Report indicates three names to watch in Michigan's HC search

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Michigan might be back to square one after losing out on its perceived top targets. Kalen DeBoer and Alabama made an epic comeback on Friday night to beat Oklahoma in Norman. Then Arizona State locked up Kenny Dillingham on a long-term contract on Saturday morning. So DeBoer is likely to stay in Tuscaloosa and Dillingham isn't going anywhere -- now what for Michigan?
There are several targets the Wolverines could pursue and have been linked to, but according to On3's Pete Nakos, Michigan has three targets in mind.
Nakos revealed Louisville's Jeff Brohm, Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz, and Washington's Jedd Fisch were identified on Saturday morning.
Both Brohm and Drinkwitz have been linked to the Wolverines' open vacancy since Sherrone Moore was fired -- as was Fisch. But in the last few days, reports indicated that Fisch was no longer in contention for the job. But after Michigan losing out on both DeBoer and Dillingham, it's possible the Wolverines circle back to Fisch.
Jeff Brohm
Brohm went 36-34 in his six years at Purdue, with a nine and eight-win season to finish his career there. In three years at Louisville, Brohm has gone 27-12 and has taken the Cardinals to three bowl games.
Brohm is an elite offensive mind, usually has one of the top passing attacks in the country, but has yet to be with an elite program -- no offense to either Purdue or Louisville. But neither place is Michigan. It would be interesting to see what Brohm could do with the resources the Wolverines would have at his disposal.
Eli Drinkwitz
Drinkwitz, age 42, has been the head coach of Missouri since 2020. He came to the Tigers after a solid year with App. State back in 2019. Drinkwitz won the SEC Coach of the Year Award back in 2023.
The Tigers had a rough start after Drinkwitz came to Missouri. Drinkwitz coached Missouri to a combined 17-19 record in his first three seasons. But since, Missouri has gone 11-2, 10-3, and 8-4 since.
Drinkwitz signed a six-year extension with the Tigers just weeks ago, worth $64.5 million. If Michigan feels like he is their man, the Wolverines would have to buy Drinkwitz out.
Jedd Fisch
Former Michigan TE Jake Butt has advocated for Fisch at Michigan and his recent comments following the Huskies' win over Boise State didn't leave anything off the table.
While coaching at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh, Fisch knows the program quite well. Fisch coached at Michigan from 2015-16. He coached the QBs and was the passing game coordinator while under Harbaugh. Fisch moved to UCLA to become its offensive coordinator before moving to the NFL for three seasons.
While something happened to take Fisch off the table, it sounds like Michigan might be re-thinking that decision.
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Trent began writing and covering Michigan athletics back in 2020. He became a credentialed member of the media in 2021. Trent began writing with Sports Illustrated in 2023 and became the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI during the 2025 football season. Trent also serves as the Publisher of Baylor Bears on SI. His other bylines have appeared on Maryland on SI, Wisconsin on SI, and across the USA TODAY Sports network. Trent’s love of sports and being able to tell stories to fans is what made him get into writing.
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