<p>11-19-2007, 12:26 AM
“The more I think about it, the less I think that Les Miles is going to come here. I really think that the top choice for the job is going to be Kirk Ferentz.”</p>
<p>Hope I am wrong about this one, but I still think that this is what going to happen. Just look at the administration’s reputation for listening to community opinion. They didn’t give a damn about what we thought about Michigan Stadium, they surely don’t give a damn about who the community thinks should be the next head coach.</p>
<p>The only reason U of M would pick up Ferentz would be MSC, and I don’t think she has as much influence over athletics as it seems many believe. Personally I think they should take a jab at Harbough if they can’t get Miles. Stanford’s done alright w/ him, and he’s head coached now for more than a few yrs.</p>
<p>This is Harbaugh’s first year at Stanfurd (and his record isn’t that great - except for the last second victory over U$C)…he said he was happy where he is.</p>
<p>WTH has Ferentz done? He doesn’t seem like a top candidate.</p>
<p>Other mentions are Greg Schiano and Brian Kelly.</p>
<p>I really doubt Ferentz is a top candidate. For one, he is barely at .500 at Iowa. Iowa doesn’t have Michigan or OSU-type talent, but they have enough talent for a good coach to manage at least a .650 overall record. Losing to Western Michigan at home this year doesn’t help his candidacy. Secondly, many of his players have had troubles with the law. No progran can escape such troubles, but in Ferentz’ case, we are talking a significant percentage of his players. I really don’t think he will be courted that heavily. Perhaps Bill Martin is including him in his list to please Mary Sue, but I doubt he will be given the job.</p>
<p>I really hope you are right Alexandre..I am just depressed because Brian at MgoBlog is rarely wrong when he announces inside informations such as this.</p>
<p>Well, it DID say that even if he was offered the job, he would likely turn it down out of loyalty to iowa, which he’d better, cuz he ain’t gonna get much loyalty comin into michigan.</p>
<p>Oh well, better than Ferentz..he would have been a disaster. Lets just hope Miles hires top assistants like he usually does. BTW, vc08 are you choosing UM over your home state school Cal?</p>
<p>FUTBIL, I am not sure I understand your misgivings about Les Miles. He is 32-6 (0.850) as head coach of LSU. That’s not bad considering the level of competition in the SEC. </p>
<p>I definitely agree should Les Miles become our next coach, I would like him to hire a great OC. Our OCs have always ben average.</p>
<p>yeah, and hopefully the recruits will stay…i think they will, Miles is known as a great competitor.</p>
<p>futbil: well, the first step would be getting into Cal lol. But I’m visiting Michigan in Feb again (I loved it in July), and if I still like it with the weather, I will most likely attend. My dad grew up in the Bay Area, so he raised us as huge Cal fans (think Cal shirts, hats, even PJs!). And my brother is there now, and loving it, but I just want to try something new. It is nothing against the university, I’ll always be their biggest fan, just want to try different weather, people, and traditions. That’s what college is all about right? I would really only choose an OOS school besides Mich if I was offered great finaid or something (which is unlikely, seeing that the other schools I applied to were top publics as well, except 2), but even then, Mich would be hard to turn down.</p>
<p>Well, the Ferentz talk has really died down, and now it is all about Les Miles. I think it is looking like he’s the guy…either that, or this is just a ploy to say they at least listened to the community and gave him a shot.</p>
<p>You would think all of the recruits would stay with Miles, but that is up in the air. In fact, I’ve seen on Rivals that if Miles is hired, Sam McGuffie will not remain a U-M commitment and would likely head to Texas A&M. When other teams tried to get McGuffie to switch positions, Michigan told him he could stay at RB. Miles did not think McGuffie could play RB in the NCAA and did not offer him a scholarship to LSU. So if Miles is hired, I wouldn’t be too surprised if McGuffie drops.</p>
<p>McGuffie would be more dependent on whether or not Fred Jackson is retained as running back coach. Apparently he’s the one who recruited him, and a big part of why he’s coming here. Lloyd pretty much told McGuffie not to commit to Michigan based on him being the head coach, but to come for other reasons (aka, don’t count on me being here). After Lloyd retirement, McGuffie reaffirmed his commitment, but there is still the chance he backs out.</p>
<p>I actually think Les Miles is a good coach but I don’t think he is necessarily a great coach. His record is impressive, but I think Sweater will own the Hat (lets just hope I am wrong). But I watched a few LSU games this year and they all reminded me of UM teams coached under Carr, struggling to pull out a narrow win against vastly inferior opponents. I just think that UM should not settle for Miles and give out more interviews to other candidates like Petersen, Tedford, and Kelly; and perhaps even put in a phone call to some ‘unrealistic’ candidates like Meyer (He did speak very fondly of UM in a free press interview) to gauge their interests. This job doesn’t open up very often, Martin needs to do a comprehensive nationwide search like he promised rather than going with the ‘safe’ candidate. </p>
<p>Also, if it is Les, he needs to not only change the OC, but also everyone on the staff except Bedford, Jackson, and Szaboo. The ones that most def need to go are Debord, English, Loeffler, Moller, and the S&C coach (forgot his name)</p>
<p>S&C trainer is Gittleson, and he better be gone.</p>
<p>Any reason why you think Loeffler should go? Only thing I can think of is if he’s limited to developing the prototypical tall immobile white kid, and the new coach is looking at taking things in a new direction post-Mallet (maybe earlier if Mallet continues the way he’s been going).</p>
<p>“McGuffie would be more dependent on whether or not Fred Jackson is retained as running back coach. Apparently he’s the one who recruited him, and a big part of why he’s coming here.”</p>
<p>Good sources on Rivals say that McGuffie is gone, Jackson’s position does not matter. McGuffie and Miles don’t see eye-to-eye, and if Miles is hired, it looks like McGuffie will decommit for A&M.</p>
<p>Tedford, Petersen and Kelly have not really proven themselves at the highest level. Doing well in the Big East or Western Athletic Conference does not translate into doing well in the SEC or Big 10. And Tedford has done well at Cal, but he has not been consistant. Beating Tennessee and Oregon was impresive, but losing 5 of the last 6 games even if a couple of those losses were vs excellent teams, indicates that he is not necessarily an amazing coach.</p>
<p>I agree that whoever takes over at Michigan will have to hire a whole bunch of assistant coaches, particularly on Offense.</p>
<p>I am hearing that Les Miles told his team today that he will be leaving for UM. This is coming from a pretty reliable source so consider it a 90% done deal. </p>