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With Alabama's Kalen DeBoer seemingly taking himself out of Michigan's coaching search, the Wolverines trudge forward since the firing of Sherrone Moore with other options in mind, including Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham and Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz.

The Associated Press reported Sunday through sources that the search firm hired by Michigan to help find Moore's replacement has reached out to representatives for Drinkwitz and Dillingham in recent days, two coaches who have been connected to various other openings this cycle.

247Sports confirmed the AP's report that Michigan has contacted Drinkwitz's representation, and he is considered a target for the Wolverines, along with Washington's Jedd Fisch and even DeBoer despite his public comments ahead of this weekend's College Football Playoff. Michigan is "casting a wide net" given the timing of the opening, The Michigan Insider's Alejandro Zuniga told CBS Sports this week. 

Drinkwitz, who is repped by Clint Dowdle after a split from Jimmy Sexton, agreed to a contract extension with the Tigers in November that pushes his average annual salary past $10.7 million.

"Drinkwitz recently signed an extension, but his buyout ($5 million) remains manageable from Michigan's perspective," Zuniga said. "If the courtship with Drinkwitz continues, it may need to involve some relationship mending after he poked fun at Michigan for the Connor Stalions saga in December 2023." 

Drinkwitz's contract announcement came after his name was associated with the Florida and Auburn vacancies last month and just before Penn State hired Matt Campbell as its new coach.

"During the first round (of the coaching carousel) when his name was tied to basically every open job, the feeling locally was always that he was going to stay," Power Mizzou's Gabe DeArmond told CBS Sports on Monday. "Fully understand signing the extension doesn't make it impossible for him to leave, but the optics would be far worse than they would have been three weeks ago. It seems very unlikely to me."

Drinkwitz and the Tigers started 5-0 this season but lost four of their final seven games to finish 8-4. Before a loss at Oklahoma on Nov. 22, Drinkwitz addressed job rumors. He has not spoken publicly about being attached to any openings since.

"You know, I'm not going to comment on message board chatter, tweets, sources. I've maintained with you and our team that my complete focus is on the task at hand," Drinkwitz said. "You know, last week, people were tired of me because I couldn't win the big game. People had me meeting with my team and telling them that I was going to another school, none of which were true. 

"Now, this week, it's a different story, because we scored the second most points in the SEC this year at 49 (against Missisippi State). So you know, all of this stuff is just a distraction. You know, I would like to remind everybody, including our fans, we absolutely love Mizzou. We love what we're building. We've been to six straight bowl games. We got the sellout streak going. Our administration has been nothing but phenomenal to me."

Drinkwitz won 11 games at Missouri in 2023 and beat Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl prior to last season's 10-3 finish. He's 46-28 overall in six years, including a 26-24 mark in SEC play. The SEC's 2023 Coach of the Year, Drinkwitz trails only Kirby Smart, Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian for most overall wins in the conference over the last three years.

It should come as no surprise that Drinkwitz bubbled up in Michigan's search process given his penchant for recruiting and finding gems in the transfer portal. He's never had the SEC's most-talented roster but finished with 11 wins in 2023 and 10 last fall resulting in Missouri's first consecutive top-20 finishes since Gary Pinkel's tenure (2013-14).

With greater NIL influence and resources than Missouri, Michigan signed a top-10 class in 2025 headlined by five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood, the top-ranked player in the country.

Dillingham's situation with Sun Devils

Dillingham is close to signing an extension with Arizona State, but that hasn't happened yet, per 247Sports. Dillingham confirmed after practice Saturday that Arizona State and his agent began working on contract amendments shortly after the conclusion of the regular season. 

Dillingham later acknowledged he has not spoken with Michigan or any other programs regarding coaching vacancies and is focused on his Sun Devils' upcoming bowl game against ACC champion Duke on Dec. 31. Dillingham said it was "cool, I guess" to be wanted by a prestigious program like Michigan.

"That doesn't change how I feel about here," Dillingham said over the weekend. "That doesn't change that my sister's my neighbor, that doesn't change that my parents live three doors down, that doesn't change that my son's best friend is my sister's daughter. None of that changes, but it is one of the best jobs in America. It's an unbelievable brand, iconic brand and it's a great opportunity for somebody."

Dillingham, 35, won the Big 12's Coach of the Year honor last fall after leading the Sun Devils to a league title and the program's first playoff berth. He's 22-16 overall across three seasons at Arizona State and like Drinkwitz, has spoken publicly about the need for enhanced NIL efforts at his current program.