Joel Klatt names 6 names to watch in Michigan's search for its next head coach

Michigan made headlines once again on Wednesday and this time, the Wolverines fired second-year head coach Sherrone Moore. Athletic Director Warde Manuel released a statement that Moore was having an inappropriate relationship with a staffer and he was fired effective immediately.

Biff Poggi was named the interim head coach, but that's not a permanent solution. With Moore out the door, speculation has begun on who the Wolverines are going to target to replace Moore.

On his latest podcast, Fox's Joel Klatt came out with a list of names Michigan should target. He started out with his home-run hires before transitioning to more of a realistic list. Klatt believes Michigan is one of the top jobs in the country and you have to make some of the top names tell you no.

Klatt's home-run hires

Klatt started off with his big-time coaches, whom he thinks Warde Manuel needs to pick up the phone and call right away. He listed Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman, Oregon's Dan Lanning, and Indiana's Curt Cignetti.

"I'd probably call Marcus Freeman and just force him to tell me nobecause he is a great fit at Michigan. Now he's also a great fit at Notre Dame and Notre Dame is right now trying to fend off some of the NFL teams that are trying to talk with and lure Marcus Freeman away into the National Football League. So that's, we may have, there's a possibility that they may, that might happen here in the coming weeks. We'll see. But if I'm Michigan, I'm forcing Marcus Freeman to tell me no.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman — Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

"I'm forcing Dan Lanning again to say no. And Dan Lanning probably gets frustrated when his name gets thrown out in a show like this, but it is what it is because Dan has championship lineage. He is an excellent football coachand you have to at least force him to say no.

"You got to force Curt Cignetti to say no. And I understand that he just signed an extension, but listen, are we really that naive to think like, well, after the extension is signed and you coach for a year, then we can start ripping up contracts and the coach can leave and you can fire the coach and this and that. Listen, it's just legal jargon. So all the coaches that signed extensions, I would at least have them in the pool because why limit your own pool? So force Curt Cignetti to say no after winning the Big Ten Championship and being the conference's coach of the year, back-to-back years. Why not? Why not?"

Klatt's realistic hires

With Klatt mentioning the home-run hires, he then listed three realistic names. He mentioned he believes Michigan will hire one of these three before it's all said and done. Klatt named off Vanderbilt's Clark Lea, Texas A&M's Mike Elko, and ASU's Kenny Dillingham.

"Clark Lea, Vanderbilt. I think that his toughness, his history at Notre Dame as a defensive coordinator, so it's not like he's just a dyed in the wool SEC guy, right? And listen, I understand that they're having success and maybe he wants to stay at Vanderbilt, but Michigan is Michigan, all right?Like, it's better than Vanderbilt. If Lane Kiffin can leave Ole Miss to go to LSU, you can certainly leave Vanderbilt to go to Michigan. And the resources at Michigan are great. Clark Lea has been an excellent coach at Vanderbilt and you would absolutely call him."

Vanderbilt HC Clark Lea — Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"I know this man just signed an extension, but I would call Mike Elko. Mike Elko seems to really understand the way to build the program the right way. And A&M has not had a ton of success in their history. I mean, they've been, and A&M fans get all mad at me when I say this, but it is true. A&M has been just a bit above .500 for most of their time. They've been kind of a middle of the pack conference team, whether it was in the Big 12 or the SEC, outside of a couple of years where they would jump up."

"Kenny Dillingham at Arizona State. He's about the right things. He's seen it up close and personal. He's coached at Oregon. Now he's done it as a head coach. He went and won a championship at Arizona State and really succeeded in the playoffs. That's something right there.Kenny Dillingham, I know he said he would never leave."

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