The Decision

   No I am not recapping the LeBron James one hour joke of a special last summer, but rather the decision David Brandon has to make regarding the future of Michigan football.  The choice he makes will be the most important decision in the history of the program.  After the debacle that was the Rich Rodriguez era, Brandon's choice of the next head coach will determine whether Michigan returns to national prominence and competes for the Big Ten title year in and year out, or if they fall into the abyss much like Florida State, Notre Dame, and Miami.  It will decide if Michigan is a national program or a regional program.  Brandon cannot afford get this hire wrong. 
   There have been a bevy of reports that Jim Harbaugh is not interested in coaching the Michigan Wolverines, but rather taking his talents to the NFL or staying in Palo Alto and continue coaching the Stanford Cardinal.  I may be on an island on this one, but i am not ruling out Harbaugh just yet.  There is a lot of misinformation being floated around, and it is my belief that Harbaugh is very much in the picture.  Keep an eye on it.  If Harbaugh is hired, I have absolutely no doubt Michigan will once again be the class of the Big Ten, competing with Ohio State and Nebraska for the Stagg-Paterno trophy most years.
   The candidate that appears to be the early favorite to take over U of M is Brady Hoke. Reports are saying that he would  jump at the opportunity to come back to Michigan.  This hire would again create a divide between Michigan fans and understandably so.  Hoke is not the big name that would excite the fan base, however that does not mean he is not the right guy for the job.  Hoke is a former defensive line/associate head coach at Michigan.  He led the Ball State Cardinals to its most wins in program history in 2008 with a record of 12-0.  Not long before that remarkable season, Ball State was a laughing stock of the Mid-American conference.  He then went to San Diego State and turned around the Aztec program.   The resume is impressive, but he has not done it on the big stage.
   My hope is that no matter who takes over the head coaching job at Michigan, the fans will give it a chance. Once again, we are going to be asked to be patient, but the worst thing we could do is not even give the guy an opportunity to build the program.  Without support,  us as fans will set [him] up for failure.  I do not believe Rich Rodriguez was given a fair shake.  I also agree that he wasn't the right guy for the job,, but the "great blue divide" did not help matters. Let's not make that same mistake.
   David Brandon has been very coy about the future of Rich Rodriguez and the direction of the Michigan program, much to the chagrin of the U of M faithful.  Again I will stress this, HE NEEDS TO GET IT RIGHT!  Whoever the next Michigan coach is, the next five years will make Brandon look like a genius, or an imbecile.  There is no middle ground.