Michigan Football: 3 potential replacements for Maurice Linguist

It feels like Michigan football just can’t catch a break.

After Jim Harbaugh went out and made the tremendous hire of Maurice Linguist, an ace recruiter, a chain of events set off by Les Miles dismissal from Kansas, has opened the door for Linguist to be the next head coach at Buffalo.

After some smoke early in the day Friday, by the evening, Linguist had officially accepted the position and the Wolverines are now searching for another cornerbacks coach.

Obviously, the departure of Linguist hurts, especially in recruiting. He was critical in the commitment of five-star Will Johnson and Kody Jones basically committed to the Wolverines, originally, because of Linguist.

Linguist also had strong ties to the state of Texas and was part of an effort to land five-star defensive tackle Walter Nolen, which could now take a big hit, especially if Jones leaves the 2022 class.

You can’t blame Jim Harbaugh for this. But it’s still a gut punch for Michigan football, which had a big-time recruiter in the secondary.

Now, there are a ton of questions swirling and the biggest is about Johnson, who is the centerpiece of Michigan’s 2022 class.

There was a very real chance of him selecting Ohio State before Linguist came on board. Michigan can keep him in the fold with a strong hire, but sharks will smell blood in the water. I’d expect Bama, Ohio State, and USC to make a strong push right away.

It’s hard to put a positive spin on this and the only way to do that is for Harbaugh to act quickly and make another great hire. Here are three potential candidates.