If this is how the Michigan head coach search is going to go, then the Wolverines have more issues than we thought they did. Once Sherrone Moore was fired, the three names that immediately came to mind were Kalen DeBoer, Jedd Fisch and Kenny Dillingham.
Michigan may be forced to pursue underwhelming Kenny Dillingham backup plan
Throughout the week, things have been a bit quiet, but Dillingham all but confirmed on Saturday that he's not planning on going anywhere - he's locked in with Arizona State and the two sides are working on a new deal to make sure he stays in Tempe.
So, DeBoer or Fisch? Not so fast, as someone else has decided to enter the chat. That'd be Eli Drinkwitz. According to a new report from the Associated Press' Larry Lage, Michigan has reached out to reps for both Dillingham AND Drinkwitz. The latter is not someone we anticipated being involved here:
Michigan search includes Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham, Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz, AP source sayshttps://t.co/fpodtqo3FN
— Larry Lage (@LarryLage) December 14, 2025
Michigan is reportedly in touch with Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz
This is a bit surprising, as Drinkwitz just agreed to an extension with Mizzou late last month. Again, is this where the Michigan search is headed? For a lot of people, Dillingham is the top choice, with DeBoer not too far behind.
With the greatest of respect for Fisch, we feel like Michigan potentially hiring him would be a bit underwhelming. Who knows if he has any interest in leaving Seattle at this point anyway, as he's only in his second year with the Huskies.
As for Drinkwitz? He's beloved all over campus at Missouri and he's been able to help turn the program around. Still, would he fit Michigan and get the program back to where it needs to be? That's hard to say, but you've got to think the administration would try and go after more of a home-run hire.
There's also an outside-of-the-box option Michigan could consider, which is to let Biff Poggi coach this team next season and then look for a replacement next offseason. With so many top coaching targets off the board, this would give the Wolverines more time to put together a complete search. It's up in the air if that will be considered, but adding Drinkwitz to the board of targets for Michigan is not an update we expected to arrive this weekend.