Review of Week Two

Les Miles, LSU @ Vanderbilt

The Tigers pounded the ball on the ground and the defense dominated as LSU beat Vanderbilt 27-3 in their SEC opener. Steven Ridley rushed for a career high 159 yards and a touchdown, most of it in the second half. The LSU defense held the Commodore offense to just 135 yards and came up with 6 sacks. Jordan Jefferson went 8/20 for 98 yards and an interception.

Outlook: This is the sort of thing I expected. Unlike last week, LSU dominated late and didn’t let up, scoring 17 of their points in the 4^th quarter. Jefferson was again less than impressive, but the Tiger’s run game was the difference. They dominated the ground game on both sides of the ball. Next week they play Mississippi State at home.

Greg Schiano, Rutgers @ Florida International

Mohamed Sanu and Joe Lefeged helped lead the Scarlet Knights to a 19-14 win in Miami. Sanu, a wide receiver, lined up as a “wildcat” quarterback, throwing for one TD and rushing for another in the fourth quarter to take the lead. He ended the game with 93 all purpose yards. Lefeged, a safety, had a career game, with an interception, two forced fumbles, and two blocked punts. He also was a factor in the return game, gaining 50 yards on four returns (2 punts and two kicks). Running back Joe Martinek, star of the season opener against Norfolk St, left the game late in the 4^th quarter with a leg injury. He rushed 14 times for only 28 yards.

Rutgers were outgained 371-172, but were able to hold on thanks to 5 FIU turnovers and 126 yards of penalties.

Outlook: Ugly. I expected a better performance by the Scarlet Knights. In week one, they had a powerful run game, rushing 50 times for 5.4 yards per rush. This week, they only rushed 38 times, and gained a weak 2 yards per rush. The loss of their starting running back for any time could be very problematic. The defense had a strong game, holding FIU to 14 total points and only 59 yards of offense in the second half. Rutgers has the week off, then plays UNC on Sept 25.

Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern v. Illinois St

Dan Persa passed for 240 yards and two TDs, plus ran for a touchdown as Northwestern hammered Illinois St 37-3. The Wildcats jumped out to a 30-3 lead at half. The Redbirds struggled, committing four turnovers. Persa appeared on only one second half drive. Arby Fields rushed 22 times for 96 yards and a touchdown

Outlook: Northwestern’s offense looked better, and the defense shut down a less than stellar Illinois State squad. Dan Persa’s been a beast through two games passing for 462 yards and completing over 86% of his passes. He’s also scored 5 total touchdowns and rushed for 95 yards. Northwestern plays at Rice this week, where they’ll face former Michigan back Sam McGuffie.

Jim Harbaugh, Stanford @ UCLA

Andrew Luck passed for two touchdowns while UCLA’s quarterbacks combined for 81 yards and two picks as Stanford rolls the Bruins 35-0 to open Pac 10 play. UCLA had five drives go for longer than 30 yards, but were unable to score. The Cardinal dominated the ground game, rushing 49 times for 211 yards. UCLA’s offensive woes continue into a second game, as the Stanford defense smothered the Bruins’ young quarterbacks.

Outlook: Harbaugh keeps gaming. After using a 4-2-5 base defense last week, he returned to the base 3-4 for UCLA. His offense keeps putting up points, and his defense has done well thus far. They could win the Pac-10 at this rate. The Oct 2^nd matchup with Oregon will be very telling. The next test is the high-flying Wake Forest offense, who rank 4^th in rushing offense.

Chris Petersen, Boise State (Off this week, at Wyoming next weekend)

Coach Preview #5: From Guarantees to Trees

Next up is Jim Harbaugh, the man many seem to want as Michigan’s next head coach. In many ways, he’s not unlike Pat Fitzgerald with the challenges that face him at Stanford—recent successes in a top conference with academic limits.

Ties to Michigan

Harbaugh was a three year starter for Bo Schembechler in the 1980s. In his four year career, he passed for 5449 yards, 31 touchdowns with a career 62.4% completion %. As starter, Harbaugh lead Michigan to back-to-back wins over hated rival Ohio State. As starter, Harbaugh compiled a 21-3-1 record. In his senior year, the Wolverines reached the Rose Bowl, while Harbaugh earned First Team All-America honors, was named the Big Ten Player of the Year, and finished third in Heisman Trophy voting. His father, Jack Harbaugh, was an assistant on Bo Schembechler’s staff.

