For the latest updates on Michigan football’s coaching search, including big news on Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer, click on our fresh story here.
With the firing of Sherrone Moore on Wednesday, Dec. 10, Michigan football is on the hunt for a new head coach.
It’s extremely late in the hiring cycle, with nearly every Power Four squad with an opening already having made a hire. But the Wolverines’ maize-and-blue brand could be strong enough to restart the coaching carousel, with several established coaches considered potential candidates for the U-M job. Could it be Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer? Or maybe Washington’s Jedd Fisch, who previously coached in Ann Arbor?
It’ll be athletic director Warde Manuel’s call on the hire, at least for now.
Here’s the latest on the Michigan football coaching search:
Kenny Dillingham staying at Arizona State, not going to Michigan
Dillingham, the 35-year-old Sun Devils coach, announced after Saturday, Dec. 13, bowl practice he will be staying in Tempe, Arizona. He had been linked as a potential candidate to fill the job at Michigan.
“This place is just − it’s a special place to me,” Dillingham said, according to The Arizona Republic, adding his agent is having discussions with university officials on an extension.
The Michigan opportunity “will be good for somebody,” Dillingham said. “It doesn’t change how I feel about here.”
Arizona State will face Duke on Dec. 31 in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, the same day Michigan faces Texas in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando.
Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham to Michigan? It’s picking up steam
It’s still very early in the process, but a name that is starting to be connected to the Michigan football opening quite frequently is Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham.
Dillingham is an ASU alum and has been vocal in the past about not having a desire to leave, including this last November, but that was for openings that were not Michigan.
College football analyst Josh Pate said on Kay Adams’ show, Up and Adams, that Dillingham is a name to keep an eye on, a sentiment that author and Michigan insider John U. Bacon echoed Friday night, calling Dillingham the favorite.
Prediction websites that allow you to bet on all kinds of outcomes, including who will be Michigan’s next coach, have seen Dillingham surge to the top as the favorite as well.
Dillingham, 35, is in his third season as ASU’s coach and has a 22-16 record, but most notably took the Sun Devils to the College Football Playoff last year and had Texas on the brink of an upset.
Michigan football posts simple message with interim Biff Poggi leading team
Just hours after former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore was arraigned in a Washtenaw County court on Friday, Dec. 12, Michigan football shared a simple message on “X.”
“Focused on the next game.”
While the regular season is over, Michigan is still set to play Texas in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on Thursday, Dec. 31 in Orlando.
Biff Poggi has been named the team’s interim coach, and this is the first look at him leading the team (with the exception of when he served as the interim for Weeks 3 and 4 this year).
It also seems to be a pretty clear indication that despite the coaching change, Michigan is still planning to play its bowl game.
Either way, Michigan football made it clear with this post: they are moving on from Sherrone Moore and focusing on football. Or at least they’re going to try.
Michigan reportedly interested in Browns OC Tommy Rees as next head coach
A former Notre Dame QB as Michigan football’s next head coach?
It’s possible.
Michigan football is reportedly interested in talking to Rees, according to Cleveland.com, who starred as a quarterback at Notre Dame. He moved up the coaching ranks fast, getting his big break as offensive coordinator with Notre Dame in 2020, where he served in the role for three years before moving to Alabama to be the offensive coordinator for the Crimson Tide in Nick Saban’s last year. He has spent the last two years with the Browns, first as a passing game specialist and then as offensive coordinator this year.
Rees also reportedly talked to Penn State before the Nittany Lions landed on Iowa State coach Matt Campbell.
It’s an interesting proposition, as Rees is seen as an up-and-coming young coach, but it can be wonky trying to hire NFL coaches into the college game due to the schedule. But in this circumstance, it just might work. The Browns are out of playoff contention so their season should drag out, and Michigan is in a position to wait longer than normal because early signing day for recruits is over and the transfer portal won’t open until January.
‘No indication’ Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer has interest in Michigan job
It’s early.
Michigan still has time to make a case.
But according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, there’s “no indication” that Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, one of the hottest names in connection to the Wolverines, has an interest in taking the job in Ann Arbor.
DeBoer, who has Alabama in the 12-team College Football Playoff, was also briefly connected to Penn State earlier this offseason and quickly shot that down.
But never say never in college football in 2025.
Four coaching candidates Michigan football could pursue
If Michigan is looking to swing big for its third head coach in four seasons (or seventh, if you count the interims who served during Moore’s and Jim Harbaugh’s suspensions), the Free Press’ Tony Garcia broke down four big names, including a couple with established ties to Ann Arbor, one who couldn’t quite beat the Wolverines and another who’s the darling of the college football world.
Check out that list of candidates here.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: What we’ve heard in Michigan football coach search: News, rumors
Reporting by Andrew Birkle, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
