3 replacements for Michigan if Jim Harbaugh is fired or leaves for the NFL

Michigan is a job worth leaving Iowa State

If Harbaugh leaves Michigan, either on his own or by way of termination, Matt Campbell of the Iowa State Cyclones has to be the top choice to replace him. Campbell has a fantastic thing going for him in Ames. If he stays at Iowa State, he can become a legend like Bill Snyder was at Kansas State or what Gary Patterson is at TCU. However, he’s ready to lead somewhere like Michigan.

There are two things Campbell does phenomenally well as a head coach. His teams rarely get blown out. Though they usually win, if the Cyclones do succumb to defeat, it is never by a ton. Iowa State may not have the recruiting base or the on-field talent, but Campbell maximizes the most out of his players. This is why the Cyclones have become a top-four team in the Big 12.

The other thing Campbell does well is to establish a winning culture. In his decade as a head coach, Campbell has had one losing season between Iowa State and with the Toledo Rockets. That was in his first season at Iowa State in 2016. The Cyclones still went 3-9 and won two conference games. Keep in mind Iowa State was about as bad as the Kansas Jayhawks in the years prior to his arrival.

Again, Campbell and his family would have a decision to make. If he were to stay in Ames, he could go down the path of Patterson and Snyder en route to the College Football Hall of Fame. But if he were to leave something good, it might work out even better for him. It looks like it is working out quite well for Dan Mullen leaving the Mississippi State Bulldogs for the Florida Gators in 2018.

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