Aged like milk. That’s former head coach Sherrone Moore’s Michigan tenure in a nutshell. After his firing, the Wolverines are scrambling to find a new head coach at the earliest. Two days ago, booster Dave Portnoy offered to get ASU HC Kenny Dillingham on a silver platter in 48 hours. That promise still holds strong.

“If Kenny comes to Michigan that will be minimum 3 national titles in the next decade,” Portnoy shared on X. “You have no idea how high we can fly.”

Looking back to Michigan’s legacy, the blue blood boasts 11 national championships, adorning the halls of the University. However, during the later stretch of the 20th century, that momentum shifted. It was the first time since 1948, when legendary Lloyd Carr brought the trophy back home in 1997. Since then, the Wolverines struggled for another two decades until Jim Harbaugh brought home the trophy to Ann Arbor in 2023.

Of course, Dillingham has yet to win a national championship. If he’s guided by that allure, Arizona State may not be the place where he’d achieve it. Having said that, Dillingham turned it around at the Sun Devils rather quickly. He took a 3-9 program and led it to the playoffs after winning the Big 12.

However, that success was far too personal for him. Having played quarterback at ASU, he aspired to elevate his alma mater to unprecedented levels. Calling it his dream job, the 35-year-old head coach has publicly expressed his love for the Sun Devils.

So far, Kalen DeBoer and Dillingham are on top of Michigan’s search. The program has hired the search firm, TurnkeyZRG, for the process. Reportedly, they have contacted the representatives of Dillingham and Eli Drinkwitz so far.

There’s also the complication around who the new head coach would report to.

“I don’t think any great coach is ever going to take a job if they don’t even know if the AD is going to be there,” Portnoy said on Dec. 15. “And we don’t know if the AD is going to be there. We don’t know if the president’s going to be there. So, just give it to the donor. Give it to Larry Ellison. Give it to me.”

It’s highly unlikely that the keys will be handed over to Portnoy. He may get his wish, though.

Will Kenny Dillingham head towards Michigan?

It won’t be a stretch to say that ASU does not want to part ways with its head coach. With a $7.4 million deal, Kenny Dillingham shared that his agent is in talks for an enhanced contract. However, so far, nothing on that front has moved. Dillingham has expressed his love for the program and its players, but he hasn’t completely refuted the Michigan rumors.

“I can’t say whether there has been any dialogue directly between Dillingham and Michigan at this point,” Arizona State insider Chris Karpman said on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if that ultimately ended up happening if Arizona State and Dillingham can’t come to an agreement on a new amended contract here within the next several days or something.”

So, what will it be? Michigan might boast 11 national championships. But with the latest administrative chaos under AD Warde Manuel, it has become a challenging task to find a new leader on the front.

Michigan did not exactly have a good season. Although a 9-3 record took them to the Citrus Bowl. But a 9-27 OSU burn still haunts them. While the locker room was prepping for the upcoming clash against Texas, no one had anticipated that Sherrone Moore would get fired for cause.