Oh yeah, and Harbaugh may have made a little guarantee that his Wolverines team would defeat OSU in 1986… and delivered.

Coaching Career

While still playing in the NFL (where he had a solid 15 year career, and had the Colts within one play of a Super Bowl pre-Manning.), Harbaugh served as an unpaid assistant coach at Western Kentucky under his father from 1994-2001. He primarily scouted and recruited high school prep prospects in several states.

In 2002, Harbaugh took a job as the Oakland Raiders’ QB coach. In his first year, the Raiders went 11-5 and reached Super Bowl XXXVII. In 2004, Harbaugh was hired as the head coach of the University of San Diego. In three seasons, he led the Toreros to a 29-6 record, winning back to back Pioneer League championships.

In December 2006, Stanford named Harbaugh their newest head coach. He took over a program which hadn’t reached a bowl game or had a winning season since 2001 under Tyrone Willingham. The Cardinal went 4-8 in his first season, but upset then #2 USC 24-23. The next year, Stanford improved, going 5-7. In 2009, on the back of Heisman contender Toby Gerhart, the Cardinal went 8-5, with a 55-21 victory over Pete Carroll’s USC Trojans, its biggest loss since 1966. In the fourth quarter, after a Stanford touchdown, Harbaugh went for two, which would have put them up 50-21. This, combined with certain comments about Pete Carroll helped place Harbaugh as a major enemy of the Trojans. Harbaugh has gone 4-5 against Cal, Notre Dame, and USC in three years.

Since taking over the Cardinal, Harbaugh has been a top recruiter, placing Stanford in the top 50 three straight years. This is even more impressive with the academic history and standards at Stanford. Furthermore, while working for his father at Western Kentucky, Harbaugh recruited 17 players on their Div 1-AA National Championship team.

(Years     Rivals.com ranking)

2007       not ranked
2008       #50
2009       #20
2010       #26
2011       #6 (preseason)

Outlook

Jim Harbaugh is a firecracker—period. He infuriated Ohio State with his guarantee for a win. He infuriated Pete Carroll and the USC faithful in recent years, both with two major upsets and his comments to the public. He incensed Michigan fans with his comments about the academic standards for the Wolverines program in 2007. There’s no doubt of his confidence—sometimes he takes it to the extent of pure arrogance.

That being said, Harbaugh’s a great offensive coach, and his offense would bring Michigan back to a more traditional system than Rich Rodriguez’s spread option. He has a background playing and no-nonsense attitude could be of value to the Wolverines. If his comments about UM’s athletic academics are accurate, his background at Stanford could help him improve his alma mater to build better men, not just strong football teams. That being said, he’s not had great defenses at Stanford. We’ve got an offense-first coach already. Can he stop Big Ten offenses, or will he try to win in shootouts every week?

While saying he would like to coach at Stanford for a long time, Harbaugh has never once denied he would take the Michigan job if offered to him. Much rumor and innuendo surround a potential “Michigan clause” in his current contract, which would allow him to leave the program to coach the Wolverines. He’s definitely a “rah-rah” sort of coach who tries to build the right sort of culture, like a certain former Michigan coach who he might have met once or twice. Someday, his “we bow to no program here at Stanford” comment might become comparable to “Those Who Stay Will Be Champions.”

One other thing to think about with Harbaugh—rivalries are just as much about the coaches on the sideline as the teams on the field. Without Woody v. Bo, the OSU-Michigan rivalry doesn’t have as much wonder and power, admit it. Think about the quiet, conservative, eternally political Mr. Tressel going against the brash, caution-to-the-wind media persona of Harbaugh. It makes for great TV and stories. Diametrical opposites facing off leading bitter rivals. While I’m not the biggest fan of him becoming the next coach here, he’s as close to a front runner as exists right now. He’s got the pedigree, experience, personality, and skills to be the head man. And let’s face it; he could become beloved if he brought Michigan back to the national stage they held not too long ago.

