Kyle Whittingham said on Monday that it was his decision to fire Jason Beck. If that's true, it's a major turnaround from what he said on Saturday night. What he said all season.
Maybe Whittingham senses danger. If the Michigan football head coach doesn't know he's in trouble, he's even more out of touch than we all thought.
Calling his hire a disaster would be kind. Michigan needs to get an athletic director hired in the next few weeks, accelerate that timeline, and get him fired. That's the only hope.
Kyle Whittingham has embarrassed Michigan enough. That being said, if he's going to remain the coach for the next three games, here are some ways that the offense could improve now that Jim Harding is calling the plays.
Could a three-game winning streak save Whittingham? Could a win over Ohio State? Is there any possibility of that happening? Do Michigan fans even want it to?
It would be great if the coaching staff magically figured it out. Yet, Beck should have been fired weeks ago, when there was time to save the season.
Now, it feels too late. There is still a football game, though. Whittingham was asked about offensive coordinator candidates on Monday, but it's pointless to give that a thought. Michigan has to clean house.
Until then, here are ways the offense could improve under Jim Harding.
No more Rhino
The Rhino is fine for a few plays per game. It doesn't work as a base offense. Beck was trotting it out on 3rd-and-9 and 3rd-and-18. That's hard to defend. It just makes no sense.
If the offensive lineman isn't good enough to be a starter, why is he being used as an edge protector? An extra blocker in the run game can make sense, but again, that player should be an above-average blocker.
Maybe if the offensive line were completely healthy and Andrew Babalola didn't suffer so many setbacks, it would work. You have to hope that Harding will put his players in a better position to succeed.
The offensive line has been terrible. It's hard to fathom after last season. Some of the guys are hurt. Some are inexperienced. The others are probably overthinking, because often it looks like players don't know who to block.
Harding should make things easier for the offensive line. And if that group plays better, the offense will be better.
Play Bryce Underwood
Tommy Carr did some nice things against Penn State and Rutgers. However, the Indiana and Michgian State games showed his limitations. There's a lot to like about him, but he's a year or two away from being a full-time starter for a good Michigan team.
Whittingham said that Underwood should have gone in against Michigan State. I agree. A change should have been made at halftime. With Underwood's running ability and his arm to challenge the defense deep, Michigan might have gotten a spark. Now the QB job is open again.
At the very least, it's worth seeing if putting Underwood on the bench has helped him at all.
Do things the team knows
Michigan needs to play some tight ends and throw them the ball. It needs to stop rotating so many running backs, take play-action attempts that look like runs, stop giving away the timing of the snap with motion, and do more than run inside zone.
I would study everything Michigan did under Chip Lindsey and then find as many things in the playbook that apply. This is not going to be perfect. Michigan's offense won't suddenly be good, but if it can be average, run the ball, and not give it away, maybe it can avoid a losing season.
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