around or not.


Cont...
 
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rocketman;1000068; said:
Miles does not have an out in his contract at LSU. In fact just the opposite - he will have to pay $1.5 Million out of his pocket to leave if he accepts the head coaching spot at scUM.

Really? alot of people have been saying the opposite...

The reason I want to know this is for ammo for yet another Big 10 vs SEC debate in my office.... haha.
 
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Maybe it's the John Cooper vs. Jim Tressel thing with me, but I think Michigan would be better off looking for a coach from the MAC or an FCS coach. The guy who's currently at Cincinnati would be a good choice. But would he leave after only 1 year there?

An OC or DC would be good for continuity with the existing players. The problem is that just as Ohio State wanted to distance themselves from John Cooper as much as possible, Michigan may want to do the same. The current OC and DC can get jobs elsewhere, I'm sure (just having the name "Michigan" on the resume is going to impress a lot of teams).
 
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