Week One Review

This blog is going to be a little bit different from the earlier ones. As I said last week, I’d take a look at how some of the potential coaches are doing this year.

Les Miles, LSU v. UNC

LSU held off a late push by a suspension-depleted UNC team 30-24 in Atlanta. The Tigers got off to a quick start, going up 30-10 at half. They were unable to sustain a drive in the second half, gaining only 78 yards on 28 plays. After slowing down UNC’s offense throughout the game, the LSU defense gave up 230 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Tar Heels were a Zack Pianalto catch away from winning the game.

Outlook: This game’s end surprised and disappointed me. LSU got off to a lead, but then seemed to shut it down, which almost cost them the game. I expected Les Miles’ team to keep pushing, especially with the NCAA suspensions against UNC. I’ll be eager to see how they do against Vanderbilt this week. They’re on the road and they are the better team. If they play down to their competition, this could be the end of the Les Miles era.

Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern @ Vanderbilt

The Wildcats won a close game on the road to open their season, 23-21. Dan Persa lead the Wildcats on offense, going 19-21 for 222 yards and 3 TDs through the air while rushing for 82 yards. Three different receivers caught TD passes against the Commodore defense. The Commodores out gained Northwestern 432-365, but they were unable to take control of the game. Vanderbilt failed on a 2^nd quarter PAT and two second half 2-pt conversions that would have tied the game.

Outlook: Northwestern has been talked up as being a middle of the pack Big Ten team, while Vanderbilt, under first year head coach Robbie Caldwell, is likely going to be among the weakest in the SEC. I honestly expected a bigger win for the Wildcats, but a win is a win. I’m hoping to see a stronger defense the rest of the year. Saturday they take on Illinois State at Ryan Field, which should be a big win for Pat Fitzgerald’s squad.

Greg Schiano, Rutgers v. Norfolk St

As can be expected Rutgers rolled against Norfolk St 31-0. Running back Joe Martinek rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown while Joe Savaged passed for 148 yards and a touchdown. Rutgers demolished Norfolk St, outgaining them 422 yards to 156 and 37:41 TOP to 22:19. Norfolk went 0-12 on 3^rd down. 25 of RU’s points came in the second half.

Outlook: Schiano’s team was the better squad and they showed it. The defense dominated, holding Norfolk to only two drives for more than 18 yards and only one of 6 or more plays. With the Big East looking very weak this first week, and Rutgers having a pretty easy nonconference schedule, the Scarlet Knights could win the conference. They have a road game at FIU this week.

Chris Petersen, Boise St v. Virginia Tech

Whether you were cheering for or against them, Boise State pulled off a close win against the Hokies on Monday night on a “neutral site” 33-30. Virginia Tech handed Boise a 17-0 lead early on several special teams mistakes, a shocker for a Frank Beamer team. The Hokies got into the game in the second quarter and outscored the Broncos 30-16. The game was a battle of quarterbacks, as Heisman candidate Kellen Moore completed 23 of 38 passes for 215 yards and 3 touchdowns, including the game winner. VTech’s Tyrod Taylor went 15/22 and 186 yards passing and 2 touchdowns and 73 yards rushing.

Outlook: This was an insanely exciting game to watch, and honestly the only one I was able to watch entirely. I was underwhelmed with Kellen Moore throughout most of the game, as many of his passes seemed to be off. On that last drive, however, he met my expectations, leading Boise to a big win. From here, they should be favored the rest of the way, for better or worse. They get a Wyoming team next weekend coming off the death of one of their players. We’ll see how Wyoming plays this week against Texas and Boise the week after.

Jim Harbaugh, Stanford v. Sacramento St

Andrew Luck led the Cardinal in a rout of Sacramento St 52-17. Luck went 17/23 for 316 yards and a career high 4 TDs. On defense, Stanford dominated the Hornets holding them to 167 of total offense. After going into halftime with a 38-7 lead, Stanford’s offense slowed in the second half, scoring only 14 points and 151 yards of offense.

