In which I agonize over the Michigan coaching situation

[creekster]

Stanford has fans?

Of course they do, and all 342 of them showed for the game last night.

[Babs]

I agree very strange, since people who spend a lot of time in the library don't usually like or understand football.

neither do women.

I still think it's funny that Michigan could have had Les Miles if they hadn't dinkered around and dropped the ball.

[Moliere]

Les Miles is such an intersting case study. He's a Michigan man that is stuck at LSU. I get the feeling that most LSU fans would happily get rid of him, but they can't since he just wins. I bet that if/when they have a losing season they will run him out of town.

I also don't see Michigan chasing him even though he wins. The more I hear him talk, the more convinced that Miles is one of the more fortunate psychos in the world.

[Babs]

Les Miles is such an intersting case study. He's a Michigan man that is stuck at LSU. I get the feeling that most LSU fans would happily get rid of him, but they can't since he just wins. I bet that if/when they have a losing season they will run him out of town.

I also don't see Michigan chasing him even though he wins. The more I hear him talk, the more convinced that Miles is one of the more fortunate psychos in the world.

No, they won't chase him now. They had their chance with him and blew it. I think also it's a lot clearer now how much of a loose-cannon mad-hatter coach he is, and that doesn't seem like a good fit in the Big Ten.

[Hot Lunch]

Les Miles is such an intersting case study. He's a Michigan man that is stuck at LSU. I get the feeling that most LSU fans would happily get rid of him, but they can't since he just wins. I bet that if/when they have a losing season they will run him out of town.

I also don't see Michigan chasing him even though he wins. The more I hear him talk, the more convinced that Miles is one of the more fortunate psychos in the world.

It is a pretty good place to be stuck at.

[Babs]

It is a pretty good place to be stuck at.

But if only he could be at BYU!!

[Moliere]

No, they won't chase him now. They had their chance with him and blew it. I think also it's a lot clearer now how much of a loose-cannon mad-hatter coach he is, and that doesn't seem like a good fit in the Big Ten.

Right, I can't remember how much Michigan chased him before but I got the feeling taht Miles stopped that search before it really got off the ground.

I've never seen a guy that is so bad at game management and time management win so many games. I love his interviews as you can see that he is flat out insane.

As for Michigan, why not give RR one or two more years? He clearly had little talent when he was hired and he had to totally revamp the offense. His offense is very good. Michigan should let him get a revamped defense and give it two more years. If that doesn't work then can the guy and go after the next hot prospect.

[Moliere]

It is a pretty good place to be stuck at.

True, but I used hte word "stuck" given his current relationship with the fanbase. I was at the LSU/Tennessee game this year and I swear that prior to the flag being thrown for Tennessee having too many men on the field the crowd was going to rush the field and lynch the guy. He was saved by his own incompetence on that play, which incompetence completely baffled Tennessee leading to them getting a penalty.

[Hot Lunch]

But if only he could be at BYU!!

There are a couple on this board that would work extra hard to convince you it would be a great move if he could somehow make that move.

[Babs]

Right, I can't remember how much Michigan chased him before but I got the feeling taht Miles stopped that search before it really got off the ground.

I've never seen a guy that is so bad at game management and time management win so many games. I love his interviews as you can see that he is flat out insane.

As for Michigan, why not give RR one or two more years? He clearly had little talent when he was hired and he had to totally revamp the offense. His offense is very good. Michigan should let him get a revamped defense and give it two more years. If that doesn't work then can the guy and go after the next hot prospect.

Les Miles wanted Michigan really REALLY bad (all this was shaking out in Oklahoma because he was coaching at Oklahoma State at the time, so we Sooner fans had to watch it all unfold in painful detail). Michigan had hinted that it wanted Les, too, but wasn't officially looking for a coach yet. I can't remember how exactly it played out, but Michigan couldn't get its offer worked out and Les wanted to focus on his bowl game prep and by the time Michigan got its act together LSU had already made a can't-be-turned-down kind of offer to Les. Something like that. I'm still curious how much success Les could have had at Michigan if things had worked out differently.

[Hot Lunch]

True, but I used hte word "stuck" given his current relationship with the fanbase. I was at the LSU/Tennessee game this year and I swear that prior to the flag being thrown for Tennessee having too many men on the field the crowd was going to rush the field and lynch the guy. He was saved by his own incompetence on that play, which incompetence completely baffled Tennessee leading to them getting a penalty.

I understand there isn't a lot of love for Les Miles in that area. I am sure you are much closer to that situation than I am. I have a friend here in Utah that grew up in the Bayou and is a huge Bayou Bengals fan and he hates Les. I was just saying that there are worse places to be stuck and I am sure Les would entertain some offers since he isn't very well liked down there.

[woot]

I think if Harbaugh comes in, Denard will strongly consider transferring, but given Harbaugh's charisma, and given that Denard currently isn't even considered a QB for the purposes of the draft (or for B10 awards), he could be convinced that a pro-style coach training him up for a couple years is exactly what he needs.

It seems that scenario might not happen anyway, though. If Hoke comes in, I bet Denard is gone.

[Flystripper]

I view Harbaugh much like I view Bronco...I think they're both very well suited for their current positions, but don't have a lot of confidence that they'd be as effective at another school.

BM is able to focus in on BYU's unique religious atmosphere and extract the most he can out of his kids. It's a culture he understands and participates in. For Harbaugh, I think it's a little different. He is apparently an extremely charismatic guy. He is able to get his kids (all bright and athletic) to buy into his charisma and program. I'm not sure (though I don't rule out) that his style will work at Michigan, or at least, it won't work out as well.

If I'm Harbaugh, I take my 3 million a year and stay put in Palo Alto.

As a person that very much wants him to stay at Stanford, I disagree with this completely.

[woot]

It seems RR has been fired. As long as there's somebody in the pipe I'm neutral on this.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Harbaugh is either going to stay at Stanford or go to the NFL -- presumably the Niners, Broncos or even Panthers (Harbaugh and Luck come as a package deal).

It would be a mistake for him to transfer laterally to Michigan right now. Michigan's personnel wouldn't suit his system and he wouldn't have the same level of success that he's had at Stanford right away. If Michigan were patient, then I think Michigan would have the same type of season in his fourth season as Stanford has had in its fourth season. But I'm not sure if they have that kind of patience.

I think it should also be said that Stanford is a unique school in that it can beat out other schools pretty easily with a certain type of kid. In this regard, I do not view the Michigan job as superior to the Stanford job. Stanford is the best academic Div. 1 school. Its campus is gorgeous and it's in the Bay Area. In any given year, there are a number of very good recruits who are also very bright and know that getting a scholarship to Stanford presents a great opportunity. This year, Stanford has the #5 class according to scout.com and the #11 class according to rivals.com. This is the first year of immense success under Harbaugh at Stanford. They could even improve on this year's haul of recruits in future classes. It may sound strange, but I wonder whether recruiting to Michigan might actually be more difficult than recruiting to Stanford. The only question in my mind is the money -- Michigan may pay more than Stanford.

Harbaugh can go to the NFL (I think he will) and if things don't work out there, he'll still have his pick of college jobs.