Jalen Rose wants Michigan to go after Juwan Howard like they did Jim Harbaugh

Teammates during the “Fab-Five” era of Michigan hoops, Jalen Rose and Juwan Howard have been friends for a quarter of a century. Years removed from both being accomplished NBA players, Rose is now a hoops analyst on ESPN, and Howard is an assistant head coach for the Miami Heat.

Rose used his platform to talk about Howard and his coaching chops.

“Juwan Howard has coached summer league. He’s earned his dues. He’s sat behind the bench. He’s sat on the bench. This is an amazing opportunity for them to get an amazing, young coaching candidate that just so happens to be a former member of the Fab Five,” Rose said on ESPN’s Get Up.

Rose’s comments come after Howard told ESPN that he has spoken with the firm helping with Michigan’s coaching search and that Warde Manuel is very interested in speaking with him.

“He’s earned his chops under a championship coach like Erik Spoelstra and an organization like the Miami Heat and under the tutelage and validity of Pat Riley,” Rose said. “He’s currently being interviewed for NBA jobs. Cleveland, Los Angeles, Minnesota, New York have all interviewed him for head coaching jobs, so this is just a legit thing.”

“For a guy like Juwan, who now all of a sudden finds himself, ‘Should I take a pro job? Should I take a college job?’ I saw how the University of Michigan went after Jim Harbaugh. When they really wanted him, they went and got him,” Rose said.

Rose went on to say Michigan should do the same exact thing with Howard, “you’ve got to go get him”. However, the major difference between Howard and Harbaugh is Howard has never been a head coach, and Harbaugh reached the NFC Championship Game three years in a row with one Super Bowl appearance as coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

Even if Michigan was to offer Howard the job, there’s no guarantee he’d accept the position. Howard has already had or soon will have an interview with the Minnesota Timberwolves, so it would be in his best interest to be patient and see how things materialize between he, Michigan, and Minnesota.

For the same reasons Howard should be patient, Michigan should be proactive if Howard is indeed the man they want leading the program.