Friday night's College Football Playoff game between Alabama and Oklahoma could be the turning point in the Michigan football head-coaching search.
After the first week of the job being open, two candidates have emerged as the top contenders: Kalen DeBoer of Alabama and Kenny Dillingham of Arizona State.
There are others in contention, such as Jeff Brohm, Clark Lea, and Kyle Whittingham. You could add Eli Drinkwitz and Jesse Minter to that list of names, too. But it's clear the pecking order is DeBoer, Dillingham, and everyone else.
DeBoer has denied any interest. He has to do that, though. His team is in the College Football Playoff with a legitimate chance to win the national championship. He can't worry about other jobs.
However, if the Alabama season ends on Friday night, that changes the calculus. Alabama fans won't be happy, and maybe they won't be sad to see DeBoer leave. Michigan football seems like a better fit. It also feels like the job DeBoer wanted to take when he left Washington, but Jim Harbaugh's NFL dalliance took way too long.
What comes next for Michigan football?
Another chance for DeBoer and Michigan could arise this weekend. Alabama has to lose, though. Michigan can't wait for another round of playoff games to approach DeBoer.
So, if things go south this weekend, either because Alabama wins or DeBoer holds true to what he said publicly and isn't interested, Michigan football should turn its attention quickly to Dillingham.
Numerous players already follow him, including Bryce Underwood. Either DeBoer or Dillingham would probably be able to get Underwood to stay. The same is true for the rest of the roster, too. If Underwood stays, most of the others will too.
An inflection point has been reached in the Michigan head coaching search. By the end of the weekend, there should be some clarly about who's trending for the job, and my sincere hope is that we have an announcement by early next week.
Just in time for Christmas.