<p>Our AD is about to retire, our football team is not improving as it should and RR does not seem to be made of the "stuff" our alums and students expect of their head coach. Assuming RR does not turn things around DRAMATICALLY next year (an improvement to 6-6 or 7-5 won't do, especially if we still lose to MSU and OSU), there is a chance, albeit not a great one, that our new AD (I hope it will be Carr) will fire RR and bring in a new coach. </p>
<p>I must admit that when RR was hired, I was excited. I never bought into the whole "modernization" of the Michigan program. I was always a Carr fan, and he was not about medernizing. I still believe that a tradional drop-back QB is the best way to run an offense. But I thought RR was a good coach who could do interesting new things with our program while adhering to those things we hold dearest (things that Carr so perfectly executed on); values, integrity, hard-nosed football, loyalty and pride. Although I do not pretend to know what is happening in the locker room, I have not seen much evidence that RR is capable of carrying the torch. I always believe that a coach needs 3 seasons to make his case, but RR has already had two seasons, and I have not seen much progress. In fact, it would appear that our team has regressed in the last 7 games. Our program is so powerful that it can handle another season or two of mediocrity, but beyond that, the damage could become hard to fix. As it stands, a good coach could come into Michigan and fix things within 2 seasons. If RR is not the man fo the job and he remains beyond the 2010 or 2011 seasons, the damage will take more than 2 years to fix. </p>
<p>So, who would be a good next coach for the program? I have two leading candidates:</p>
<p>1) Les Miles. Obviously, he would be awesome. He was everybody's first choice two years ago. He has ties to Michigan football, both as a player (OL in the 70s) and as a coach (9 seasons as an assistant coach), so he really understands Michigan football. He also has a great coaching record, having won a NC and done well in the SEC, and given his exposure to the South, he would be an effective recruiter in states like Alabama, Louisiana, Florida and Texas, where we have had a tough time recruiting in the past. However, he is no longer that young (he would be 58 years old if he were hired for the 2011) and the likelyhood he would leave LSU for Michigan is unlikely, considering that LSU is a program of equal stature to Michigan's. However, if he accepts, there is a very good chance he would stay until he retires as a coach is not likely to jump ship once he turns 60.</p>
<p>2) Jim Harbaugh. I must confess that when his name was thrown into the mix two years ago, I was not excited. He was a new coach and had not yet proven himself. However, since then, he has shown that he can recruit effectively and that he can coach. Stanford is now 7-3 and has beaten solid teams without having any embarassing losses. If he can maintain this sort of record for the next year, I think he would possibly be the top choice. He is a Michigan man through and through, the alums love him (even if he shot his mouth off about Michigan lack of academic expections of their football players), he is relatively young (46) and energetic and he understands Michigan football. Given his love for Michigan and the fact that Michigan would be a promotion over his current Stanford job, there is a high probability that he would accept the job. The only problem with Harbaugh is that he has not yet proven himself. Yes, he just beat two top 10 teams in a row, but I would like to see him duplicate this kind of success for at least another season.</p>
<p>Ideally, Les Miles would come in for a 5 - 7 year period with Harbaugh taking over the reigns in 5 years. Obviously, that is a pipe dream, but hey...one can always dream right?</p>
. Les Miles is an awful coach; trust me you don’t want him.</p>