Michigan football has been generally strong since Bo Schembechler took over the program, upset No. 1 Ohio State inn 1969, and started the 10-year war.
There have been some dips, though. Michigan went decades without missing a bowl game or having a losing season, until two certain head coaches came along. The program hit new levels of embarassment recently under Sherrone Moore, who was fired for cause after having an affiar with a subordinate.
If only that was the worst of it.
There have been great success stories such as Lloyd Carr and Jim Harbaugh. Each won a national championship and had three-year winning streaks against Ohio State. Gary Moeller was somewhere in between, although is tenure ended in controversy, too.
Looking back at it all, here are three Michigan football head coaches fan would like to forget.
Rich Rod
Some Michigan football fans will argue that Rich Rodriguez didn't get enough time to turn things around in Ann Arbor, but it was a disaster from day one.
Hiring Rich Rod forced Ryan Mallett, a five-star QB recruit, who showed plenty of promise in the 2006, to transfer because he didn't want to be in a spread offense. Other players turned pro. It just was never a fit.
Rich Rod went 0-6 against Michigan State and Ohio State. He only reached one bowl game, although, he was 2-1 against Notre Dame. That's about the only good thing that can be said about his tenure.
The former West Virginia head coach, who is back at West Virginia, was 15-22 in three seasons.
Brady Hoke
Things started strong with Brady Hoke. The man who was hired from San Diego State, who had been an assistant under Lloyd Carr, went 11-2 in his first season as head coach. That included a win over Ohio State and a Sugar Bowl win over Virginia Tech.
Michigan wouldn't notch another major bowl victory until the 2023 Rose Bowl. Hoke defeated Michigan State in year two, and had a good chance to beat Urban Meyer in his first season as the Ohio State head coach, but Vincent Smith was stuffed in some short-yardage situations and an offense with Devin Gardner and Denard Robinson couldn't move the ball in the second half.
There was a turnover on downs, an interception, a fumble, and two three-and-outs in a 26-21 loss. Things went downhill from there. The Wolverines dropped to 7-6 in 2013. Shane Morris was supposed to be the next big thing, but Michigan fell to 5-7 in 2014, which got Hoke the axe.
Hoke's 31-20 record feels worse than it was. However, he was 2-6 against MSU/OSU. Hoke was 2-2 against Notre Dame, and was an improvement overall, but it's hard to forget him walking around without a heatset, seemingly not knowing what was going on.
Sherrone Moore
Moore's tenure ended in disgrace. There were some bad moments on the football field, too. Michigan was embarrassed in just about every big game it played under Moore, outside of "The Game" in 2024.
The drop off from Harbaugh's teams to Moore's was stunning. It took almost no time at all. He never should have been given the job, for off-the-field reasons or on the field.
He was a failure in both regards, and it's good to see an adult in the room once again with Kyle Whittingham.
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