COLUMN: Mike Boynton Jr.'s 'Prove It' Deal With Michigan Is the Right Choice

Whether you had hoped that Michigan would do a full-scale national search upon Dusty May's departure to the NBA, the timing of May taking the leap to the professional ranks wasn't ideal for both players and coaches alike in Ann Arbor.

It's hard to determine if the situation ends up being a net positive, but arguably no one has benefited more from the departure than new head coach Mike Boynton Jr.

The most logical successor while keeping the culture intact, Boynton will be working with a stacked deck, only losing one player to the transfer portal, which is a massive win for him this offseason. A roster largely considered a Top 10 assembly of talent in its current form, a continuation of an elite winning pedigree allows everyone to put their best foot forward for the 2025-26 season.

That's where it stops, however, as a natural successor set up to be in the best possible position to be successful doesn't always equate to recent history repeating itself.

When it comes to the idea of handpicked successors, one look at what happened with the football program has left people nervous, though the situations are similar in some ways and vastly different in others.

If anything, with what happened to the football program after Harbaugh departed left a valuable lesson to be learned, jobs are earned, not given, which is exactly why Boynton's two-year deal has its benefits for both sides of the coin.

Firstly, it gives Boynton some short-term stability by removing the interim title and allowing him to go out and recruit without having to answer questions about his job status from high school and portal prospects.

It also gives U-M an opportunity for a clean break if things don't work out immediately. It shouldn't be too much to consider this current team a candidate to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament; anything short of that would be a failure.

All things considered, not much has really changed from when Boynton was named interim to being the head coach, he now has a stable title and one added year of security if it gets to that point. This season was always going to be the test whether the experiment continues or the program resets and elects for a national search.

Either outcome will have its benefits that come with it. However, NIL has provided an opportunity to change how we think about "rebuilds" in college athletics. Of course, it doesn't apply to every college program, but those who have the resources to spend can overhaul a roster in a matter of weeks and suddenly vault into the national conversation.

It happened in Ann Arbor with May.

It's clear that naming Boynton head coach makes the most sense for program stability in the short term. The players who announced their intentions to stay have proved that point.

But continued success isn't guaranteed. Even though you had a hand in recruiting these players to Ann Arbor, the game changes once those players move on and you have to recruit and develop players under your leadership.

Boynton has a track record of recruiting talent but time will tell what that looks like at a place like U-M. All things considered, a seven-year head coaching veteran who has unique perspective into the program isn't a bad place

His two-year deal is his opportunity to prove that he can lead a prominent national brand to glory. You throw out previous coaching stops and focus on the here and now.

It starts with the upcoming season, a chance to cement his place as the head coach of the program.

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