File this under news that’s about as shocking as the sun rising this morning. According to a report out of Detroit, the Michigan Wolverines have fired head coach Rich Rodriguez. The coaching carousel, set in motion by Miami and the University of Florida this season, was beginning to grind to a halt, but should fire back up now, with the dial set to “warp speed.”
Locally, it shouldn’t mean a ton. Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian has done an admirable job with the Huskies, but isn’t headed anywhere. Over at Washington State, Paul Wulff … nope, not even gonna go there. The state of Washington is, for the moment, safe and should continue to be throughout the offseason.
However, the Pac-10 landscape could see a shakeup with the Michigan job open. Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh, a Michigan man himself, has always been rumored to be a top-target for the Wolverines. The last smoke signals out of Palo Alto indicated Harbaugh wouldn’t be headed to Michigan, but coaching situations are as fluid as they come, especially at the college level.
Another name sure to pop-up, should Harbaugh spurn Michigan, is San Diego State head coach Brady Hoke. The Aztecs have seen their program revitalized under Hoke’s watch, and he has the all-important tie to Ann Arbor. The Washington State Cougars travel to California to take-on San Diego State next season in what appears to be the toughest test on their non-conference schedule. Without Hoke, that test gets a bit easier.
Just as it appeared head coaches everywhere were safe, Michigan makes its move and the carousel gets moving once again. Watch as schools with in-demand head coaches scramble to lock-down their head coaches as the Michigan domino effect begins.