Should Rich Rodriguez be replaced as head coach at Michigan, there is a groundswell that would suggest Cincinnati's Brian Kelly be the choice. There is little question Kelly is an excellent coach, but this is why Stanford's Jim Harbaugh would be a better fit.

- Harbaugh has had signature wins over opponents that have destroyed Michigan - USC and Oregon. Is there such a thing as a signature victory in the Big East and has Kelly had one? How did his team do in the Orange Bowl? The Pac 10 is much more difficult landscape. And like Kelly, Harbaugh had great success at a lower level of college coaching where pure coaching often makes the difference.

- Harbaugh has deep ties to Michigan football and its patron saint, Bo Schembechler. He was raised in Ann Arbor and played four years at U-M as a great player. Kelly has no ties whatsoever to U-M. And we've seen what that can to do an outsider like Rodriguez.

- Kelly has won with players he didn't recruit, both at CMU and Cincinnati. Harbaugh's teams are getting better at Stanford as his recruits play more. Also, his NFL connections, coupled with Michigan's brand name, would make him a major force in recruiting. Kelly has no NFL ties.

This is my column in Tuesday's Oakland Press about the Michigan coaching situation: http://tinyurl.com/y97zx7a