Whither Warde Manuel? Most intriguing assistant coach carousel moves? Fortuna’s Cover 4

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - NOVEMBER 19: Athletic Director Warde Manuel of the Michigan Wolverines during a game against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Michigan Stadium on November 19, 2022 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
By Matt Fortuna
Jan 19, 2023

Coaches are (still) coming and going. But we can’t take our eyes off the drama at Michigan at the moment.

1. As the world turns in Ann Arbor

Michigan is the winningest program in college football history and has arguably never been more relevant.

For better and for worse.

On the field, the Wolverines have gone 25-3 the past two years, winning consecutive Big Ten titles, routing Ohio State twice and making two College Football Playoff appearances.

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Off the field, things have been less than stellar: Jim Harbaugh (apparently) just completed his now-annual rendezvous with potential NFL suitors, his co-offensive coordinator has been placed on leave amid alleged computer access crimes that occurred at the football facility, and the program is in the middle of an NCAA investigation into possible recruiting violations.

Got all that?

If that’s not enough, the way that new school president Santa Ono has outwardly handled the retaining of Harbaugh has opened up questions about the status of athletic director Warde Manuel, whose public absence from this past month’s dealings has been notable.

All of it leads to a crossroads for a blueblood that has always prided itself on operating a certain type of way, at the start of an offseason in which the program will look to make good on legitimate national title expectations, no less.

“It’s fascinating,” observed one industry insider who does not work at Michigan, granted anonymity in order to candidly discuss a prominent institution. “If I told you a head coach was under NCAA investigation and had one of his coordinators on leave, and a few years ago was on the hot seat, you’d think he’d be jumping to sign an extension, especially with the Michigan Man persona as a backdrop.

“Yet here we are with a president looking for a p.r. win at the expense of his AD.”

Concern for Manuel’s status is legitimate across the industry, as the former Michigan defensive lineman (and Harbaugh teammate) has been publicly boxed out of recent events.

The Athletic’s Austin Meek reported that the relationship between coach and AD “has grown particularly distant in recent months,” citing two sources, who added that Manuel and Harbaugh communicate through intermediaries.

If a president’s Twitter account serves as an intermediary, then that doesn’t speak particularly highly of the relationships at play here. Ono’s social media infatuation has come under scrutiny in the past, and that was while he was president of the University of British Columbia, not president of one of the biggest brands in higher education. But that didn’t stop the back-and-forth between Ono and Harbaugh from unfolding in the manner of a celebrity couple’s breakup and subsequent make-up.

It’s OK that you cheated (the NCAA rulebook), we’re willing to forgive you anyway.

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The nature of Weiss’ alleged crimes, meanwhile, is not yet known, though the optics of anything involving “computer access” infractions at a time when the boss is facing a Level I charge from the NCAA for providing false or misleading information are sub-optimal, to say the least.

Michigan, as an institution, should be above this, even if everyone knows that Harbaugh marches to the beat of his own drum.

The NFL interest will come so long as Michigan continues to win. Harbaugh, after all, is the only active college coach who has proven that he can win big at the NFL level. But this noise only takes away from the fact that Michigan should be really, really good next season.

Yes, the Wolverines will regret that TCU performance for awhile. But they have cleaned up in the transfer portal — netting a top-10 transfer class, per 247Sports — and they have turned into an unintentional champion of NIL. Valiant, the program’s lead collective, managed to raise enough money to convince star running back Blake Corum and three other key offensive players to return to school via its “One More Year” fund. The motto: Those who stay will be paid.

Unlike any of Bo Schembechler’s players, these players have a legitimate opportunity to be champions of something more than just the Big Ten, too.

If only the adults in charge at their school can get their act together.

2. Most intriguing assistant hires

Lost in the commotion of head coaching changes is the assistant coaching carousel, which has no end in sight (more on that later). For now, let’s take a look at the five most intriguing assistant hires this cycle, alphabetically.

Pete Golding, Ole Miss DC. Golding leaves Nick Saban for Lane Kiffin after a season in which his Alabama defense finished No. 4 nationally in yards per play, its fifth consecutive top-25 finish in that category during his five-year stint in Tuscaloosa. Golding’s tenure lasting as long as it did with the Tide felt like a bit of an upset, because he had been involved with other openings in the past and because, frankly, no one lasts that long with Saban anymore. (Golding was the longest-tenured member of Saban’s 2022 staff. The only coordinator on either side of the ball who has lasted longer on Saban’s Tide staff is Kirby Smart, from 2007 to 2015.)

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But Golding earned his stripes, as the Tide made three College Football Playoff appearances during his tenure and won one national title. He developed a reputation as a relentless recruiter, and he will now look to improve a Rebels unit that has yet to finish in the top half of the SEC in total defense under Kiffin. Ole Miss started 7-0 this season but finished 1-5, giving up 35.1 points per game during that stretch after surrendering just 17.2 points through its first seven contests.

Sean Lewis, Colorado OC. It’s not every day that you see a sitting head coach leave for an assistant job elsewhere, even if going from MAC boss to Pac-12 coordinator likely comes with a pay bump. It’s even more eyebrow-raising when you leave that head job to go work for the most intriguing new FBS head coach, a man to whom you had no prior connection. And when your job will likely involve coaching that man’s son — who could also be your starting quarterback next year — well, let’s just say that Lewis certainly isn’t risk-averse.

