Dear Andy: Why do schools hire alumni? What’s going on with Michigan’s QBs?

The video games start in earnest Thursday, however not everybody has chosen a QB1. Naturally, you have got questions…

(Submitted questions have been frivolously edited for size and readability.)

What do you make of the Michigan QB scenario? The timing of asserting that each guys will get a recreation earlier than a call is made coinciding with the guts of Week 0 motion looks like some form of PR play to maintain these guys pleased. What’s there to study vs. Colorado State and the Rainbow Warriors? And the way do you see it enjoying out? — Andrew

Although Jim Harbaugh has denied this, the way in which he’s dealing with the competitors between Cade McNamara and J.J. McCarthy positive looks like the way in which an NFL coach — which Harbaugh was at one time — may deal with an identical scenario within the preseason. Let one man play with the starters in a single recreation, then give the opposite man time with the starters in one other recreation. Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was going to make use of this technique this preseason whereas deciding between Geno Smith and Drew Lock, however Lock got here down with COVID-19 earlier than his scheduled begin in opposition to the Bears in Seattle’s second preseason recreation and needed to miss the sport.

On Monday, Harbaugh mentioned the rationale for his technique comes not from the NFL coach’s playbook however from the Previous Testomony of the Bible. “No individual is aware of what the longer term holds,” Harbaugh instructed reporters, referencing Ecclesiastes 8:7. “It’s a course of, and it’s going to be based mostly on efficiency. However we’re not going to withhold any good factor. Each have been super quarterbacks. We expect that each are able to main our staff to a championship anyway.

“Some individuals have requested, ‘How did you come to that call? Was it based mostly on some type of NFL mannequin? No, it’s actually based mostly biblical. Solomon, he was recognized to be a reasonably smart individual.”

King Solomon purportedly wrote Ecclesiastes, however evidently we had much more enjoyable on the podcast evaluating this case to the story of judgement of Solomon within the e book of Kings.

The Cliff’s Notes model: Two ladies had newborns. One rolled over in mattress and killed her little one. She then stole the opposite girl’s little one and claimed the newborn was hers. Evidently, the opposite girl wasn’t going to face for that. So the 2 ladies went earlier than King Solomon, who ordered one in every of his guards to chop the newborn in half and provides a chunk to every girl. The kid’s actual mom begged the king to only give the kid to the opposite girl so the kid may reside. At this level, Solomon knew which girl was the kid’s precise mom and reunited the 2.

With McNamara and McCarthy, is the beginning job the newborn? Is Harbaugh hoping one will beg him to not cut up the reps as a result of having an outlined QB1 will assist the staff? Is without doubt one of the quarterbacks the newborn? Is Harbaugh ready for an offensive lineman to cry out “Don’t minimize Cade in half,” thus proving the staff desires McNamara to begin? There are such a lot of questions.

However the reply most likely is the factor Harbaugh denied. The Wolverines have three video games (Colorado State, Hawaii, Connecticut) to begin the season. It appears to be like nearly precisely like an NFL preseason. And because the Wolverines ought to have the ability to win these video games with out good quarterback play, it presents an opportunity to guage them on this manner.

And make no mistake, this can be a a lot higher solution to consider QBs than splitting sequence throughout the identical recreation.

Harbaugh now doesn’t have to fret a couple of QB trying over his shoulder ready for the hook if he misses a throw. He doesn’t have to fret about one participant lacking reps as a result of he left in a QB with a sizzling hand. Harbaugh will get an opportunity to observe each gamers work with the first-team offense below regular situations, and he will get to determine which QB leads the staff the very best. And if the primary two video games don’t reply the query, the third stays out there for additional analysis.

The conspiracy idea that instantly popped in my head when Harbaugh introduced this plan Saturday on Jon Jansen’s podcast was that this permits McNamara — who led Michigan to a Large Ten title final season — the possibility to be the opening-day starter. Nevertheless it additionally permits Harbaugh to call McCarthy — whose ceiling could also be increased — the starter after recreation No. 2. As colleague Ari Wasserman put it, it permits Harbaugh to “soften the blow” if a change was on his thoughts all alongside.

Both manner, the actual format of this season’s schedule permits Harbaugh to get the very best take a look at every QB in a recreation scenario. So he ought to have all the data he wants.

And nobody has to get minimize in half.

