It's hard to believe how much things have changed in a single day for the Michigan football program.
After just signing another talented recruiting class, the Wovlerines fired head coach Sherrone Moore on Wednesday for cause, which was the start of a downward spiral that ended with Moore being detained by police.
It's a sad situation for all involved.
As far as the football side of things, Michigan needs to act quickly. The transfer portal opens January 2nd, and the Wolverines need a coach in place by then.
Michigan football will have to convince recruits to stay. The Wolverines will have to do that with players on their own roster, starting with Bryce Underwood.
You hope that some players have stepped up as leaders to try to keep this thing together. Players stepped up to lead the way in 2023. It needs to happen again.
However, Warde Manuel, assuming that he stays on long enough to make the next hire, needs to have an elite coach hired as soon as possible. Here are three candidates who make the most sense.
Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
There has been a ton of buzz about Kalen DeBoer to Michigan. Some Alabama fans aren't super happy with his performance, although I think he's done a great job of replacing Nick Saban. Hell, Alabama won at Georgia this season.
That's still probably the best win in college football, although Indiana's Ohio State win is right there. DeBoer is an elite coach. He's recruited at an elite level for Alabama for the past two years.
It would be easy to sell him as the head coach to Bryce Underwood. Just look at what he was able to do with Michael Penix Jr. Ty Simpson has played well, too and was being mentioned as a Heisman candidate before his play fell off down the stretch.
Michigan football should swing for the fences, and that means stealing DeBoer away from Alabama.
Jedd Fisch, Washington
Jedd Fisch has long been on my shortlist of Michigan football candidates for a long time. If there was going to be an opening after the 2026 season, Fisch felt like a prime candidate.
Now that timeline has moved up.
Fisch worked at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh. He was the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator for the 2015 and 2016 seasons, before leaving to become UCLA's offensive coordinator. Then he worked with the Rams and Patriots before taking the Arizona head coaching job.
Fisch built the Arizona program up from winning one game in 2022 to winning 10 in 2023. He also led Washington to a 14-11 record during his tenure, despite the fact that there was a mass exodus after DeBoer, the former Washington head coach, left for Alabama.
Jake Butt, a Michigan great and college football analyst for the Big Ten Network, who played for Fisch, offered up his endorsement of the Washington head coach on social media Wednesday night.
Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State
Michigan football needs two things: A leader of men and a QB guru. Nobody on this list fits that description better than Kenny Dillingham of Arizona State.
Dillingham coached the Sun Devils to the College Football Playoff, nearly knocking off Texas in the quarterfinals. After a 3-9 campaign in 2023, Arizona State won the Big 12 in 2024, before posting an 8-4 record this season.
Sam Leavitt is one example of Dillingham's QB development. He coached at Florida State and was the offensive coordinator for Dan Lanning at Oregon in 2022.
Dillingham can recruit. He's a great leader, and it feels like he would be able to convince Bryce Underwood to stay. He doesn't have any ties to Michigan, but the last "Michigan man" didn't work out so well.
Maybe it's time to bring in a fresh face, and there isn't a better fit for Michigan football than Kenny Dillingham.