If the Michigan job opened up, would it be a top job to go for? If we’re ranking every program in college football, you’d think the answer to that is easy. The Michigan Wolverines have the brand, a home in the Big Ten, and the resources to compete with anybody. My real question is different. Is the Michigan head coaching job as attractive as the national media is going to make it sound?

To be clear, this could all be a moot point. Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham could still be the head coach and survive his first season in Ann Arbor. But there are valid questions about whether he even wants to be at this job after one year. And if he walks, the conversation about what Michigan actually is as a destination for future coaching candidates is going to get loud in a hurry.

Alignment is the most underrated thing in a coaching search

I keep coming back to this when it comes to Lane Kiffin and LSU. People forget that when Kiffin was going to LSU, the athletic director, the president, and every single level of leadership was a huge question mark in Baton Rouge. That was the only thing I would have been worried about if I was in his shoes.

Then LSU got its leadership aligned and figured things out. The Tigers brought in Kiffin, and things are running smoothly in Year 1. They have investment in the football program, and everyone is pulling in the same direction.

Alignment is one of the most underrated parts of any coaching search. Fans want to talk about the brand, the NIL money, and the recruiting footprint. Coaches really just want to know whether the people above them are going to have their back when things get rough. That’s the lens I’m using when I look at Michigan.

Yes, the Wolverines have the brand. Yes, they have the conference. Yes, they have the money. But do they really have alignment from their leadership?

Michigan’s up-top stability problem is real

And frankly, the answer right now doesn’t look great. There has been scandal after scandal at Michigan. If I’m a head coach, especially in this landscape of college football, do I look at that job as enticing as it was 10 or 15 years ago? No. I don’t.

I don’t think there’s stability within the overall school. I don’t think I could feel confident walking into that building knowing I’m probably going to have a change at quarterback and more than likely a ton of turnover across the roster. Sure, I would have a ton of resources at my disposal. But this leadership has not looked stable for the past couple of years, and there are some serious questions surrounding that program.

And you may say it’s Michigan, coaches would crawl to Ann Arbor for that job. I get it. There are going to be plenty of people who want it, and the brand alone makes it a very enticing job. I’m not arguing that it’s a bad job. I’m arguing that it’s not the clear-cut prize people are going to pretend it is the second it opens.

USC is the better job if we’re looking ahead to next year

If the Michigan head coaching job opens up at the same time as a USC, or even a Florida State, I don’t think the Wolverines are the No. 1 job on the board. Okay, maybe I’m reaching a bit with Florida State. I’ll own that one.

But USC? I’m comfortable stamping it. USC is a better job than Michigan right now. The Trojans offer a major brand and a recruiting base in Southern California, and they don’t come with the same leadership baggage hanging over the athletic department.

And here’s the one that’s going to make some people mad. Maryland’s a little bit closer than a lot of people want to admit as a top coaching destination.

Michigan will always be a top job on brand alone. But brand doesn’t fix a fractured administration, and until the people running that school prove they can get on the same page, I’m not putting the Wolverines’ opening at the top of anyone’s list if it opens up.