Outlook: Stanford looked to have a good game this weekend. I didn’t know the game was on and I was out and about, so I missed it. Stanford opens conference play Saturday at UCLA, which will go a long way to show how both teams will stand this year. UCLA’s breaking in a new pistol offense. If Luck can put up big numbers and the defense can smother the Bruins, it’ll go a long way to building up the Cardinal’s season.

As you can probably guess, I’ll be previewing Jim Harbaugh next. That’ll probably go up tonight or tomorrow morning. Keep a look out for it. Also, comment with any suggestions you have for the blog. I’ve been short on feedback, and I’d like to get some. Whether it’s about the format of the blog, coaches you’d like to see, other features, or anything else constructive would be welcome. Also, please comment! This isn’t as much fun without some participation from my readers. I can’t know how I’m doing without a vocal audience.

Coach Preview #4: A Coach on a Turf of a Different Color

Next up: Chris Petersen. An up and coming coach out west, Petersen has led the perennial BCS buster and WAC champion Boise State Broncos since 2006. He was contacted this past offseason by USC become Pete Carroll’s replacement, but didn’t seem interested in the big lights and glory of the Trojans.

Ties to Michigan/Big Ten

Sorry folks, there aren’t a lot here. The closest thing came in 1992, when he was Pitt’s QB coach for a season. Other than that, he’s been a West Coast guy from birth.

Coaching Career

After playing quarterback at UC Davis in the 80s, Petersen bounced around from 1987-94 with a number of offensive coaching positions. In 1995, he accepted a position to coach Oregon’s wide receivers. He stayed in that position until 2001, when he was hired as Boise State’s offensive coordinator on Dan Hawkins’ staff. When Hawkins left to coach at Colorado, Petersen took over as the Bronco’s head coach. In 5 years, Hawkins led BSU to a 53-11 (.828) record, going 2-2 in bowls. There was a fear there would be a drop off under Petersen.

Since then, the Broncos have gone 49-4 (.924), winning two BCS bowls in four years. Petersen’s lost a single conference game in his tenure, to a Hawaii team in 2007 that went to a BCS bowl. Twice, Boise’s gone undefeated and reached the Fiesta Bowl, where they beat Oklahoma in 2006 and TCU in 2009. Thanks to Petersen’s successes, Boise was invited and accepted a bid to join the Mountain West Conference, set to start in the 2011 season. Furthermore, the Broncos are preseason ranked 3^rd in the AP poll and 5^th in the coaches’ poll, in striking distance of a possible BCS championship game berth if they go undefeated.

Outlook

Much has been said about Boise State in recent year, but precious little has been said about Petersen, who prefers it that way. A low key guy, he doesn’t seem to be interested in moving onto a major program where he’d be in the spotlight. All signs point to him being happy as a Blue Turfer, where he’s a perfect fit. This doesn’t bode well for him becoming a successful Wolverine, as there is a lot of media attention placed on our football coach (Eh, RichRod?)

Dirk Koetter and Dan Hawkins, the two coaches preceding Petersen at Boise St went a combined 79-21, before going onto Arizona State and Colorado, respectively. While Koetter kept his program over .500 in his six seasons (40-34), Hawkins has been an abject failure (16-33). If buying out his contract wouldn’t cost the athletic department so much, Colorado would have fired him already. With such failure preceding him, Petersen might be best off staying put a bit longer, at least until he can build the program into the MWC’s strongest and get into a BCS championship game.

Furthermore, his lack of Big Ten experience could be troublesome, as you have to think Dave Brandon and company would have to be looking for someone who has some track record in conference. Although his players have said he gets them up for every game as a big game—“Utah State or Oklahoma … they’re going to get the same amount of focus and attention.” (Tight end Richie Brockel, Jason King’s Nov. article last year)—he hasn’t shown he can compete week in and week out in a difficult conference like the Big Ten. While the Idaho-Boise rivalry is major for them, and I won’t doubt the fervor, few things match The Game. Furthermore, BSU’s won 11 straight games and lead the series 21-17-3.

All in all, I think Petersen’s going to stick to the Blue Turf in 2011, at least for another year.

Coach Preview 3: A Wildcat Bleeds Purple… Blue’s close, right?

