Kenny Dillingham would have been a perfect head coach for Michigan football. He should have been the top target all along, regardless of Kalen DeBoer, who was probably never going to leave Alabama.
Instead, Michigan publicly waited for DeBoer's Alabama team to lose in the College Football Playoff, which didn't happen. Then, before the Wolverines could pivot to Dillingham, he signed an extension with Arizona State.
Some have suggested he was never going to leave ASU. Maybe that's correct, but there was plenty of buzz early on in the process. Michigan should have made him the top priority. He wasn't going to leave home to be someone else's second choice.
If the Wolverines acted quickly and decisively, maybe he could have been the head coach last weekend. Now, Michigan finds itself trying to pick up the pieces after its top two targets are off the board, targets that were attractive to Bryce Underwood.
Some still believe DeBoer is an option. It just doesn't feel like that's true, so we aren't going to have him on the board anymore. Here's a look at head coach candidates for Michigan football with our Sunday power ranking.
5. Clark Lea, Vanderbilt
Joel Klatt talked about him recently. He's had some buzz, but Pete Nakos of On3.com didn't include him in an update following Saturday's events, so he might not be a top candidate at this point. He signed an extension recently, but if the "money cannons," are firing, that shoudn't be an issue.
Lea has recruited well recently, although a big part of that is recruiting Nashville. Still, his defenses have improved. He's won with good defense and a star QB, so maybe he could sell that vision to Bryce Underwood.
I'd kick the tires on him before Josh Heupel of Tennessee.
4. Kyle Whittingham
It doesn't feel like Whittingham is among the top choices, but he's lingering. He's expressed interest in the job, and is a proven winner. He's also 66 years old. It feels like he would be hard to sell to Underwood, but quarterbacks have played well under him.
As far as last resorts, Michigan could do a lot worse than a guy with a perfect season on his resume, along with three conference championships, with two in the Pac-12.
3. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri
This doesn't feel like a fit, outside of the fact that Drinkwitz loves to run the ball. Maybe that would allow him to keep some of the roster together. He's always been a southern coach, though.
The Rich-Rod vibe is strong here.
2. Biff Poggi
There is growing momentum for Biff Poggi to take over for the 2026 season, or even on a full-time basis. That would be a disaster. Poggi would win more than he did at Charlotte. He would do better than people think, but Michigan already tried this tactic with Sherrone Moore -- hiring the continuity candidate.
It doesn't usually work, and Michigan shouldn't try it twice.
Yet, it feels more likely than some of the other hires on the list. Michigan football could reach out to Adam Stenavich, the offensive coordinator for the Packers, but that hire excites about as much as Poggi.
If Michigan can look past hiring a first-time head coach, get Glenn Schumann, the DC of Georgia. He's a rising star. Dan Lanning was a first-time head coach. So was Kirby Smart. They were each defensive coordinators before they were hired under Nick Saban and Smart.
Michigan should think out of the box before it goes with Biff Poggi.
1. Jeff Brohm, Louisville
Jeff Brohm checks a lot of boxes. He's great with quarterbacks and has had two drafted in the past four NFL drafts. Brohm is also a proven winner. He won a conference title with Western Kentucky and five seasons with at least eight wins at Louisville/Purdue. He won nine games with Purdue in 2021. He won 10 games in his first season at Louisville and took that program to the ACC title game, just like he took Purdue to the Big Ten title game.
Brohm feels like the opposite of Dillingham. He's got a higher floor but a lower ceiling. He would not be a Rich Rod or a Brady Hoke. The program wouldn't be a disaster, but would it compete at the highest level year in and year out?
Brohm has always done more with less. It would be interesting to see what he could do with one of the best programs in college football.