<p>romanigyspsyeyes, I do not think Nussmeier was hired with the thought of replacing Hoke. Nussmeier does not have experience as headcoach and has never stayed anywhere longer than 3 seasons. At the moment, I think he was brought in to manage the Offensive side of the ball for the foreseeable future. Of course, given his age, should Nussmeier so wish, he can conceivably become head coach when Hoke retires, or should Hoke continue to have 4-6 loss seasons. Mattison is too old, so Nussmeier may have cnsidered Michigan a great option should he decide to make it his long term home. But given his track record of moving on every 2-3 years, he doubt he will stay longer than 3 years at Michigan. I think Michigan 's offense will shine in 2015 and 2016, at which point Nussmeier could be hired as HC at a high-profile college program.</p>
<p>GoBlue81, Alabama fans are so dillusional that they assume that if Nussmeier left Alabama, it had to be because he was asked to leave. That is most likely not the case. Most people do not realize that this was weeks in the making. As in 6-9 weeks. It usually takes over one month for an OC to separate from his current position. You can bet that Hoke and Brandon have been talking to Alabama’s HC and AD since early December in order to ensure a smooth transition for both programs. Michigan did not want Alabama to make it difficult on them, and Brando saw to it that they went through the regular process. Chances are, only after Nussmeier expressed his decision to leave for Michigan (sometime in late November or early Decmeber) did Alabama start talking Kiffen. </p>
<p>This season, Alabama averaged close to 40 points per game. In the SEC, that is amazing. Certainly among the best in their league. I think Nussmeier was set on leaving Alabama because he felt that Saban cast a long shaddow and that he would be able to gain more visibility at another program.</p>