Uh, I THINK John U Bacon confirmed the Gregg Henson rumor on WTKA this morning.

Submitted by LSA Superstar on

I know nothing - NOTHING - about Gregg Henson's credibility.  Nor do I know anything about Bacon's sources, although I do know that he wasn't on Brian's ad hoc "certified source" list in the Mailbag post from earlier this week.  But during Bacon's regular segment on WTKA this morning, he slipped in a detail that didn't get a lot of hype and didn't seem to get mentioned in the Henson thread below.

Go listen for yourself.  Download today's Bacon segment on the WTKA website.  The whole thing is worth a listen, but the back third is what you REALLY need to hear.

At around 10:35, Webb discusses how various players have spoken out for or against Michigan in "many different facets."  Webb asks if there are new factions emerging between players for and against the current football regieme, or if those factions never left and have always been there.

Bacon answers - this part is paraphrase - that there aren't any factions at all.  Pretty much all former lettermen are against the Athletic Department, but NOT Brady Hoke.  Bacon says it's not like Rich Rodriguez, were there were people for and against him.  Bacon then says - quote - "If you want to find one group that is most uniformally opposed to the current direction of the department, it's the lettermen. I mean, they've got to be 95 to 99 percent negative right now."

Webb counters that Billy Taylor defended the department; Bacon defers gracefully and says "give the reverend his due."  Bacon then says that many more would come out but "can't for political reasons."

But here's the kicker.  Go to 14:00, right after Bacon's phone goes off.  Bacon says that there are "two approaches," but not pro and con.  The two approaches are "do you speak up or do you not speak up," meaning against the athletic department.  Then Bacon says - again, quoting at 14:31 - "But they [the former players] don't get a vote.  They're not on the board.  They're not, you know, in the president's ear in the normal way.  They are writing him a letter, obviously, and they - many - I think hundreds have signed it.  What it does tell Schlissel is this.  I can't imagine president schl taking action based solely on the lettermen's letter.  But I can see him thinking if he decides to make a decision, 'Well, one problem I will not have is obstruction from the lettermen.  They're not going to defend the current direction.'"

This does not confirm that the letter Henson presented is the actual letter.  But if what Henson is saying is true as it pertains to Harbaugh...

Take for granted, take it with a grain of salt, or don't take it at all.

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LSA Superstar

September 26th, 2014 at 1:10 PM ^

I didn't address this possibility in my post, so we should here.  I feel that this is possible, but unlikely.  Bacon's reputation, as far as I'm concerned, is extremely polished.  For him to tie his to G. Henson's...

I don't think it's something he would say on the radio without an independent source confirming or substantiating.  But it is possible.

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davidhm

September 26th, 2014 at 2:18 PM ^

I'm not so sure that Bacon's comments were influenced by Henson's assertions. It sounded pretty organic to me. Prompted by the dialogue with Sam. Amazingly enough, neither Sam nor Ira challenged or asked Bacon to expand on the comment. It's almost like Bacon let it slip and Sam and Ira were either too shocked to question it or they did him the journalistic favor of letting it pass unquestioned.
I certainly think that info is something that warrants further explanation or questioning.


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Dontfakeitfunk

September 26th, 2014 at 3:32 PM ^

Not giving Sam and Ira enough credit. They can't speak on this topic or even ask a legit follow up to JUB given the kind of access they're allowed by the athletic dept. What they can do is have JUB on the air and let him do the heavy lifting. As long as Sam and Ira don't stoke the fire they'll be fine. JUB is a perfect example of what happens when you cross Mr Brandon (see: 3 and Out)


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GoBLUinTX

September 26th, 2014 at 1:11 PM ^

That Bacon was just regurgitating what Henson had claimed.  Now if either one of the two would release names it would go a long way to establishing their credibility.  That they haven't tells its own story.

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MichiganStudent

September 26th, 2014 at 1:21 PM ^

Like protecting their source. You do know protecting confidential sources is a key part of journalism. Or maybe JUB isn't an asshole and won't reveal a source that doesn't want to be revealed.

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GoBLUinTX

September 26th, 2014 at 1:36 PM ^

especially petitions to public institutions should be public knowledge.  In fact petitions are inherently public, they are a list of people who are making a public statement to show the depth of their passion for the subject.  A petition with 450 lines but no names has as much credibiltiy as somebody saying that 450 anonymous people are making an unsubstantiated claim.

So why would this "source" need protecting, they've already attached their name, along with 449 others, to a public statement?  What, you think the Regents had to sign a non-disclosure document before accepting the petition?  

Have you ever signed a petition?  Have you ever demanded that your name not be disclosed?  

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Blue Mike

September 26th, 2014 at 2:15 PM ^

I doubt what they signed was an actual formal petition.  More like some of them drafted a letter with their feelings toward the current athletic administration, and the rest of them added their name to it or actually signed it.

It isn't like their trying to pass a law; they're complaining about someone to his boss.

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GoBLUinTX

September 26th, 2014 at 5:42 PM ^

Just so we're straight.  Supposedly 450 lettermen signed a petition and sent it to the board of regents to bring their political pressure upon the regents to fire Dave Brandon.  However, they don't want their names disclosed because of potential political pressure that may be brought upon themselves.

