Brian Manzullo

Detroit Free Press

As we look at who Michigan could hire as its next football coach, Brady Hoke could be looking at where he'll land his next gig.

How about Colorado State? Or even Oregon State? (We'll get to that one.)

The Rams (10-2) lost their head coach, Jim McElwain, who took the job at Florida. And Hoke's already being mentioned by the likes of the Denver Post as a possible candidate for the vacancy.

Before Michigan, Hoke coached at San Diego State, another Mountain West school, from 2009-10.

"Before flopping at Michigan, Hoke, 56, turned around floundering programs at Ball State and San Diego State," writes Tom Kensler of the Denver Post. "His familiarity with the Mountain West is a plus, as is his head coaching experience and his familiarity recruiting in California. His hiring would make a splash."

One thing worth mentioning here is Hoke is primarily a defensive coach. He coached Michigan's defensive line from 1997-2001 before getting his first head coaching gig at Ball State. And one of his biggest issues at Michigan was developing a consistent offense.

That would have to be a primary focus at CSU since it plays in a conference with potent offenses such as Boise State, the team that beat out CSU in the Mountain Division this season.

Other candidates for CSU, mentioned by the Post, include Notre Dame running backs coach Tony Alford, CSU offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin, Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin (no, really) and Arizona State offensive coordinator Mike Norvell.

And then there's Oregon State, which lost Mike Riley today to Nebraska. Hoke was the defensive line coach at Oregon State from 1989-94. But he'd be taking over a program that just finished 5-7, including 2-7 in Pac-12 play.

Hoke also has a connection inside the Beavers' athletic office.

Contact Brian Manzullo: bmanzullo@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrianManzullo.