football

I wanted another year for Rich Rod. But I kinda think that Rosenberg--god bless his annoying behind--nailed it on the Hoke hire: Brandon wanted Hoke all along, performed the necessary genuflections to Harbaugh and Miles, then got on with business, increasingly pleased. . . as the feedback came in. . . that he was doing the right thing.

A lot of what we saw, or thought we saw, was Kabuki theater.  

In assessing RichRod's future, Brandon also had to consider what would happen if he succeeded. There were pretty good odds he WOULD win nine games last year. But what then? Would the atmosphere remain poisonous? Was the situation, behind the scenes, beyond redemption? 

I disagree with Brandon's decision to fire Rodriguez, and I am very much with Brian when he says that the Hoke hire could have been made next year. But given the odds for Rodriguez's SUCCESS, I think Brandon may have decided he needed to pull the trigger now. 

Meanwhile, I am more and more happy with the Hoke hire, and I hope that Brian comes around, too. Because he risks--as I said in another post--harming all he has worked so hard to build here. That doesn't mean not continuing to tell the truth as he sees it. But it does mean tempering the bitterest--sometimes brilliant--snark and giving the new guy a chance. The fact that players adore Hoke, that he's intent on their well-being, is huge for me. Success may not be immediate, but if Brandon is willing to outfit him with the best coordinators, a guy who manages the program well may be of pre-eminent importance at a big complicated place like Michigan.  

Finally, Tate. Isn't there a chance he fits better in the new offense than Denard does? Or at least that he gets a chance to compete for the job? I would love to see both he and Denard in at QB sometimes next year. And as long as Hoke is willing to have an adventurous offense, I will be happy. It's the prospect that, like inbred children, we would retreat to deadly conservative playcalling as the rest of the world flowered into ten million variations on the spread that has scared me most.  

Somebody cue up some video of San Diego's o and d, analysis of the coordinators Hoke's bringing with him. We've got work to do. 

It's Hilarious that Bill Martin's on a boat coaching search isn't nearly as bad as DB's Hoke is #1

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I haven't heard any rumblings about who Michigan is looking at but I'm wondering who you'll want to see get hired for DC. 

 

Randy Shannon seems like the obvious choice at this time after he was not chosen for the DC position at Texas. His resume is absolutely incredible as his time at DC consisted of top ten defenses every year outside of 2004 (the defense finished 28th that year) and he has coached some top notch defensive players now in the NFL. The only real question is whether or not he can coach a group like Michigan. We know he can handle high level talent but it remains to be seen how he deals with a shortage of great players.  

So let's hear your choices and please don't say Scott Shafer, it's not happening. 

Brian, will there be a CIL for the Press Conference (@ 1 PM EST) today?

I'm the king of the RR fanclub.   I just closed it's doors and went into retirement,  because it is done.   I want to implore everyone else to do the same.  Now in Brian's post he put out 9-3 as the target next year barring unforseen circumstances.   I believe this is true(which is why I couldn't understand Brian changing and wanting a coaching change but whatever).

B. Hoke does not get 3 years, I don't want to hear the word rebuilding once in the press conference.  I want to kill the next person that says he needs 3 years to recruit defense.   We have loads of defensive players coming back and getting better.  Martin,  RVB, Roh and Black are going to be one of the top d lines in the conference.  If we get some fairly decent play from Demens and Woolfolk to settle down the linebackers and secondary we should be in great shape to get to the Championship game.

I'm all in for B. Hoke, leave the offense alone shore up the defense and we're rocking.     

With the close of the RichRod era within Michigan Football, it's interesting to note quite a few tidbits of his tenure, as well as the Machiavellian machinations that seemed to occur a little too frequently:

The entire LC faction within the athletic department seemed to have taken quite an offense to RR being named HC, to the point where it seemed the entire department should have been purged of LC hold-outs, and not just the football org.  The CARA leaks, lack of support from LC for 3 years (while within an hour of the announcement, LC calls the Hoke hiring "tremendous"), it's amazing Rich didn't lash out, or cry to any media source whatsoever.  Of course, that arbiter of actual capability and quality, the NFL, seemed to have a different view of Michigan assistant coaches and talent over the past 6 years.

I was struck by the near political machine operation (choose blue or red, I don't care) where the "Hoke element" played up his viability, and whispered it to the local ink-stained wretches, for them to place with an authoritative stamp of approval into their dying rags.  Surely they all didn't come to the same conclusion about his superiority independently, did they?

The farce of the NATIONAL COACHING SEARCH (n=1).   BS to the max, as posted ad infinitum.

Did the players really all jump for joy at the Hoke announcement?  Didn't realize college football players kept such close tabs on coaches in the MWC.  Hearing rabblerabble about "getting back to Michigan defense," what Michigan team do these kids know?  They should only know 2006...and that most of the aughts were pretty meh defensively, by scheme or by talent, it doesn't matter.

How about all those assistant coaches of Rich's?  I don't know how much dialing around he had to do to find them a home.  And most, if not all, are already hired.  How's that for a coaching tree?

Finailly, Rich will get a job next year, and you know what?  No AD will question how things went so poorly at U-M.  They'll be able to see it for themselves, in print, in text, in tweets, and all the innuendo and intrigue that prevented an agent of change from doing what he was hired to do. (Imagine any other professional organization that fought back so hard against the change that needed to be made, and won.  The other posts about the electric car bring GM to mind, but even drones at GM know to play along to what the big boss says, or find work elsewhere.)

(As an aside, as my brother and I were going back and forth on the firing, I told him, as I tell you now...RR will win an NC before U-M does.  That's paraphrased, I said "...before Harbaugh does."  Mark these words.)