{mosimage}Could UM be after the Demon Deacs' head man?

The rumor mill on the Michigan boards has taken yet another sharp turn in the wake of news that UM contacted Les Miles last Friday and Miles' latest denial of interest in the job.

Michigan is rumored to be after Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe for the same position as their next top candidate.

Grobe seems to fit the criteria Michigan was looking for because he's been a head coach at multiple places, he coaches at a fine academic in school in Wake Forest and has similarly high standards of character and academics, he has Midwestern ties as he was the head coach at Ohio U. before, and he would also appease the fans and big-money donors because he is innovative and runs a spread offense that has proven to be effective in a major conference, the ACC. He led lowly Wake Forest to the ACC Championship last year and an appearance in the Orange Bowl.

Grobe turned down the Arkansas job which has recently been filled by Atlanta head coach Bobby Petrino.

Thus far reaction has been mostly positive to the rumors and the possibility of Grobe becoming head coach.

Personally, I believe Grobe would be an excellent fit because he's a player's coach that the kids seem to love and he's also an innovator on offense who's not afraid to take chances. While not the big name Les Miles is, it's safe to say most Michigan fans who follow the rest of the college landscape closely would welcome this move if it were to ultimately happen. Stay tuned, folks.

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Lloyds Apple said:

	Deleware's coach a candidate? This is getting crazy. All smoke and mirrors for Miles? Seems doubtful at this point... http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs...0/SPORTS06
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December 13, 2007
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JEH45 said:

	Not that I know a dam thing, but I didn't think the faithful would be happy with Grobe.
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December 13, 2007
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ItOffishul said:

	Michigan fans want someone who is seen as an overachiever above all else. Miles is a good coach who has won a lot of games but overachiever is not a word you'd use with him considering all the talent he has. Not that Miles would be a bad choice to our fans but Grobe's overachieiving potential intrigues UM fans
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December 13, 2007
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Lloyds Apple said:

	I like the Cincy coach. He scares me a bit. Mark Dantonio, luckily he's at MSU now, would have scared me. Too bad Glenn Mason could not gut out another season in Minnesota...he could have got an interview. Grobe would probably be solid but it's hard for me to know much about him. Miles is who I'm rooting for because he says so many Damn funny things.
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December 13, 2007
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JEH45 said:

	Wonder what the powers to be have against the Cinci coach?
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December 13, 2007
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ItOffishul said:

Kelly would be perfect and could be UM's Tresseel but there was an incident at Central Mich where players were being investigated for murder and Kelly said of the black players "It's not in their culture to cooperate with the police." that's one possible strike plus someone said he may have a DUI but that's pure rumor. he is kind of a win-at-all-costs guy not saying he's dirty but he may have some skeletons and UM is careful about that stuff

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December 14, 2007
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JEH45 said:

	Following this a bit, it just seems to me Kelly was "eliminated" early on & I assumed there was a reason.
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December 14, 2007
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Lloyds Apple said:

	Thanks for the info, it sounds like Kelly is a perfect fit for UC. Another guy to consider is Jim Harbaugh. I say why the hell not. Not sure on his chances, but you'd think players would want to play for him.
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December 14, 2007
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Lloyds Apple said:

From the Sporting News: It looks like West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez is the latest target of Michigan's coaching search. As first reported by Sporting News Radio correspondent Michael Bradley, Rodriguez and his agent were in Toledo, Ohio, today to negotiate with Michigan athletics director Bill Martin and university president Mary Sue Coleman. The Detroit Free-Press later confirmed Bradley's report through two sources. Calls to Rodriguez and his agent have not been returned. A source in the West Virginia football offices told Sporting News that Rodriguez was recruiting in Florida on Thursday and was supposed to be in the Morgantown, W. Va., offices today, but he had not been seen. According to an Associated Press report, Rodriguez arrived at the Morgantown airport on a flight from Toledo this evening, but he declined to comment on the purpose of his trip. Rodriguez came close to taking the Alabama job last year before deciding to stay at West Virginia, his alma mater, with an enhanced contract. Rodriguez would seem a curious fit in Ann Arbor, as he has no direct ties to the Big Ten. (He did play three years for Don Nehlen, a former Bo Schembechler assistant at Michigan, at West Virginia.) And Rodriguez's spread-option offense wouldn't appear to be a fit for a school accustomed to a pro-style attack. Rodriguez, however, is a good coach with a clean record who would represent the school well. The Free-Press reports that Rodriguez's contract with West Virginia runs through 2013 and has a $4 million buyout clause should he leave the school before Aug. 31, 2008. He made $1.8 million this season. Rodriguez has been head coach at West Virginia since 2001. He has a 60-26 record with the Mountaineers, who face Oklahoma next month in the Fiesta Bowl. Michigan's search for a replacement for Lloyd Carr over the past month has been a fiasco. LSU's Les Miles pulled out of the running, and Rutgers' Greg Schiano rejected overtures. Earlier this week, a source close to Steve Sarkisian told Sporting News that the USC offensive coordinator had been contacted. Others have reported that Ball State coach Brady Hoke had had informal discussions with Michigan officials. But no other contacts have been confirmed. Michigan officials say they have no interest in Cal coach Jeff Tedford. Speculation continues to swirl around coaches like NC State's Tom O'Brien, Wake Forest's Jim Grobe and Iowa's Kirk Ferentz. Grobe recently told Sporting News that he wasn't interested in the Michigan job.

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December 15, 2007
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Lloyds Apple said:

	RR to Michigan. It's official. Not sure what to think of that right now....
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December 17, 2007
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