This offseason of college football continues to be one of the more eventful ones in recent memory.
In just the past month, head coaching jobs have opened up at premier programs such as Alabama, Michigan, and Washington – three of the four teams in this year’s College Football Playoffs.
As a result, Kansas head coach Lance Leipold continues to be a name mentioned as a potential replacement for some of the openings – this time as the successor to Jim Harbaugh at Michigan.
ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel reported yesterday that Leipold’s name is one to watch for the opening in Ann Arbor.
Offensive coordinator and part-time 2023 interim Sherrone Moore is the favorite to replace Jim Harbaugh at Michigan. Other names: Lance Leipold, Chris Klieman and Dave Clawson. Matt Rhule and Luke Fickell have been considered amid past Harbaugh flirtations with the NFL.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 24, 2024
That should come as no surprise, as Leipold was very much in the mix to be the head coach at Washington before deciding to stay at Kansas. In the past couple of years, he was also mentioned as a potential candidate for the Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Nebraska head coaching openings.
However, the Michigan job holds a different weight than any program Leipold has been connected to in the past. It’s without a doubt one of the best and most coveted college head coaching jobs in the country.
The resources there are endless, the pockets of donors are deep, the facilities are top-notch, the fan support is unwavering – it’s everything a coach could want. And if Michigan truly does come calling, this one will be hard to turn down for Leipold.
Whether that ends up happening or not remains to be seen.
In Thamel’s post on X, he clearly states that Michigan offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore is the favorite to replace Harbaugh and that seems to be the presumptive thought among many college football pundits and fans.
Moore took over head coaching duties for four games this season during Harbaugh’s suspension for the program’s alleged sign stealing and led the Wolverines to three convincing victories. He’s apparently beloved by his players, and his retention could prevent a mass exodus of transfers like we’ve seen at Alabama and Washington following their head coaching departures.
College football insider Brett McMurphy went as far as to say that it’s nearly a foregone conclusion that Moore will be named the new head coach by this weekend.
There appears to be little reason to panic as of now for KU fans. There has been a lot of angst caused by Leipold’s name popping up these past few weeks and understandably so, but that is a testament to the job he’s done at Kansas and one he appears committed to do for years to come.