The Michigan football head coaching search is in a bit of a holding pattern. The Wolverines are still focused on Kalen DeBoer and Kenny Dillingham as their top targets, with Friday's playoff game between Oklahoma and Alabama serving as a key piece of the timeline.
DeBoer has said he isn't interested in any other job. Michigan doesn't seem to buy that. The Wolverines seem to be waiting until his season is over (hopefully Friday) to make a strong run at him.
DeBoer said no publicly, as he should. His team is in the College Football Playoff with a chance to win a national championship. He shouldn't think about anything else but that. However, once the season is over, it feels like Michigan football could truly pursue him and get a legit answer, yes or no.
DeBoer is the top choice. Kenny Dillingham is right there, while Jeff Brohm is picking up steam. Here's the Thursday update of our power ranking of Michigan football head coach candidates.
7. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri
Drinkwitz is a candidate for the job. I just have a hard time seeing Michigan football hiring him. He would be the last resort guy out of everyone on the list, although the 2023 SEC Coach of the Year would still be an upgrade over Sherrone Moore.
6. Jesse Minter, Chargers
We had Minter up in the No. 3 spot on Wednesday, only because it felt like he might become the fallback option in third that Jedd Fisch was before he was taken off the board.
However, the more I think about the Minter, the more the timeline doesn't add up. Unless he's willing to be named head coach as he finishes out the season with LA, it wouldn't work.
Beyond that, Minter is the only guy on this list who is destined to be an NFL head coach. If he stays with the Chargers that could happen as early as this offseason, but it's only a matter of time.
Michigan once convinced Jim Harbaugh to come to Michigan instead of remaining in the NFL, and it might be able to do it again, but I wouldn't bet on it.
5. Kyle Whittingham, Utah
Age is just a number, but 66 years old is hard to get past. Curt Cignetti is 64, so Whittingham's age shouldn't be disqualifying. He would be a massive upgrade and would give the Ohio State offense fits for the next five years.
Yet, it would be more of a short-term hire. Whittingham has never coached at a place like Michigan, though. With all those resources, he might be good enough to win a national title.
If desperation time comes, Michigan football could do much worse.
4. Clark Lea, Vanderbilt
Joel Klatt has been pushing for him as a candidate. It makes sense. He coaches at a school that puts a high premium on academics, so he'll be used to that from a recruiting perpspctive.
Lea coached Vanderbilt to back-to-back winning seasons in the SEC. You wonder if the Commodores can maintain that success without Diego Pavia, but Lea is doing things nobody thought possible in Nashville.
Urban Meyer even said that it made sense for Michigan football.
3. Jeff Brohm, Louisville
Sam Webb of the Michigan Insider (subscription required) reported that Michigan football was going to make contact with Jeff Brohm on Thursday.
Some Michigan football fans seem to hate the idea of Brohm as much as they did Jedd Fisch. Brohm feels like the new floor for this hire, but that's not a bad thing.
The former Western Kentucky, Purdue, and current Louisville head coach has led three different programs to conference championship games and nine-win seasons. He won 10 games at Louisville, and nine games at Purdue.
Brohm is a QB developer and has seven ranked wins in the past five seasons as a head coach. He needs to be more consistent, but at a place like Michigan, that'd be much easier.
2. Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
DeBoer is still the top candidate, at least in the eyes of Michigan. There were talks of a contract extension with Alabama, but that hasn't been signed yet. It won't be signed before the Oklahoma game, that's my prediction at least.
So, if Alabama loses to Oklahoma, Michigan will make its run at DeBoer, and the Wolverines should have an answer soon after.
If Alabama wins, which the Tide probably will, Michigan will have to shift its attention to other targets. The Wolverines just can't afford to keep waiting for what could be a no.
1. Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State
Kenny Dillingham is another top target. It feels like Michigan football will move quickly to hire him if DeBoer says no. Arizona State has been trying to sign him to a contract extension, but that hasn't been finalized. The Michigan job might be a reason why.
If the Sun Devils were going to pony up the resources to keep Dillingham, they probably would have already. The truth is that Arizona State can't offer what Michigan can. It can't compete. So if Dillingham wants to win a national championship, this decision isn't much of a decision.
More than a week into this thing, Dillingham, an early favorite, still feels like the most likely candidate to become Michigan football's next head coach.