MichiganCardinal

I think that if there is more to the story (as the smoke appears to indicate) that there is a way to both fire back at Gattis while being PC. Even a one or two sentence statement that there is an ongoing investigation would suffice. Twitter will do the story-telling for you.

Mike Hart seems to be the obvious replacement.

Not a good look for the program. McDonald going to the NFL is one thing. Gattis taking a lateral move to an ACC program that hasn’t been good in ages means that Michigan either wasn’t going to pay what Miami is, or that Gattis didn’t believe the success at Michigan could be replicated. Or both.

This came out after Wannstedt said that on the Colin Cowherd podcast. I've also seen other journalists say that Wannstedt "incorrectly reported" the hiring. With the smoke, Nagy was probably interviewed. But I think that's far from hired.

Can't wait to see Belichick Gase put up 50 on the Jets this season.

Vic Fangio has extensive connections with Jim and was rumored to be his pick for DC in Minnesota if Jim got/took the job. If Fangio doesn't land on his feet with a DC position in the NFL, he would be a great get for Michigan.

I think there is a difference between eluding that any white coach being hired is an example of racism, and eluding that any white coach being hired is a potential exacerbation of this problem that exists. I think the issue with the Rooney Rule is that it is all about image rather than practice. People (meaning the national media) pay attention to the GM and Head Coach searches. There are headlines for every interview, and so the Rooney Rule makes it look better that these clubs are interviewing minorities, even if they don't ultimately hire them. There are no headlines for the lower-level positions that actually feed into the positions who are ultimately hired for those positions. If Ben Johnson is hired as OC, it will make a few local headlines and quickly be out of the limelight. Further down, if the Lions are looking to hire two entry-level quality control analysts and interview five white dudes in their 20s, no one bats an eye. There is no rule being violated and outwardly no one even really knows it's happening. Ten years from now though, when the two white dudes who were hired have made their way up the organizational ladder (either with the Lions or elsewhere) and are being considered for head coaching positions across the NFL, they are likely the more qualified candidates, more likely to be hired, than their minority counterparts who were not even interviewed for that quality control position today. This is practically what happened with the Washington Commies having Shanahan, McVay, and LaFluer all on their staff. I would also argue that those lower-level positions are the more likely positions to have an interview mean something, because by the time you're being considered for a position akin to a CEO, you have a decade of experience to judge from beyond any one or two-day interview.

For what it's worth, from the outside looking in, I would also prefer Ben Johnson. If you evaluate him only as a coordinator and position coach though, Nagy has been pretty good. There is a reason the Bears hired him. On the whole, he was awful as a Head Coach. There is a long list of people who are awful as head coaches but pretty good to great coordinators, and Nagy could very well fit into that list. My only point at the end of the day is that he shouldn't be ran out of town before his flight lands if he's Campbell's ultimate pick. There is a track record to defend the pick, and Campbell has shown that he's not afraid to cut loose of people pretty quickly (Lynn) if it's not working out.

Mahomes never started under Nagy, it was all Alex Smith. Yes, he had Reid, but the line of reasoning that X had Y and Y was great eliminates a lot of quality coaches for just ones with bad mentors. Nagy also was the play-caller over Reid for parts of his two seasons as OC and did really well. Pretty sure Alex Smith played out of his mind during a stretch of Nagy’s OC tenure.

I understand why there is interest. Nagy was QB Coach and then OC of the Chiefs from 2013-2017 while they bridged their franchise with Alex Smith until they drafted Mahomes. They’re probably curious if he could work with Goff in the same way that had a lot of success with Smith. There is also probably interest now because I’m sure Pederson and the Jaguars will take him if the Lions don’t. There are connections between Pederson and Nagy that go back to Nagy’s entrance to the league as an assistant to the quality control personnel (including Pederson). If they do end up signing him, just remember that a lot of good coordinators make for god awful Head Coaches, and we shouldn’t burn him at the stake before he gets a chance to do anything.

I don’t think it’s racist per se that white coaches continue to be hired in a majority black league. I do think it’s a problem that needs to be addressed, and I don’t think finding reasons it’s not racist (and therefore not a problem) is helpful.

Austin's agent works for Austin. Agents don't go making stories about their clients without their client's consent, and more likely without their client's request.

It wouldn't surprise me. The Lions in 2018 knew they wanted Patricia from the outset in the same way the 2022 Giants knew they wanted Daboll. To be fair though, Austin was an internal interview of an outgoing regime that was terminated for performance. I think that interview is going to be inherently different than an external candidate's interview, and I don't think anyone (within or outside the organization) thought Austin or JBC had a legitimate shot at the job, even ignoring Patricia's presence. Also from the article: I'd be curious to see Austin's response to all candidates having been asked the same series of questions, but this just feels like a whole lot of bitter nothingness to me.

