The Michigan Insider

Sam Webb, Brice Marich and Steve Lorenz are joined by The Michigan Insider's Josh Newkirk for a recap of the Pylon All American. Newkirk highlights the performances of JJ McCarthy, Cristian Dixon, and Junior Colson. Then his attention turn to recruiting rumblings in top targets Domani Jackson, Tyler Morris, and Kaleb Brown... all of whom were at the event. Later Sam, Brice, and Steve address the recent pro-Ohio State buzz with Will Johnson. The trio close out with an in-depth discussion of how the likely hire of Mike Macdonald as Michigan's defensive coordinator will affect recruiting. There's also a breakdown of how some of the position coaching targets could impact the in-state recruiting landscape.

Sam Webb and Tim McCormick break down Michigan's dominant victories over Minnesota and Wisconsin, the smothering defense the Wolverines have been unleashing, the impressive two-way play of Michigan's wings. College basketball analyst Clark Kellogg joins the podcast to give his thoughts on the Wolverines' rise to prominence, Hunter Dickinson's impact, the team's championship potential, Juwan Howard's coaching and development, and more. The podcast concludes with an in-depth preview of Michigan's rematch with Minnesota and the unveiling of Tim's all-freshman team.

In this episode, we discuss the Michigan football team and Jim Harbaugh agreeing to a five year contract that will extend Harbaugh through the 2025 season.

First we discuss the simple question of if this was the best choice for Michigan. We look at the financial situation behind the extension, why firing Harbaugh and hiring a new head coach may not have been as seamless as many think and what to make of the extended timeline.

Then, we start to dig into the tea leaves presented by the extension. We discuss how we interpret the greatly reduced buyout, why it might point to Michigan and Harbaugh viewing 2021 as the ultimatum year and why Harbaugh might have agreed to it.

Finally, we look at the biggest question mark of it all, and ponder if Harbaugh and Michigan backed into the deal, and if they can legitimately be all-in on the extension moving forward, or if there is still tension and discontent on either side.

In this episode, we break down the Michigan basketball team’s 10-0 start, including three straight double-digit wins against top-50 opponents.

We begin by taking a look at what has impressed us the most about the Wolverines’ recent wins. We discuss Michigan’s improved defense and Juwan Howard’s adjustments, how bought-in the Wolverines are and how that has translated into into on-court effort.

Next, we discuss players beyond Hunter Dickinson who have stepped up. We take a look at Mike Smith’s value beyond the box score (in addition to box-score contributions), along with Franz Wagner’s emergence into the much-hyped two-way player many had expected entering the season.

We then turn our attention to some bigger-picture discussions. We look at Michigan’s biggest weaknesses, the Wolverines’ staying power atop the Big Ten standings and more.

Sam Webb and Tim McCormick break down Franz Wagner's breakout showings versus Nebraska, Maryland, and Northwestern, Hunter Dickinson's emergence as one of the best big men in the country, and Michigan's versatility on the wing. Isaiah Livers joins the podcast to discuss his growth as player and leader, his relationship with Juwan Howard, role definition, and more. Then Tim and Sam round out the podcast with previews of upcoming Big 10 match ups with Minnesota and Penn State, a breakdown of Michigan's remaining schedule, and Tim's amended All-Big 10 team.

In this episode, we react to the Michigan football team dismissing defensive coordinator Don Brown, along with takin a look at what's next for the Wolverines' defense.

We begin by discussing our initial reaction to Brown's dismissal — one that is monumental in nature but was not surprising after the Wolverines' 2020 season. We review what went wrong for Brown and Michigan this season and in the past, along with how our impression of Brown changed through the years.

We then turn our attention to what's next for Michigan, taking a look at some early candidates who stand out to us, what traits the Wolverines should prioritize in their coordinator search and more. We also take a look at how recruiting plays a role in Michigan's decision, both with the 2021 class and beyond.

Finally, we close by looking at what kind of job a new defensive coordinator would be walking into. We assert that the Wolverines were likely to improve defensively in 2021 regardless of who their defensive coordinator was, but why it's paramount for Michigan to hire someone who has worked with talented players and won at big schools in the past.

Sam Webb and Tim McCormick break down Michigan's recent victory over Penn State, highlighting the clutch showing turned in by Hunter Dickinson. The discussion then turns to whether the expectations for Franz Wagner's role need to be adjusted. Later Tim and Sam have a lengthy chat with point guard Mike Smith about his adjustment to Michigan, the team improvement he sees on the horizon, and more. Tim the shares his Christmas All-B1G team as conference play gets underway.

Jaydon Hood joins Sam Webb at the beginning of the show with a surprise late signing. Brice Marich and Steve Lorenz join the show later to discuss Michigan hanging onto Xavier Worthy and Ja'Den McBurrows. The crew also discusses the significance of landing Donovan Edwards and highlight the strong finish to class despite rampant speculation about the future of the coaching staff. The crew fields listener questions on late signing period targets with an emphasis on Rayshaun Benny. They also discuss potential portal targets, top 2022 targets, and more.

In this episode, we break down some of the latest going-ons with the Michigan football team, while also recap the Wolverines’ 6-0 start to the season.

After addressing the Michigan football team’s third consecutive cancellation due to COVID-19, we try to decipher some of the other things addressed by Jim Harbaugh in his first press conference in two weeks. We look at the legitimacy of his “commitment” to Michigan in the future, and why we’re more inclined to believe him than before. We also discuss why the Wolverines’ Signing Day doesn’t appear poised to be as disastrous as maybe it could have been, and why it’s Michigan’s job to own its decision one way or another. We then turn our attention to the off chance that Michigan plays in a bowl game, and the factors that would play a role in that decision.

Then, we shift our focus to the Michigan basketball team, looking at Hunter Dickinson’s dominant start, the Wolverines’ second-half woes against Penn State in their first non-conference game, the value of winning gritty, Eli Brooks, Michigan’s improved defense, players the Wolverines need to step up and other things Michigan can improve upon during a 12-day hiatus between games.

in this episode, we take a look at the latest with Jim Harbaugh, Warde Manuel, and the future of the Michigan football program.

We begin by looking at rather pressing report that Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel has offered head coach Jim Harbaugh a contract extension. We discuss what it says about the relationship between Harbaugh and Michigan, why it's arguably a smart move by Manuel and what we expect to happen from it.

Then, we look at Michigan's bizarre decision to tell the public that it won't discuss future negotiations until after the season — which is also three days after National Signing Day. We discuss how brutal that is for recruiting, why we don't believe that's the true nature of the situation behind closed doors and the messiness of Michigan needing to do a coaching search during the worst year to need to do a coaching search.