The rumors have continued to swirl about Jim Harbaugh’s future at Michigan throughout the season. Many experts have speculated that Harbaugh could make the jump to the NFL this offseason.
During his appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic discussed which coaches would be the best candidates to replace Harbaugh if he decided to leave Michigan after this season.
“Sherrone’s done (as good of a job) as you could have hoped,” Feldman said. “He led them to a bunch of wins against big teams and the kids play hard for him and he can really grow into the job. To me, the biggest winner of the coaching carousel this year is Kansas, Lance Leipold is still in Kansas. If that job comes open, if I’m Michigan do I look and say well if we’re not really ready to give it to Sherrone because we just not sure if he’s ready to take over full go, then try to get the guy from Kansas.”
Leipold is 16-21 over three seasons at Kansas but has helped the Jayhawks improve from a two-win program to back-to-back bowl appearances. He also had successful stints at Buffalo (37-33) and Wisconsin-Whitewater (109-6). He led the Warhawks to six Division III National Championship wins over eight seasons.
Sherrone Moore has done an excellent job for the Wolverines throughout Jim Harbaugh’s suspension this season. He led Michigan to three consecutive wins to end the season, including two ranked wins over Penn State and Ohio State as the interim head coach. Under Moore, the Wolverines have won the Joe Moore Award in back-to-back seasons.
It remains to be seen if Harbaugh will make the move to the NFL, but he will look to lead Michigan to its first national title since 1997. No. 1 Michigan will face No. 4 Alabama in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. Kickoff is scheduled for New Year’s Day at 4 p.m. CT on ESPN.