Andy, this Scott Frost scenario in Nebraska has me questioning: What are we to make of main convention packages hiring alumni as head coach? The opinions appear very blended at greatest. Kirby Sensible, Mike Gundy, and Jim Harbaugh (if he stays on his present trajectory) are all large successes, however solely Gundy actually constructed his title at his alma mater. Pat Fitzgerald and David Shaw are very up and down, and Ole Miss, Missouri, Texas Tech, Miami and now Nebraska have whiffed big-time. Am I studying an excessive amount of into this, or does it add pointless stress and sentimentality to an already tough job? — Benjamin

Once I met Stephen Prather, one of many founders of SportsSource Analytics, one of many first issues he instructed me was that being an alum of a faculty primarily is a negligible issue in terms of the success of a head soccer coach. Prather had been learning the numbers for years whereas creating shows for purchasers, and nothing advised it made jobs any simpler or any tougher.

I requested Prather this week if his opinion has modified, and he mentioned no. Then he despatched me the info on the previous 24 alumni hires. Of these, 14 had a decrease win proportion than the earlier five-year win proportion at their packages.

That doesn’t imply it’s essentially a nasty factor to rent an alum, both. In a few of these circumstances — Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea, as an illustration — the info set for the alum coach is small and it’s fairly potential he surpasses that earlier win proportion given a while. In the meantime, Kalani Sitake is profitable at a 3.8 p.c decrease charge than Bronco Mendenhall did within the 5 years previous to Sitake’s ascension. Another good season can put Sitake on the plus facet.

The reality is that for each Mike Gundy or Kirby Sensible, there’s a Randy Shannon or Scott Frost. Whereas the alum nearly at all times understands the tradition of the varsity and this system, that data doesn’t essentially result in wins.

It definitely hasn’t for Frost. The unbelievable statistic making the rounds after Nebraska’s loss to Northwestern will get no much less mind-blowing regardless of what number of occasions you see it. Frost may win his subsequent 50 video games in a row and nonetheless would have a worse report than Bo Pelini had at Nebraska.

None of us thought Frost would fail at Nebraska when he was employed. He had performed for Tom Osborne. He had realized below Chip Kelly at Oregon. He had led UCF to an undefeated season. There was no indication of the catastrophe to return. However I don’t suppose the scenario can be any kind of of a catastrophe if Frost had executed all the identical issues at Nebraska however been a Texas A&M graduate. The most important distinction most likely is he wouldn’t have gotten one other yr after final season. Sentimentality afforded him another season.

Conversely, Sensible didn’t win a nationwide title at Georgia as a result of he performed at Georgia. He gained a nationwide title at Georgia as a result of he most likely would have gained a nationwide title at any faculty with comparable assets, that recruiting footprint and a willingness to offer him precisely what he needed. That would have been Alabama, LSU, Ohio State or perhaps Florida, Auburn or Florida State. Bear in mind, Sensible may have been the coach who changed Gene Chizik at Auburn following the 2012 season, however Auburn officers understandably had been reluctant to have their head coach working for Alabama for a month earlier than taking on full-time. Georgia had no such objection in 2015, but it surely must be famous that one of many causes the Bulldogs fired Mark Richt that yr was a concern that Sensible may take the South Carolina job. Would he have gained the nationwide title there by now? Historical past says most likely not.

The place the alumni connection may assistance is in retention of coach. Would Gundy nonetheless be at Oklahoma State if he didn’t have such a protracted historical past with this system? If he’d nonetheless been a former Cowboys quarterback however discovered comparable success as a first-time head coach at Texas Tech or Baylor, would he have mentioned no to Tennessee or any of the opposite packages that thought-about him for his or her jobs?

I’m curious to see how this performs out within the case of Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith. Smith performed for the Beavers, and anybody who understands the diploma of problem of the Oregon State job is aware of Smith has been wonderful since changing into head coach in 2018. Given the uncertainty within the Pac-12 and Oregon State’s common place within the faculty soccer universe, would Smith be prepared to maneuver on from his alma mater if a program with a traditionally increased ceiling and a extra steady convention scenario got here calling?

One factor is for positive: It doesn’t matter what jobs open this season, somebody will ignore these numbers and push an alumnus purely as a result of that individual is an alumnus. Don’t fall into that entice, significantly in the event you’re the athletic director whose job rides on the success or failure of the rent.

