5 coaches Michigan should have hired over Sherrone Moore to replace Jim Harbaugh

There was really no other option for the Michigan Wolverines to make. Once it became abundantly clear that Jim Harbaugh was going to leave his alma mater for the NFL, Michigan had to promote its offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore from within. He went an impressive 4-0 as the interim head coach over the course of the six games Harbaugh was suspended last year. That is why he got it.

Three of those wins came over Big Ten East foes in Penn State, Maryland and Ohio State, all of whom are led by well-respected men in the coaching industry in James Franklin, Mike Locksley and Ryan Day. However, Moore may have more in common with Day than he probably realizes. He is essentially being born on third base as the Michigan head coach. He will also be without Jesse Minter as well.

Had Michigan not made the College Football Playoff, and won the whole thing, Harbaugh may have left for the NFL weeks earlier. This would have afforded Michigan a much deeper coaching search than they afforded themselves. To be frank, they may have gotten their guy, but promoting from within rarely gives you Dabo Swinney. Oftentimes, you end up with a Mark Helfrich or much worse...

Here are five head-coaching candidates Michigan should have hired if it wanted a proper search.

5 head coaches Michigan should have hired over Sherrone Moore

5. David Shaw already succeeded in replacing Jim Harbaugh at Stanford

This seems highly unlikely, but hear me out. Former Stanford head coach David Shaw spent last year out of football. He took over for his former head coach Jim Harbaugh in Palo Alto after he bolted for the NFL the first time. While Stanford occasionally has good teams, their run of excellence for the half-decade-plus after Harbaugh is directly tied to Shaw's greatness ... or Mike Bloomgren's aura.

Michigan is a school with similar academic standards to that of Stanford, or near enough. The Cardinal were winning Pac-12 championships and getting to BCS/New Year's Six bowls under him. With a bigger football brand and a better recruiting base, what is not to say that Shaw could not have had a second act as a college football head coach at a place like Stanford? The fit may have worked.

By hiring Shaw, Michigan may have been able to retain as much of this staff as possible with any potential outside hire. Furthermore, he may have had a chance to pry Bloomgren out of Rice to play a huge part in his Michigan staff. In essence, you would be getting all of what made Stanford great in the post-Harbaugh era, now at Michigan, in the post-Harbaugh era. History will often repeat itself.

Shaw did interview for NFL jobs this past season, so maybe he does want to get back into coaching?