Who could replace Sherrone Moore as Michigan football head coach?
After some internet rumblings indicating that there was some trouble behind the scenes with Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore, it proved to be true. Moore was summarily fired, for cause, by the Wolverines on Wednesday for having an inappropriate relationship with a staffer. Thus, just one week after the maize and blue signed the new class in Ann Arbor, Michigan is in need not only of a head coach, but someone to hold everything together.
While the bad news is that the coaching cycle has somewhat concluded, with Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Ole Miss, Michigan State, and Penn State all filling their vacant positions — thus meaning some potential candidates are off the board — now the Wolverines essentially have an attractive job open and could look to poach a high-level coach from elsewhere.
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Here are five names we would look at if we’re Warde Manuel.
Kalen DeBoer – Alabama
While new Penn State hire Matt Campbell was our preferred choice if Moore was fired, 1B would be DeBoer at Alabama.
While the second-year Crimson Tide head coach has his team in the College Football Playoff, it appears to be a bit of a rocky marriage in Tuscaloosa, with not everyone on board following the unbelievable run by Nick Saban. Though he’s done an OK job at Alabama, OK is not good enough there. And DeBoer has been incredibly successful everywhere else he’s been, with a 123-19 record overall and a 19-7 record with the Tide. DeBoer appears to be a better fit in Ann Arbor than Tuscaloosa, so this could be a marriage that would work, if he was willing to depart his current job.
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Clark Lea – Vanderbilt
Lea is at his alma mater and just signed an extension. But if there was a job that could get him to consider departing, it’s Michigan. Lea has quickly turned the worst team in the SEC to a borderline College Football Playoff team with a bona fide Heisman Trophy candidate. The idea of going to a place that has the potential to attract more talent, and one with deeper pockets, could be enticing for the Commodores alum.
It may take a lot to pry him away, but it would be a call worth making.
Jedd Fisch – Washington
Could the prodigal son return home?
Fisch was the pass game coordinator under Jim Harbaugh in 2015-16 before departing for the UCLA offensive coordinator role in 2017. He’s since risen up the ranks, having taken Arizona from nothing to something, before departing the Wildcats for the Huskies. He’s done a decent job taking over for DeBoer following his abrupt departure following the national championship game loss to Michigan. However, it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing, with losses to pretty much every team with a pulse this year.
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But, Fisch knows Ann Arbor, and what the culture at Michigan. He’s a bright, younger talent and has the requisite experience to not only hold things together but to build up a team, like he did with Arizona.
Rhett Lashlee – SMU
A somewhat off-the-radar choice here, Lashlee is a former Arkansas quarterback who has done a great job in Dallas with a team that hasn’t exactly done much since the Pony Express. Last year, he got the Mustangs to the playoff, having gone 11-3 for two straight years in a very difficult place to win. A longtime offensive coordinator (he preceded Chip Lindsey at Auburn), he’s done a masterful job — enough to earn a two-year extension with SMU. He could be worth looking at.
Joe Brady – Buffalo Bills
Floated by Devin Gardner as a potential head coach on a recent episode of The Blueprint Podcast, Brady is the former LSU offensive coordinator and current OC for Josh Allen and the Bills. Yes, it would be another first-time head coach taking over, but given what he’s done at multiple locations now — in college and the NFL — he could be an intriguing hire for Michigan football if they want someone who could likely take over an NFL program in due time if he isn’t scooped up beforehand.