Next up: Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald, one of the best young coaches in college football. A star linebacker at Northwestern, Fitzgerald was part of the 1995 Big Ten Championship (and 1996 co-championship). During those seasons he also was the back-to-back winner of the Bronco Nagurski Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award, and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

Ties to Michigan

While a player, the Fitzgerald-led Wildcats went 2-0 against Michigan on their way to back-to-back Big Ten Championships. Other than playing and coaching against the Wolverines, there don’t seem to be too many apparent connections to the Maize and Blue.

Coaching Career

After a one year career in the NFL, Fitzgerald returned to the college ranks in 1998. From 98 to 2000, he served as linebacker coach at Maryland, Colorado (under his former coach Gary Barnett), and Idaho. In 2001, Fitzgerald joined Randy Walker’s staff at Northwestern as linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator. He served in that position until Walker’s death in 2006, when he was promoted to head coach.

In the four seasons since, Fitzgerald has compiled a 27-23 record, with a 15-17 conference record. While reaching bowls the past two seasons, Fitzgerald has gone 0-2, losing two close games by a total of 10 points. As head coach, Fitzgerald has gone 0-3 against Ohio State and 1-3 against Michigan State. Fitzgerald went 1-2 against Michigan in his first three years before not playing the Wolverines in 2009. He’s also gone 3-1 against in-state rival Illinois.

On the recruiting front, Fitzgerald has never finished higher in the Rivals.com class rankings than 8^th (in 2007 and 2009). Part of this can be contributed to Northwestern’s rigorous academic standards on and off the field. Despite low-rated recruiting classes, SI.com named Fitzgerald as one of the top college recruiters in 2005, while still an assistant.

Outlook

To start off, Pat Fitzgerald has given no signs he has any plans to leave Evanston for a big program. By all accounts, he seems content to stay and be the JoePa of Northwestern. He was highly regarded as a candidate to replace Charlie Weis this past year at Notre Dame, but had no interest in the job. If the Maize and Blue came calling, I would not be surprised to get a vehement no thank you from the young coach, especially because, with the new division structure, he’ll be facing his alma mater annually.

That being said, I think he could be a good fit. Foremost a defensive coach, he would right the ailing Wolverine defense. He’s coached in the Big Ten, and understands the rigors and tradition of the conference. He’s shown an ability to coach offense to the players he has, unlike a former Mountaineer who has taken several years to get the type of players he requires to do anything (I still have nightmares about Steven Threet and Nick Sheridan, folks.) For that reason, I would expect a solid first year with the Winged Helmets if he was the guy. His skill at recruiting would be even better at a major program where academics, while not as strong as at Northwestern, are still an important factor. He could definitely help Michigan become relevant again in the Big Ten. Furthermore, he’s clean in his coaching experience, and his background with Northwestern certain helps in the regard of NCAA compliance (a smart guy coaching smart guys at a smart school hopefully won’t do anything stupid.)

All in all, I doubt Fitzgerald would be willing to take the job, and I wonder how he’d do against Michigan’s major rivals, I still feel he could make a great coach for the Maize and Blue. I truly believe he can rise to the high expectations he’d face every year.

Coach Preview #2: A Scarlet Knight in Maize and Blue?

In my second coach preview, I’m taking a look at Greg Schiano, head coach for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. He was one of the coaches contacted to replace Lloyd Carr. He’s had moderate success in Piscataway, and his name is mentioned often during coaching searches.

Ties to Michigan

Bill Martin contacted Schiano in 2007 to replace Lloyd Carr as Michigan’s head coach. After a period of discussion, Schiano decided to pull his name out and stayed at Rutgers, where he’s been ever since. Other than that, Schiano served as a grad assistant and defensive backs coach at Penn State from 1990-1995. (These teams went 58-15 over that stretch, the last three of those in the Big Ten.)

Coaching Career

After serving on the Chicago Bears staff as a defensive assistant and DBs coach,  Schiano served as defensive coordinator for the Miami Hurricanes program from 1999-2000 under Butch Davis, where the U was one of the top defenses in the nation, averaging 16.35 points per game. In late 2000, Schiano agreed to become head coach for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, one of the nation’s worst programs at that time.

