After nearly a full day (or week or month) of speculation, reports, rumors, anonymous sources, inklings, best guesses and gut feelings, the happenings of Rodriguez-Brandon-Harbaugh-gate seemed to be coming to a crescendo.

That escalation centered around the parking lot of Schembechler Hall on a blustery, bone-chillingly cold Tuesday afternoon, where media — some as early as 11 a.m. — waited on anything with a pulse that could tell them whether Rich Rodriguez was no longer coach of the Michigan football team.

But for all the sure bets and things we know (or say we know), there seems to be only one painfully obvious thing that I took from that parking lot: We have absolutely no idea what Athletic Director Dave Brandon is thinking.

The natural thing, we all said, would be to part ways with the embattled, three-year coach before the Wolverines’ Gator Bowl matchup. That way, the Athletic Department could focus all of its efforts on a coaching search — one that didn’t feel rushed and didn’t result in the school’s third, desperate choice.

When that didn’t happen, it all suddenly made sense again. Brandon must have wanted Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh. It was a match made in heaven for any Michigan fan: an athletic director hoping to settle the debacle of unsuccessful, unpopular head coach and a former “Michigan Man” quarterback who coached a bad team into a national power. The pairing had Michigan fans salivating, and for a while, it looked like it was going to happen.

Then, Harbaugh wasn’t an option and Rodriguez was still there. Two hours later, Rodriguez was fired and there was no Plan B. Shortly after, Rodriguez was back and maybe Harbaugh too. And so on, and so forth.

By now, I’m sure, Lou Holtz has been rumored to be the next coach of the Wolverines, while Greg Robinson is rumored to get a pay raise — who knows. I stopped following Twitter updates on this hours ago.

The point is, no matter what the media may have reported so far on this, it’s not 100 percent either way right now. And it probably won’t be until sometime on Wednesday.

That kind of time and speculation, whether spent sitting in the parking lot of Schembecher Hall or googling and re-googling Rich Rodriguez’s name to check on his job status, is damaging to a college football program, and it’s especially damaging to the fans’ public opinion of said program.

Remember, Michigan fans have gone through this once before — when Rodriguez was hired and Les Miles wasn’t — and all that did was turn the Wolverines into a laughingstock. Three years and 22 losses later, Michigan will not be able to brave that kind of public humiliation in the same fashion. Whatever Brandon’s solution is, it better work.

But no one knows what that solution will be. Will Brandon cut ties with Rodriguez? Probably. But again, that’s not much more than a gut feeling and a host of speculation.

After all the gossip and the waiting and the awkward questions, bringing Rodriguez back would be a shameful admission of failure. We couldn’t get that Harbaugh guy, so I guess you’ll do.

Sure, he could’ve put his embattled coach out of his misery after the Ohio State game. But the further speculation and multiple media sources citing his dismissal leave Rodriguez in an awfully awkward position if he were to return to the helm of the program.

This has the peculiar feel of an on-and-off high school relationship. And if any of us have learned anything from a handful of those, it’s that they’re never the same after the first time you break up.

So if that does indeed happen as planned, if Rodriguez is on the first train out of town tomorrow night following the team’s 4 p.m. meeting, then that leaves Brandon with an overqualified candidate who will probably forgo the Wolverines for the NFL and … Brady Hoke, San Diego State’s head coach.

That’s an obviously disappointing position to be in today, after sources earlier this week might as well have spotted Harbaugh wearing a Denard Robinson jersey and singing Hail to the Victors on his front porch.

But the truth here is that Michigan fans may have out-Michigan-ed themselves this time. And the media may have proven that speculation is a drug best used in moderation. Maybe Jim Harbaugh was never going to coach the Wolverines. Maybe Brandon has a legitimate backup plan. Maybe Urban Meyer is back out of retirement and on his way to Ann Arbor. I’m sure you could find an anonymous source for all three of those claims.

Or maybe Michigan just isn’t as great of a job as it used to be. Maybe a lateral move from Stanford to Michigan doesn’t make sense for Harbaugh and his family. And maybe, just maybe, the Wolverines aren’t above hiring coaches from smaller FBS schools like San Diego State — after all, Bo Schembechler was a coach at Miami (Ohio) before he came to Ann Arbor.

Now, because of this Michigan centrism, the long decision-making process and the gossiping Twittersphere, any candidate not named Harbaugh is going to have a tough time garnering support in Ann Arbor. That is, until he wins.

Either way, the speculation needs to stop Wednesday. Brandon needs to announce a decision — one that’s taken much too long already — and the Wolverines need a coach within a week, whether it’s Harbaugh, Hoke, Miles or my roommate Dillon. Because every day that Michigan’s coaching troubles remain the talk of college football is another day we all look stupid.

Whatever happens, Black Wednesday is upon us. And I caution you, follow Twitter at your own risk.