The reports made it sound like he was their guy, but then he said that he wouldn't join unless the Jags got rid of Baalke (which was reportedly said by a lot of HC candidates they interviewed, including Caldwell). Some reports about a week ago indicated that they canned Baalke and hired Adrian Wilson from the Cardinals, and were planning to then hire Leftwich. Nothing has come from the club since then though, and the team site still lists Baalke as the GM. The most recent report I saw from yesterday is that Shad Khan asked one of their candidates (unnamed) whether they would be willing to work with Baalke, while Baalke was in the same room. It reads to me like the Jaguars, at least for now, are planning to inexplicably stick with Trent Baalke as GM (who is both not good and who no one likes), and try to find a candidate who will work with him. Which has eliminated pretty much everyone they have already interviewed.

I agree with this. Fields may end up being a great QB. It sure seems the Bears are doing everything they can to prevent that though by replacing coach in year two and starting a rebuild. When the rest of the club is ready to compete, he’ll be in year four and they’re going to be trying to figure out whether to pickup his option or not. Unless he’s Deshaun Watson and can shine in a pile of shit, it’s very possible that they move on at that time (for Eberflus’ “guy”), when Fields never really got the chance with weapons and a quality offensive line. A guy like Goff is a luxury. He’s not a guy you have to move on from in the near future. He’s not a guy who will inhibit the development of your other prospects. You can keep him as your starter for 2, 3, 4 years, before moving and getting your face of the franchise, whenever that makes sense. Maybe that’s 22, maybe it’s 23, maybe it’s even 24. When that next guy joins though, he should be surrounded by talent.

After posting, I thought about posting an edit based on Caldwell's prior jobs. I don't know all of the answers. Maybe every candidate selected this cycle has been the best guy for the job, and they all just happen to be white. The problem in the NFL is definitely larger than the 32 people selected for HC jobs. From the outside looking in though, I do see a lot of white coaches despite a very diverse player pool.

I don’t know. It could ultimately be a great hire. At some point though you do have to wonder if Flores has a point. Guys like Eric Bienemy, Raheem Morris, and Jim Caldwell seem to get their interviews every year and hear nothing. Guy like Kevin O’Connell comes along and gets a gig before the average fan even knows his name.

Another team, another seemingly under-qualified white guy.

I’m mad at myself for falling for NFL sources. I don’t know what changed, but it’s clear all the “he’s going to sign with the Vikings” rumors were released by Vikings.

If Harbaugh doesn’t get the Minny gig, I could see him resigning, maybe working in the Ravens front office, and trying to get an NFL job next offseason. It’s clear that he wanted the Michigan job available as a backup plan, but didn’t want it known as a backup plan. At this point, he likely doesn’t believe he can immediately replicate the success he had this year (and I would tend to agree). With it out in the open that he wants an NFL job, it’s not going to just go away. It’s going to hurt recruiting, and it’s going to be a yearly question (is he staying or is he going), even more than it already has been. I don’t think Warde will force him out, but I think a discussion about an amicable exit, either now or after one more year, needs to be had.

He’s a hire the academic community and Trustees would love at Michigan. He knows how to recruit kids who want to go to Stanford for it being Stanford, and can also play a high level of football. Environmentally, he’d be a great fit. But good lord he would make my eyes bleed with some of the most conservative play-calling you would EVER see. You’re not exaggerating. I would only ever want him if he agreed kept Gattis as play-calling OC. I don’t think he would.

I was interested in Harbaugh last year despite the 2-4 season. When you remove emotion from the equation and look purely at results, you can't deny he's one of the best there is.

If Sean Payton would entertain the job, would you be interested? Phenomenal coach at the NFL level, but checkered past ethically and hasn’t coached at the college level since being the QB Coach at Illinois in 1996. I believe Michigan would have to cut a check to the Saints as well, if that matters.

I know your last line was sarcastic, but a piece of anti-racism does include an understanding that society as we know it was formed on racist principles, meaning that some preconceived notions we just take at face value may be rooted in something less than equal. Not that we are a bunch of racists holding back minorities, but that a lot of our great-great-great-great-great grandfathers sure were racists, and the things they did still have an impact on life today, which does hold back minorities. That said, I agree (at least based on how I interpret your last line) that pieces of it can go too far. If you examine anything hard enough, you'll find flaws, and that doesn't mean those flaws fit the narrative that your research examines. There are definitely scholars out there who will crucify their own mother (academically) for culturally and societally appropriate things they did 50 years ago - or even do today - that aren't as common anymore. Not even because they are racist/sexist/etc. things, but just because the society changes in time. Random NFL Comments sure got random in 27 pages.