5 head coaches Michigan should call if Jim Harbaugh bolts for NFL

Tom Allen

It’s not often you see a head coach go from one school in the same conference to another but it does happen. Heck, it happened this offseason in the Mountain West as Jay Norvell of Nevada took the job at Colorado State.

And while one popular name on some early Jim Harbaugh replacement lists is P.J. Fleck, I actually have interest in another Big Ten head coach coming to Michigan football and that’s Indiana’s Tom Allen.

Now, would Allen leave Indiana for Michigan? He’d have to consider it. The pay would be much better for one thing and in terms of football, there’s just no comparison between the two programs.

Yet, Allen has turned Indiana into a competitive program in the Big Ten East. In 2020, the Hoosiers beat Michigan and Penn State. Allen has also been recruiting at a high level and has signed the highest-ranked classes in Indiana history.

Another thing is that Allen did hire Mike Hart, who was his associate head coach. So Hart would definitely stay on the coaching staff and Allen is more of a CEO head coach, so the offensive assistants at least could probably all return.

Allen could also help hire Mike Macdonald’s replacement and keep Michigan playing well on that side of the ball, which has been a strength of the Hoosiers during his tenure.

Again, not all of these guys are expected to become candidates. But if I was Michigan football, I would call each of them because as of right now, it’s looking likely that Jim Harbaugh is headed for the NFL and the Wolverines will need to act quickly.