Michigan coaching search: Josh Pate assesses job, potential candidates to replace Sherrone Moore

After Michigan announced the firing of head coach Sherrone Moore, the search is on for his replacement. Josh Pate assessed the job as a whole and mentioned some potential candidates the Wolverines could call.

UM announced Moore’s termination Wednesday for cause following a university investigation. The inquiry found evidence of an inappropriate relationship with a staff member, and athletics director Warde Manuel said it was a violation of school policy, leading to the firing.

As the search begins, Pate said Michigan’s coaching search will be interesting considering the apparent behind-the-scenes knowledge of the situation. He expressed hope it’s different from the Penn State search, which took 54 days to land on Matt Campbell as James Franklin’s replacement. Pate aded he expects Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer to get a call, along with potentially Washington’s Jedd Fisch.

“What I don’t know, behind the scenes at Michigan, is how far down the road have they already gotten in replacing Sherrone Moore?” Pate said. “We saw instances several times this past season where head coaches were fired – James Franklin, a famous recent example – and it was obvious Penn State really didn’t have their ducks in a row. They just kind of decided to swing wildly and they missed, reportedly. They ultimately landed on the guy that was the right guy for the job. But nevertheless, it took 54 days. How long does this take Michigan? Or do they already have a pretty good wink, head nod, understanding from someone – whoever that someone may be – ‘Yeah, I’m taking the job as soon as you offer it to me.’

“And then, the follow-up [to the] follow-up is, who is it going to be? I absolutely think that they call Kalen DeBoer and make him say no. I would be just utterly fascinated by some of the other names involved here. I’ve seen Jedd Fisch’s name thrown around. This is not my personal Hot Board. I don’t know where they’re going to go yet. But those are some of the early thoughts as far as the reaction to it.”

Josh Pate: Michigan is ‘an elite job’

In terms of the quality of the position, Josh Pate said Michigan is one of the top-tier jobs in college football. He added he thinks some of the names that could be in the mix would agree with that sentiment, and agents across the country expected it to open at some point as rumors swirled about Sherrone Moore’s situation.

As for how long the search could go, Pate said it might depend on who UM targets. Regardless, he expects high-level candidates to be in play for the Wolverines.

“The Michigan job is an elite job,” Pate said. “It attracts a lot of attention. Now, I think that about the Michigan job. I think enough candidates think that about the Michigan job. We’re about to find out. But like I said, and I can’t make this clear enough, agents far and wide have expected the Michigan job to come open for weeks. The only question was timing and whether Michigan would truly pull the trigger – which, they of course have today. So everyone’s already got their list of candidates. Everyone’s has sort of probably gauged the interest of their candidate lists.

“I don’t know how long this will take. The only thing that could maybe prolong it is, are you going after a guy that is in the Playoff and does he keep winning? That’s the first thing. The second thing could be that the Michigan job is not quite as desirable as someone like me thinks it is and someone gets way down the road on considering taking it, but then they just say at the last minute, ‘Nope, I’m going to stay here.’ And that could be anyone. But that’s what could prolong this search.”