Tough Decisions to Make for Michigan After Another Loss

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Michigan football came into 2024 season as national champions and fans had hope that despite all the changes in the offseason it would be a successful season. But after losing 38-17 on Nov. 2 and moving to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the Big Ten Conference, Michigan fans are now faced with the realization that 6-6 is staring them in the face. In what can only be described as a disaster drop off, first-year head Coach Sherrone Moore now must figure out how to fix it.

Former head coach Jim Harbaugh was given time to figure it out and get it right. Remember, he was 0-6 against Ohio State in his first six seasons. Harbaugh grew up a Michigan man as his father coached at the university, he played at the university and was a hero coming home to fix the struggling program. Moore has none of that going for him and unfortunately, will not be allocated the same time to figure things out.  Fans are already growing incredibly impatient with how the team has performed, and questioning if this is the right staff to move forward.

How Did Michigan Get Here?

The blame game is always a tricky situation. To go from 15-0 and a national championship to possibly 6-6 points to several people being accountable. Did the former staff leave the program in a better position than they found it? The simple answer is no. Brady Hoke, as much as he was not a good game-time coach, did do a good job on the recruiting front. Harbaugh, on the other hand, struggled in that area the last few years and a big part could be his constant flirtation with the NFL before ultimately leaving to take the head coach position with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Michigan’s lack of recruiting—at least from many fan’s perspectives—is its reluctance to use NIL money to bring top talent to Ann Arbor. Many fans blame Warde Manuel and his approach. Harbaugh said Michigan is  transformational, not transactional. Is it that kind of  approach to bringing in players that has set Michigan back. If it is Manuel who is refusing to adapt and change to this new world of college football, then he has made it incredibly more difficult for Michigan to compete for top talent. It’s that refusal to adapt that has finally caught up with Michigan.

Is it Moore’s fault for not utilizing the Transfer Portal to get a QB? Michigan QB's play throughout this season has been underwhelming. Michigan's inability to throw the ball consistently has made the Michigan offense completely one dimensional with opposing defenses not even attempting to defend the passing game. Moore took over late but how did they not use the spring transfer window to get a sufficient starter? But if fans are being honest, the QB play is not the only reason why Michigan has struggled this season.   

Is it a defense that looks nothing like the defense Michigan had over the past few years?  Moore brought in Wink Martindale to take over after Harbaugh took Jesse Minter to the NFL.  Wink claimed to be the OG and architect of the defense.  Minter now has one of the top defense in the NFL, Mike Macdonald is a head coach in the NFL, while Wink was still looking for a job before Moore called. The question becomes if Martindale's defense worked why did Baltimore move on from Wink for Mike Macdonald? Wink's defense this season has received more comparisons to Don Brown than Macdonald or Minter’s.

Touch Decisions Moving Forward

Moore has his work cut out for him and won’t be given the same time as his predecessor to get it right meaning he needs to fix it fast. Moore needs to look in the mirror and decide if he wants to be Harbaugh or himself. Michigan still has the feeling that Harbaugh is running the program and it’s time Moore puts his stamp on it and builds it in his likeness. Moore needs his own philosophy on how he wants his program to run. And will have to decide if it's indeed Wink and Kirk Cambell that give him the best chance to succeed.  Moore needs to ask himself Is it time to move on from one or both of his coordinators? Do either of them give him a good chance of being successful? 

Moore needs to only look down the road at Ford Field in Detroit to see what a change with a coordinator can do. Lions head coach Dan Cambell let Anthony Lynn go after one year. What looked at the time to be a perfect fit turned out not to be and Cambell recognized his mistake and corrected it. The Lions hired Ben Johnson and now find themselves with one of the top offense in the NFL. After another disappointing performance on both offense and defense, Moore needs to make the tough decision about his coordinators.

Michigan has shown a constant lack of execution on both offense and defense. The disappointing season has more to do than just QB play. It feels like the same mistakes. Missing wide-open wide receivers and missing tackles in the open field have been constant all season. It's on the coaching staff for not being able to fix these recurring problems. The season has the feeling they are coaching the team they want to have not the team they have.

Michigan is going to lose several key players this offseason like Josaiah Stewart, Colston Loveland, Will Johnson, Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant. The Michigan staff now needs to decide if the time is now to play some of the younger players to see what they have and what positions need to be targeted in the portal. Michigan, as a program, should never be in a season when 6-6 is even possible, but here they are. 

If the 38-17 loss to No. 1 Oregon (9-0, 6-0) taught Michigan fans anything it’s how far they are from competing with the top teams in the country. The good news for fans is Moore has a top-10 recruiting class coming in at this point and signs are pointing to Michigan finally using NIL as an advantage. Thanks to the portal Michigan can add talent where needed this offseason to help fast-track a turnaround. It’s just a matter of just how aggressive Michigan staff can be with the resources they are given.