$87 million head coach reportedly on 'very short list' for Michigan to replace Sherrone Moore

Friday's opening of the College Football Playoff only emphasizes the need for speed for the coachless Michigan Wolverines. Left searching by the odd developments leading to Sherrone Moore's firing, Michigan has less than two weeks to get a new head coach in place before the transfer portal officially opens on January 2nd. And with great need from the Wolverines comes great speculation across the media realm.

Among the multitude of coaches who have been linked with the Michigan head coaching job are Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham and Washington's Jedd Fisch. But the biggest name linked to the Michigan job is getting ready to coach a CFP playoff game on Friday. It's that game that could springboard him to Michigan.

Joel Klatt discussed the possibility of Alabama's Kalen DeBoer taking the Wolverine helm. DeBoer signed an eight year, $87 million deal ahead of the 2024 season with the Tide.

"I think he is on a very short list for Michigan," said Klatt on First Things First. "But they would only go after and try to achieve Kalen DeBoer as their head coach if [Alabama] were to lose on Friday night. Because if he's coaching all the way until the first, and then the transfer portal opens up on January 2nd, then that's not a very advantageous position for Michigan to be in. So I think that they would pivot because of that."

Based on the timeline and situation, Klatt called the Alabama/Oklahoma game on Friday "important on a whole lot of fronts." He was careful to qualify earlier in the show that he doesn't believe that Alabama would fire DeBoer as a result of a first-round Playoff loss, but a second consecutive four-loss season for DeBoer when Nick Saban didn't suffer two four-loss seasons in his entire tenure would not be a good sign.

Klatt named one other coach who he considered to be on the short list with DeBoer-- Louisville's Jeff Brohm. Louisville will play Tuesday in the Boca Raton Bowl, so regardless of that outcome, Brohm as a potential hire could also make sense in regard to the timeline noted by Klatt.

DeBoer rose through the ranks as an offensive assistant coach after graduating from the University of Sioux Falls. He has now coached two seasons at Fresno State, Washington, and Alabama. DeBoer has amassed a 56-16 mark at the FBS level, but has yet to open a third season in any job since being the offensive coordinator for Eastern Michigan in 2016.

The Alabama/Oklahoma game projects as a virtual coin flip. Oklahoma, as the home team, is a very mild betting favorite, while ESPN's FPI gives Alabama a 50.9% chance at victory.