3 Logical targets if Michigan Football fires Jim Harbaugh

Luke Fickell

To be clear, this is a list of coaches Michigan football should target for its job, not a list of people I think would actually say yes, although I think it’s fairly realistic. In other words, you won’t find Urban Meyer on it.

Meyer hates Michigan and it’s hard to see him coaching his arch rival. He won’t even type the letter M. That’s the same reason why I don’t think Luke Fickell would take the job either.

However, he has everything the Wolverines should want in a head coach and if Harbaugh doesn’t return, they should go after him with everything they’ve got.

For one, Fickell could recruit the state of Ohio and that’s one thing Michigan football needs to prioritize in a head coach because until that gets better, beating the Buckeyes will be nothing but a pipe dream.

Fickell also was the defensive coordinator at Ohio State, so he knows how the Buckeyes operate and probably as good as anyone how to beat them. Beyond that, he is a proven winner.

Cincinnati is in the thick of the playoff race and is undefeated. He also knows how to recruit and landed a top-200 quarterback in 2020, while building a pretty solid class in 2021 too.

There is often talk about Michigan needing a “Michigan Man” but thinking back, Bo Schembechler had no connection to the university and was an Ohio State assistant at one time.

That brought Michigan football the best head coach its ever had in the modern era and it should try to follow that path again by hiring Fickell or at least giving it their best shot.

Yet, as a former Ohio State interim head coach, DC and player, plus long-time assistant, it’s probably a long shot. Fickell also will have other elite job opportunities down the road, maybe one with an easier path to conference championships than conquering Ohio State.