5 Candidates to Replace John Beilein at Michigan

John Beilein left Michigan for the Cavs in what is an absolutely stunning move, and it leaves the Wolverines vulnerable in the coaching carousel season. With so many people already having taken jobs — as Jeff Goodman pointed out, Nate Oats would’ve been a great option but he just left Buffalo for Alabama — it’s tricky to think who they’ll get. Here are five knee-jerk names who could make sense:

Yaklich, an assistant on Beilein’s staff, is credited with being the ‘architect‘ in implementing their stalwart defensive system this past season. While he’s only been in the college coaching assistant ranks for six seasons, this would be the best option for Michigan if they wanted to go with a continuity hire.

Washington was given the interim head coaching tag while Beilein was out for health reasons this past season, so it stands to reason he’s another option for Michigan if they opt to go with a continuity hire from Beilein’s staff.

The Butler coach would be a relative young hire at 40 years old, and he was an assistant on Michigan’s staff from 2010-2016. He’s gone just 48-55 in two seasons at Butler, but once again this is someone with Michigan ties who has upside potential.

Beard just signed a six-year extension worth $27.5 million with Texas Tech, so one would have to imagine his buyout is prohibitive. Nonetheless, Michigan is a program with effectively unlimited pockets so if for whatever reason Beard could be pried away you’d think he’d be their top choice.

This is probably unrealistic given that Michigan has spent the last 30 years doing everything they can to distance themselves from the Fab Five, but this would be a solid hire for the Wolverines. Howard has been an assistant coach with the Heat since 2013, and there were some murmurs he could be a candidate for potential NBA openings.