The Tim Lester era at Western Michigan is over. Lester was fired on Monday, two days after a win against Toledo to cap a 5-7 season.

Lester, a former WMU quarterback, went 37-32 over six seasons. He had a moderate level of success, with four winning seasons, three bowl games and just one losing record. But he failed to get over the hump and into the MAC championship game. Multiple times in those six years, the Broncos were upset late in the season, costing them the MAC West division title.

Advertisement

Lester inherited a team coming off a Cotton Bowl appearance under P.J. Fleck. The standard had changed. WMU also hired a new athletic director late last year.

“The upcoming College Football Playoff expansion and the incredible foundation for success we have within our football program provides an exciting national opportunity for Bronco football,” AD Dan Bartholomae said in a release. “It is imperative that we seize this opportunity by pursuing a new direction within our football program. Western Michigan University can set the standard for football in the MAC, which in turn will position us for success in the new and evolving college football landscape. We will immediately embark on a search to welcome a leader that shares this aspirational vision.”

So how good is the WMU job? What names could get in the mix? Here are some factors to keep in mind.

WMU is well-resourced relative to the rest of the MAC

Before Fleck left for Minnesota, Western Michigan offered him a 10-year contract that would pay him $2 million per year. That’s a huge salary for a MAC school. Lester earned $802,500, which ranked third in the MAC, so WMU has shown the ability to invest.

The MAC in general is one of the least-resourced conferences in the Football Bowl Subdivision, but WMU is one of the schools at the top of the league in terms of what it can offer. There is an indoor practice field. The Bill Brown Alumni Football Center underwent renovations in 2014. That’s a pretty good setup compared to most of the rest of the league.

The ceiling is MAC championships and NY6 or expanded CFP

Fleck showed what was possible in Kalamazoo, reaching a Cotton Bowl and signing recruiting classes that ranked atop the conference. That’s why Bartholomae talked about the opportunity with the expanded CFP. WMU has been and can be the top-ranked team in the Group of 5.

Advertisement

This 5-7 was the program’s first losing season in nine years. Before the Cotton Bowl, Fleck won eight games twice. Lester put WMU in position for bowl games. That should be the floor.

“I think we all need to strive for a culture where we only settle for the best,” Bartholomae said at a news conference this week, according to MLive.com. “Where mediocrity is not acceptable, where we don’t pass by details that can be fixed without immediately fixing them, where we don’t excuse certain behaviors that are not allowing us to reach that championship level.”

Play-calling experience and Midwest ties are preferred

Bartholomae made that clear at the news conference. Along with “relentless energy.”

“I think familiarity with a region and the conference is important,” Bartholomae told reporters. “P.J. had that when they hired him. I don’t necessarily think absolute familiarity with Western Michigan is (important). We will spend a lot of time preparing information about who we are and who we want to be, and we will provide our candidates that, so they’ll get a good sense of what they’re walking into.”

That’s not surprising, given the historic recruiting base. Though MAC schools can add players from across the country, the base is the Midwest. WMU’s 2022 roster included 31 players from Michigan, 25 from Illinois, 13 from Indiana, six from Pennsylvania and four from Ohio.

“I want somebody who walks in the room and picks everybody up who’s around them, who inspires you to be greater, who inspires the team to be greater and who ultimately will get our community excited,” Bartholomae said. “So, energy first. I’ve talked a lot about our community, high-quality connections with the community.

So what names could get in the mix?

Michigan co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Sherrone Moore has been in the state since 2014. Before joining the Wolverines in 2018, he spent four years on the Central Michigan staff. Moore’s offensive line won the 2021 Joe Moore Award. That unit was the backbone of Michigan’s Playoff run last year and potential run again this year. The 36-year-old knows the state, he knows the MAC and he’d come with a strong pedigree. But it’s possible Moore could land or wait for a bigger job.

Advertisement

Michigan special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh has been in Ann Arbor with his father Jim since 2015 and produced some of the most consistently successful special teams units in that time. He’s also recruited players like Blake Corum, Donovan Edwards and Zach Charbonnet to Ann Arbor. The 33-year-old is an alumnus of Oregon State, where Bartholomae previously worked, though the two didn’t overlap.

Minnesota running backs coach Kenni Burns held the same coaching role on that 2016 WMU team that went to the Cotton Bowl. In that one season, Burns coached two players who surpassed 900 running yards, including Jarvion Franklin (1,353 yards). At Minnesota, Burns developed Rodney Smith, the No. 2 rusher in Gophers history, as well as Mo Ibrahim, an All-America candidate. He’s never been a coordinator, but neither had Fleck.

Minnesota co-offensive coordinator wide receivers coach Matt Simon also worked at WMU under Fleck from 2014 to 2016, where he developed prolific receivers like All-American Corey Davis and Daniel Braverman. At Minnesota, he’s developed a first-round pick in Rashod Bateman and fifth-round pick Tyler Johnson.

Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks is a Detroit native and Central Michigan alum. This year’s Tennessee defense is 15th nationally in tackles for loss per game and held LSU to 13 points in a Vols win in Baton Rouge. Before these two years at UT, Banks coached at Penn State, Illinois, Cincinnati and CMU. He knows the Midwest and he’s recruited at a high level, signing numerous blue-chip prospects at Tennessee and Penn State.

Ferris State (Mich.) head coach Tony Annese won the 2021 Division II national championship and has coached in Michigan for his entire career, going back to 1984. He’s 112-17 in 10 seasons at Ferris State, including an 11-1 record this year and six consecutive top-six finishes. He’s been in the mix for Michigan MAC jobs before, but he’s never coached at the Division I level and he’s now in his 60s.

Cincinnati defensive coordinator Mike Tressel is expected to join Luke Fickell at Wisconsin, but he could be an intriguing name. Tressel spent 2007 to 2020 at Michigan State, between two stints at Cincinnati. He knows the Midwest, and he’s coached in the College Football Playoff at Cincinnati and the Rose Bowl at Michigan State.

Oregon State defensive coordinator Trent Bray doesn’t have any Midwest experience, but he has the OSU relationship with Bartholomae. The 40-year-old Bray was promoted to interim defensive coordinator last year and won the job. After a strong 2022 season, Bray received a contract extension.

Advertisement

Cincinnati offensive coordinator Gino Guidugli has a few options on the table, but head coach at WMU could be one. The former Bearcats quarterback has been on staff since 2017 and helped develop Desmond Ridder into an NFL Draft pick. His coaching career began at Central Michigan, where he worked from 2010 to 2016.

Louisville offensive coordinator Lance Taylor has a strong record of player development. He joined the Cards last year after three years at Notre Dame. He also coached Stanford’s running backs from 2014 to 2016, helping develop Christian McCaffrey. Taylor coached in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers and New York Jets as well.

(Top photo: Joseph Weiser / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)