Leadership has failed the Michigan football team

Tick. Tick. Tick. That is the sound of the clock on the Michigan Wolverines season. While there are many directions that the fanbase could go after the embarrassing effort put forth against Illinois on Saturday afternoon, one of the most overlooked ones will be at the feet of the leadership. Most noticeably, is Warde Manuel, who is the Athletic Director for the Michigan program.

it would be extremely understandable to blame Sherrone Moore for the apparent lack of preparedness. Or Jack Tuttle for the interception he threw with 7:58 left in the game when Michigan football was close to scoring or even the several missed passes to open receivers throughout the game. Missed field goal. Lost fumbles. Name it. Michigan had several woes throughout the game. And with lasting consequences as Michigan dropped out of the Top 25 poll and has encountered its worst start since 2014.

But Warde Manuel and the leadership created this mediocrity. When Jim Harbaugh walked into the Los Angeles sunset, they found themselves searching for a head coach. Not to say, that Sherrone Moore did not deserve the opportunity, but the coaching search felt quick and swift. Call it an outrageous take but Urban Meyer is still sitting at a Fox Kickoff show. Nick Saban says he's retired but he seems completely aware of the pulse of college football. What about Mike Vrabel, the previous head coach of the Tennesse Titans? Maybe Bill Belichick is a stretch, but Vrabel was a disciple of Belichick and unlike his counterparts was successful. All three of these coaches could be a hard sway but wasn't Harbaugh a hard sway? It was most likely not easy to trade in the San Francisco valley for the pressures of coaching at his alma mater.

The QB decision is haunting Michigan football

On top of the swiftness of the coaching decision, the majority of the national championship team was gone. In the current climate with the transfer total, why was there not more aggressive recruitment? Could the athletic department be so confident that they thought one of these three quarterbacks was a proper replacement for J.J. McCarthy?

There should have been a more in-depth evaluation process especially since after the first half of the season, three quarterbacks have started and neither one has proven they should start the rest of the year. Since Manuel has become Michigan's athletic director, the budget for athletics has increased from 11 million to 25 million. All those millions of dollars and now the defending champions look like they don't even belong in the Big Ten. Was 2023 actually an illusion? Is 2024 really who the Wolverines are? Could the accusations of stolen signals really be fact? Those thoughts and conversations are now entering the atmosphere and even if the Michigan brass want to ignore it...it is hard not to.

The Michigan Wolverines now sit at 4-3 on the season. A home game against Michigan State, who also sits at 4-3 on the season, next week. Both teams are in transition periods with their programs for different reasons. For the past four seasons, Michigan State has been the one referred to as "little brother" but now it seems, Michigan football is the one looking up to big brother.