According to this post by Mike Florio at NBC Sports, Brandon Jacobs is set on getting Jim Harbaugh fired. After Jacobs bashed Harbaugh in an interview, Harbaugh took to twitter to take the high road.
Biblical advice for @gatorboyrb Let all bitterness & wrath & anger & clamor & slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) May 27, 2017
Or he was intentionally trolling Jacobs to get a response. It’s really hard to tell what the intentions of the mad genius really were. If it was the latter, it worked.
Along with the tweet that said he was going to get him fired, there were a couple of other nuggets, in which Jacobs doubted the football knowledge of Harbaugh and even taunted him to answer some basic questions, without asking his assistants first.
It was a humorous story for a despicable person like me, and at the same time it gave me the idea to preview some up and coming coaches that might end up at a Big Ten school.
The MAC has been a pipeline for B1G coaches, including Woody Hayes, who Harbaugh is resembling more and more. Woody’s nemesis and protege, Bo Schembechler also cut his teeth in the MAC. The list is nearly endless, including the latest, PJ Fleck at Minnesota.
Here are three coaches in the MAC, all under 50, that could be next to make the jump.
Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan Eagles
There are many ways in which a college coach advances their career, and Creighton’s path has been through smaller schools, where he has amassed an impressive win loss record. Before taking over the Eagles, he was 137-46. His first 2 years in Ypsilanti wasn’t impressive, compiling a 3-21 record. It’s not really shocking, considering EMU finished with double digit losses in 4 of the 5 seasons prior to his arrival.
This past season they compiled a 7-6 record. It was their first winning record since 1995.
Their defense looks solid, and they return their quarterback, so I wont be shocked if they have back to back winning seasons, something they haven’t done since the late 80s. If that happens, you’ll start seeing his name at the top of coaching searches.
Chuck Martin, Miami RedHawks
Another path to a power 5 head gig is being a successful coordinator for a power program. Martin used an impressive run at division 2 Grand Valley State to propel him to offensive coordinator job at Notre Dame, where he helped lead the Irish to the 2012 national championship game.
At GVS, Martin was 74-7, and made the playoffs each season, winning 2.
Martin’s tenure at Miami started off almost as bad as Creighton’s, winning 5 out of 24 games. He followed that up with 6 straight losses to start the 2016 season. Not Big Ten material? He rattled off 6 straight wins after that, and only a botched field goal attempt kept him, and his team, from a bowl win against Mississippi State. It’s one of the most impressive runs I have ever witnessed in division one football.
Jason Candle, Toledo Rockets
Starting with Nick Saban, who coached the Rockets in 1990, 4 of the 5 Toledo head coaches prior to Candle have parlayed their success into a power 5 job. Saban went on to Michigan State, Gary Pinkel to Mizzou, Tim Beckman to Illinois, and Matt Campbell to Iowa State.
Jason Candle is likely to join them. He is only 37, and called the plays for one of the most potent offenses in the country last season. The Rocket’s QB, Logan Woodside, led the country in touchdown passes, and they return two of their top receivers. A big season or two, and it’s almost a lock we will see Candle at a power 5 school.