In his first four years, the Scarlet Knights went 12-34, with a weak 3-24 record in the Big East conference. However, in 2005, Rutgers posted a 7-5 record and reached the Insight Bowl, the school’s first winning record in a decade and first bowl since 1978. In the last four years, Schiano has led the Scarlet Knights to a 36-16 record, going 16-12 in the Big East and reaching four straight bowl games.

“Rutgers is just one of four schools in the nation to win four consecutive bowl games over the last four seasons. It’s another indication that Schiano and his staff have the program headed in the right direction.” (Greg Schiano’s bio page on the Rutgers football website)

In 2006, Schiano led the Scarlet Knights to an 11-2 record, winning seven different awards for coach of the year, including the Big East Coach of the Year and Liberty Mutual National Coach of the year. Since 2005, Schiano has gone 6-2 against major Big East rivals Syracuse and UConn, while going 3-1 against Pitt. Nevertheless, his 0-8 record against West Virginia and Cincinnati, Big East champions four out of the last five seasons, is some cause for alarm.

From 2002 to 2010, Schiano’s recruiting classes averaged a 3.89 place finish in the Big East, with four straight 3^rd place recruiting classes from 2006-2009, according to Rivals.com

(Year     Rivals.com ranking)

2002       47^th
2003       45^th
2004       outside top 50
2005       outside top 50
2006       42^nd
2007       37^th
2008       46^th
2009       38^th
2010       outside top 50
2011       41^st (preseason)

Outlook

I looked at Schiano because he was considered for the job in 2007, and I think he could be a good fit in Ann Arbor. He’s shown he can turn a program around and put them in the discussion for a conference title with limited resources. Can he make the jump to one of the best programs in NCAA history? His lack of top end recruiting classes is somewhat worrisome, but with most of the top classes being in warmer climates with higher prestige than Rutgers, that might be overstated.

He’s not my first choice by any means, but I think he could have some success. He turned down UM in 2007, after turning down Miami (FL) in 2006, before Randy Shannon was hired. Some people have speculated he’s holding out to be the head man in Happy Valley when JoePa retires, but I don’t have enough information to speculate on that. He’s from NJ and went to college in PA, working with JoePa awhile back. It could be a very good fit for that program, whenever the old New Yorker calls it quits.

To close it up, he should be a candidate for the job, and could get the job, but he’s seemed content to stay in Piscataway. Time will tell if the glory of the Big Ten tempts him to jump ship, whether to Michigan or not.

Scouting Report: Round 1: Bring the Mad Hatter Home!

The first group of coaches I’m looking at shouldn’t really surprise too many people. Two were in the consideration to replace Lloyd Carr in 2007, but both turned it down. The third is an up and coming coach who has been able to create a lot with limited resources at another Big Ten school. For each coach, I’ll go through any ties they have to the Maize and Blue, what they’ve done in their coaching careers, and then my outlook for if I honestly think they could be the next coach.

Les Miles

Anyone who knows me should have known this was coming. The second I heard Kirk Herbstreit’s “breaking news” that Les Miles, a week or two before the national championship, had agreed to be the next head coach at Michigan, then saw the press conference where Miles vehemently said he wasn’t going to return to the Wolverines, my heart sank. He was, from DAY ONE, the guy I wanted to take over for Carr. Three years later, I’m still riding the LM train.

Ties to Michigan

Miles was a two year letterman under Bo Schembechler as an offensive lineman in the 70s. He served as a grad assistant with the team from 1980-81, when he left after former Michigan assistant Bill McCartney was hired as Colorado’s head coach. Miles returned as the offensive line coach from 1987-94 under Schembechler and Gary Moeller.

Coaching Career

Miles took over as Oklahoma State’s head coach in 2001. In his four years in Stillwater, he compiled a 28-21 record, while going .500 in conference play, and a 1-2 bowl record. In his first two seasons, he led the Cowboys to back-to-back upsets over the rival Oklahoma Sooners, outscoring them 54-41.

