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Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon resigned on Friday, and apparently the Wolverines have a target for their new AD ... Northwestern's Jim Phillips.
Michigan has targeted Northwestern athletics director Jim Phillips as a candidate to succeed Dave Brandon.
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) November 1, 2014
This is generally par for the course with Phillips, as he is repeatedly mentioned for open AD jobs. He was reportedly a candidate for the open Penn State job this year. This is a bit different, because if Schad is correct, he seems to be "the" top target, which is different than the Penn State opening.
Phillips has expressed that he's happy in Evanston, and he has reportedly turned down numerous AD jobs since arriving at NU, including the Stanford job. Pat Fitzgerald was pursued by Michigan in a job that eventually went to Brady Hoke, who could be on the verge of being fired this year.
So is this a serious threat? It's tough to tell, and Phillips is clearly loyal to Northwestern. But it is Michigan, and if the Wolverines are willing to throw a lot of money at him, maybe there could be some cause for concern.