Expensive Andy, am I loopy to suppose Brian Harsin is the right match for Nebraska? The Large Ten West is a developmental league, which is rather more aligned with how he desires to run his program. From Nebraska’s perspective, he gained’t win you a nationwide title with the roster he builds, however I’m undecided anybody may these days with the dearth of native expertise, however he can most likely get you again to 9-3 with the occasional B1G championship recreation look. — Peter

This isn’t loopy in any respect, although I’m positive Harsin nonetheless desires to attempt to make issues work at Auburn. I might level out that there isn’t more likely to be a Large Ten West after 2023, so making the Large Ten title recreation seemingly would require truly being the second-best staff within the league.

I do suppose most Nebraska followers have accepted that the Cornhuskers most likely gained’t return to the extent of dominance they loved within the Eighties and Nineties. A stage of success just like Iowa or Wisconsin most likely is the purpose. And I believe Harsin may do this at Nebraska.

He isn’t a nasty coach. He’s simply the fallacious coach for Auburn. To have any likelihood at Auburn, a coach needs to be prepared to go head-to-head with Alabama and Georgia for recruits. Even earlier than the tried coup by donors, Harsin hadn’t proven a propensity for doing that. However the Nebraska coach gained’t be anticipated to beat Ohio State and USC for gamers often. Growth and the institution of a tricky, disciplined identification — similar to Iowa or Wisconsin — can be the first objectives.

Given what we noticed Saturday, there’s a good likelihood Frost will give the Nebraska administration a possibility to decide on a brand new chief for this system. Harsin would make sense, although understanding what sort of cash the Large Ten is about to distribute, I think about there are a whole lot of coaches hoping to get in on that sweepstakes.

Rank faculty soccer head coach recreation day apparel. Are you a quarter-zip man? Hoodie? Fleece vest? Brief-sleeve wind-breaker? What concerning the pants? Are you an all-khaki-all-the-time man? Or a school-color golf pants man? — Travis

I used to suppose coaches ought to put on fits or blazers on the sideline like Bear Bryant or Howard Schnellenberger, however the older I get, the extra I really feel like everybody must be allowed to work in athleisure as typically as potential.

I’ve a number of pairs of the Lululemon pants that Harbaugh wore on the sideline when he had the unlucky incident with the area heater at Penn State final season, and I like to recommend that model of pant to anybody. They’re as versatile as sweatpants, however they scream “I’m a considerably accountable grownup.”

Just lately, I acquired two pairs of joggers from Rhone that scream “I’m a considerably accountable grownup, however I even have horny ankles.” These additionally would make for extremely useful sideline apparel. And naturally a discerning coach ought to combine in class colours at any time when potential. Derek Dooley didn’t get a lot proper at Tennessee, however these orange chinos had been spot-on.

As for the highest, I’m not a quarter-zip man. I attempt to train my kids that in our household, we don’t quarter-ass something. What sort of instance would I be setting if I solely needed to zip my shirt 1 / 4 of the way in which? I’m a full-zip individual. (Largely as a result of it doesn’t mess up the significantly problematic cowlick on the again of my head.)

I do know some coaches simply need to sweat, however in September, the sleeves want to remain brief. There’s nothing fallacious with a pleasant polo, and the excellent news is staff uniform suppliers Nike, Adidas and UnderArmour all have both sweat-wicking or mesh polos for simply such an event. There are different tops out there, however there’s no must complicate issues. The thought is that kind ought to observe operate, and after watching the officers ignore Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald yelling for a timeout final week in opposition to Nebraska in Eire, I positively suppose coaches have to be dressed to maneuver in case they should get their palms in entrance of a line decide’s face as rapidly as potential.

A Random Rating

Jonathan would love me to rank Lord of the Rings characters. With “The Rings of Energy” debuting on Amazon on Friday, that could be a high-quality thought.

1. Samwise Gamgee
2. Gollum/Smeagol
3. Gandalf
4. Gimli
5. Sauron
6. Frodo Baggins
7. Boromir
8. Saruman
9. Arwen
10. Aragorn

(On this Dec. 3, 2017, file photograph, Newly employed Nebraska head NCAA faculty soccer coach Scott Frost, proper, shakes the hand of athletic director Invoice Moos throughout a information convention in Lincoln, Neb. Nebraska’s 68-year-old athletic director has pulled off two of the splashiest hires in faculty athletics within the 18 months since he arrived. He introduced Frost again to his alma mater after he coached Central Florida to an unbeaten season in 2017. This week he employed former Iowa State star participant and coach Fred Hoiberg. (AP Photograph/Nati Harnik, File)