The former Kent State head coach’s move to Boulder was arguably the biggest early get for Deion Sanders, a validation of the program that Coach Prime is trying to build with the Buffaloes. Lewis’ teams regularly ran one of the quickest offenses in the FBS, and if he can adapt that to his new mile-high locale, then perhaps Folsom Field can become one of the best home-field advantages in the country over time.

Phil Longo, Wisconsin OC. North Carolina never ranked lower than 19th nationally in total offense during Longo’s four years calling plays in Chapel Hill, and it finished in the top-10 twice. Wisconsin hasn’t finished higher than 88th in total offense since 2019, when the program made the Rose Bowl. So it is easy to see what attracted the two parties to each other. Sam Howell re-wrote the UNC record book under Longo, while Drake Maye was the ACC’s player of the year this past season under him.

The Tar Heels’ defense struggled the past two seasons, and that shouldn’t be a problem with the Badgers and new boss Luke Fickell. There are legitimate questions about the practicality of running an Air Raid offense in Madison, particularly late in the season. But Longo’s offense on its own is so drastically different from how the Badgers have operated in the past that this will be worth watching in the years to come.

Bobby Petrino, Texas A&M OC. We said “intriguing,” not “most likely to succeed.” If nothing else, a staff with Petrino, Jimbo Fisher, D.J. Durkin and Steve Addazio on it will make for great theater. But back to Petrino, who has left nearly everywhere he previously worked on poor terms: Will Fisher be as hands-off as he likely needs to be in order to allow Petrino to do his job? Given that Petrino hasn’t had to answer to a head coach since he was the OC at Auburn 21 years ago, would leaving him alone be a good thing? Play calling is Fisher’s baby; he is the last head coach to win a national title while calling his own plays, at Florida State in 2013. But he clearly needed to try something new here.

Fisher made overtures to at least one rising star OC (who may or may not be on this list) before hiring Petrino, whom we should note had contact with Fisher before ultimately taking the UNLV OC job … a stint that lasted all of 20 days before Petrino ultimately agreed to join Fisher with the Aggies. There’s a ton of money at stake, plenty of egos involved and a rabid fan base that is tired of constant disappointment. What could go wrong here?

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Garrett Riley, Clemson OC. Who knew that Dabo Swinney had this in him? After a slow fade from national elite to simply ACC elite, the Tigers got back to business this offseason. They parted with eighth-year assistant Brandon Streeter, a former Clemson quarterback himself, and went out and hired the 2022 Broyles Award winner. Riley’s work in turning Max Duggan into the Heisman Trophy runner-up was impressive. And the national title game, as brutal as it was, illustrated just how much TCU maximized its potential by getting that far. If Riley could get that much out of the talent he has to work with in Death Valley, then the Tigers will be back in the national title mix in no time.

3. Key assistant openings

Golding’s departure from Alabama leaves one of the biggest assistant jobs in the country vacant, and depending on what Bill O’Brien ends up doing, the Crimson Tide could have two coordinator vacancies this cycle.

Maryland is looking for an offensive coordinator after Dan Enos’ departure to Arkansas, while one of Enos’ former employers, Miami, is in need of (at least) a quarterbacks coach after Frank Ponce went back to Appalachian State to become the Mountaineers’ OC.

Other searches worth monitoring are Oklahoma State’s DC opening after Derek Mason stepped away — one of many departures out of Stillwater this offseason — along with Texas’ wide receivers coach vacancy and Wisconsin’s running backs job, which is the last on-field hire Luke Fickell has to make. (And given the Badgers’ backfield history, this should be one of the bigger running back coaching gigs in the country.)

Notable — and more importantly, likely available — names on the market include Bobby Engram, Jim Leonhard, Chip Long and Brandon Streeter. Recent head coaches Paul Chryst and David Shaw are available, too, although Chryst’s prospects remain unknown, while Shaw recently interviewed for the Denver Broncos’ opening.

Former USF head coach Jeff Scott, meanwhile, is back in Clemson but plans to take a year off from coaching.

4. Transfer portal setting up key meetings next season

Luke Hancock brought up an interesting point Wednesday when I got to talking about the ACC transfer market during an appearance on his and co-host Mark Ennis’ radio show in Louisville.

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When Hancock, the Final Four Most Outstanding Player in 2013, transferred from George Mason to Louisville, he was not allowed to transfer within his conference, a provision that was all too common in revenue sports until recently.

Now? Just look at the ACC quarterback movement in the past few months, and the rematches that some of those transactions will set up for next season:

Phil Jurkovec will face former schools Boston College and Notre Dame next season, after transferring to hometown Pitt.

Brennan Armstrong will face Virginia, where he threw for more than 400 yards per game in 2021, after transferring to NC State.

Sam Hartman will face Wake Forest, where he broke virtually every school record, on Notre Dame’s Senior Day this fall after transferring to the Irish.

There will be plenty of intriguing matchups elsewhere, too, from DJ Uiagalelei facing his brother when Oregon State visits Oregon, to blue-chip quarterback Walker Howard potentially starting against LSU after transferring to Ole Miss.

Jack Plummer, meanwhile, will have the chance to start against Notre Dame for the third time in three years with his third different school: Purdue (2021), Cal (2022) and now Louisville (2023).

(Photo of Warde Manuel: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

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Matt Fortuna

Matt Fortuna covers national college football for The Athletic. He previously covered Notre Dame and the ACC for ESPN.com and was the 2019 president of the Football Writers Association of America. Follow Matt on Twitter @Matt_Fortuna