How badly would Michigan fans like to see former Wolverines quarterback Jim Harbaugh replace Brady Hoke as its coach this winter?
Badly enough, for one of them anyway, to vote for Harbaugh as governor of Michigan Tuesday.
It wasn't the only write-in candidate that drew some attention in football circles Tuesday. Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper got a vote for Alabama governor, as well. But unlike the Cooper vote, this one was more of a statement on the state of the Wolverines as a program.
Hoke's ouster after the season, of course, is as likely as any pending coaching change in the college game. It's all the more certain after the exit of athletic director Dave Brandon last week, although with five losses already and a sixth loss to rival Ohio State looking like a lock, Brandon would have been in no position to save Hoke, anyway.
Enter Harbaugh, who has the requisite asset of being a "Michigan man" on his resume for the job. NFL Media insider Ian Rapoport reported in late September that Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh is actually a more realistic candidate.
Still, questions about Harbaugh's relationship with the San Francisco 49ers have grown louder over the course of the season, and it didn't help that the best player in the history of the club, Jerry Rice, added some gas to the fire Tuesday.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