Miles was hired to replace Nick Saban at LSU in 2005. In his first three years in Baton Rouge, the Tigers went 34-6, winning the SEC West twice, as well as going 3-0 in bowl games and having three top 5 finishes in the AP poll. In 2007, LSU won the BCS National Championship, defeating Ohio State 38-24. In the two seasons since then, Miles has compiled a 17-9 record, going 8-8 in conference play. Miles went 1-5 against Florida, Alabama, and Arkansas after going 7-2 against those three in his first three years.

Miles has been one of the top recruiters in the nation at LSU. He has had a top 10 recruiting class all but two years (2005 his class was ranked 22^nd by Rivals.com, and his 2008 class was ranked 11^th by both ESPN and Rivals.com.) Since 2008, Miles has gotten 8 five-star recruits and 26 ESPN Top 150 players to commit to LSU. The 2011 class ranks 5^th in the ESPN preseason recruiting report.

(Year, ESPN ranking, Rivals.com ranking, number of 5 star recruits/ESPN Top 150 prospects)

05                     22^nd 1 5 star recruit
06           8th,  7^th 2 5 star recruits
07           6^th,  4^th,   2 5 star recruits
08           11^th, 11^th, 2 5 star recruits, 5 ESPN top 150
09           1^st, 2^nd,   4 5 star recruits, 10 ESPN top 150
10           8^th, 6^th,   1 5 star recruit,   7 ESPN top 150
11           5^th,  3^rd, 1 5 star recruit,   4 ESPN top 150 (preseason)

Outlook

Les Miles is a Michigan Man. He played and coached under Bo Schembechler, and has proven he can win big games, both at Oklahoma State and LSU. While he’s struggled to compete with Florida and Alabama in the past two years, he’s a very good recruiter, keeping many of the top prospects from Louisiana in Baton Rouge. It is my opinion he is the man to lead Michigan into the future. He should have been hired in 2007, and probably would have if not for the BCS championship game, among other reasons. The transition from Carr to  Miles would have been almost seamless.

With his seat down south getting warm, both for his “Mad Hatter” play calling and his inability to win the super-tough SEC, it’s feasible he may be more responsive to returning to Ann Arbor. It would take some time for him to recruit the men to rebuild the once mighty defense, but I think Miles is versatile enough on offense to use Rodreiguez’s skill players in a more pro-style offense. Whoever takes over will take a year or two at least to clean up the program. If Dave Brandon DOESN’T contact Miles early in the coaching search, there is something seriously wrong, and I’m going to continue to worry as a fan.

Tomorrow I’ll probably write my previews of Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald and Rutgers’ Greg Schiano.

The Beginning (a very good place to start)

Hello readers, and welcome to Coach Watch, my first step into the blogging realm.

This blog wouldn’t have happened if not for a press conference on December 17, 2007, when Michigan named Rich Rodriguez their newest head coach. While initially viewed as a good move by many (albeit the school’s fourth choice), it has been anything but thus far. RichRod has gone 8-16 in his few two season in Ann Arbor, winning only 3 games in the Big Ten while going 1-5 against Michigan’s top 3 rivals (Notre Dame, Michigan State, and Ohio State).

If this wasn’t enough, the Rodriguez regime has lead the NCAA to accuse UM of five major rules violations, the first time Michigan’s storied football program has had the NCAA investigating them. Michigan placed self-imposed sanctions in regards to violating rules on off-season practices. Rodriguez’s alma mater and former employer, West Virginia University, has also been cited for similar violations. With this dark cloud surrounding the program, I believe Rodriquez’s days are numbered at Michigan. I don’t think there is a number of games that he has to win to keep his job–he’ll be done either way. With the Big Ten growing stronger every year, especially next year with the addition of Nebraska, Michigan shouldn’t waste a fourth year on RichRod.

As a result, I decided to take a look into some possible replacements for the Wolverines program moving into 2011. I plan on profiling some possible prospective coaches, and then follow their 2010 seasons.  Hopefully, as this blog moves along, I can find some guest bloggers from other fanbases who know the coaches I’m going to be discussing better than I do.

I attached a poll to gauge people’s opinions on what it’ll take for RichRod to keep his job. Comments discussing your opinions are very welcome.