There's a word for that....on the tip of my tongue, starts with a "C"....hmm, it'll come to me.

 

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GoBlueInNYC

September 26th, 2014 at 1:06 PM ^

At first I thought this was in reference to the Morris to QB and Gardner to WR rumors, which still lack a certain internal logic. But this is the other (more frequently mentioned) rumor on the board.

I'm sure Brandon's seat is getting plenty hot, but I can't imagine that the university will be very fast moving given the presidential turnover. I mean, it's less whether or not Brandon goes and more can he go fast enough.

Does anyone actually know who pulls the trigger on the AD? Is it the president or the Regents or a combination thereof?

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stephenrjking

September 26th, 2014 at 1:28 PM ^

As much as one can praise a line-by-line parsing of third-hand information heard on a small talk radio station regarding rumors of letters that may be written by former players of a struggling team, this post is quality work.

Now, we need to consider these things about Bacon:

1. He has no affection for the currently Department administration. He would be inclined to be sympathetic to RichRod due to his connection from those years, and of course he has since been shunned by the Department for publishing an unfavorable book.

2. He does, surely, have a lot of contacts from that book and other journalistic work that he has done.

3. He has a vested interest in protecting his journalistic reputation, making it far less likely that he'll just casually recite information he read on a self-confessed rumor blogpost as fact. That's a pretty significant piece of information.

4. This is talk radio, where people say things without the best of filters--so inadvertent stream-of-consciousness statements are a possibility.

My conclusion, given all of this, is that Bacon has heard corroborating information about such a letter. He is pretty fair about its impact--it won't have much--but it sounds like it exists. It is, if nothing else, further evidence that the AD does not treat former players well. Ironic, since "Michigan family values" were not a complaint of the current administration but the previous one.

One thing that needs to be noted, again: The email quoted on Henson's post (I'm not sure what I think about all of it, FWIW) is explicitly not the letter in question, but an email obtained (or possibly received) by Henson. Allegedly. 

Michigan Football: We don't break down games, we break down email rumors. Catch the Excitement!

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uminks

September 26th, 2014 at 1:39 PM ^

I don't think a win over the gophers is muppet worthy. Only chance would be upset wins against MSU or OSU! Though if we are 5-6 and get a win over OSU it could be a muppetpalouza!

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shallowcal

September 26th, 2014 at 1:42 PM ^

does the new AD keep hoke?  if all of the people around the university and former players are on hokes side, doesnt that initially give the AD reason to keep hoke another season at least.  he has one more year left on the contract, so im inclined to say we would have hoke around for another year unless DB fires hoke first.

Also if hoke stays with this team, does the 2015 version get him off the hot seat and an extension?  or is it big ten championship or lose your job?

 

i cant believe after four years we are right back where we started

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stephenrjking

September 26th, 2014 at 1:45 PM ^

You can't keep a college coach in the last year of his contract. You need to either extend him or let him go; keeping Hoke on without an extension would make him the ultimate lame duck. You think he's a lame duck now? Imagine what it will be like recruiting next year when Kelly and Meyer and Dantonio can tell recruits with total honesty that Hoke won't be around next season.

Some of the anti-Brandon rumors suggest that people still like Hoke and that he could get another year, but if things continue to spiral like this I don't see how that happens. If Miles or a Harbaugh would indeed be interested as some people allege (and if that's the case, boy is that a serious failure) the new AD's second job would be to hire them.

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RB's Mustache

September 26th, 2014 at 4:14 PM ^

+1 for spot on commentary. Hoke must be extended or fired at the end of the season. Not before and not long after. Bottom line: you cannot go into the last year of a coach's contract and expect recruits. Brian has explained this many times. First Dominoe to fall is Brandumb (see what I did there?). New AD is not, will not and must not wait out the end of Hoke's contract "to be fair." BTW, that is my biggest suspicion with this "email". Even former players who like Brady would never advocate letting a coach finish out his contract before deciding his fate and damage recruiting like that.

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GoBlueInNYC

September 26th, 2014 at 1:50 PM ^

On the plus side, I really don't think we're "back where we started." The state of the roster is in much better shape now than when Carr left and when Rodriguez left. The next coach will have a much better foundation to work with.

And I could see a new AD going either way on Hoke. He might be popular but his job is probably considered already lost to some, if not most, people. If the season continues down the path it's currently headed, firing Hoke, popular or no, will be something of a no-brainer for a new AD.

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stephenrjking

September 26th, 2014 at 1:59 PM ^

I would guess that neither Harbaugh would ever coach here; however, if we did snag Jim Harbaugh, I really believe that Michigan will win ten games next year at minimum. There are questions about how good the players actually are, but I think they're not nearly as bad as they have looked. A good coach will see immediate results.

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alum96

September 26th, 2014 at 2:53 PM ^

 

they arent being straight up physically beaten by far superior athletes.

 

I think you need to be careful with that assertion right now.  We have threads on Saturdays for a lot of other games and once you leave the Midwest the common theme is "how come this team plays so fast" or "has so many athletes with explosion and we don't?"

UM has played a bottom third Pac 12 team with two 4 stars on it and a young ND team with a good OL and a ton of players suspended and is not particularly uber athletic like a SEC type team even when 100% healthy and experienced.  Other than Jaylon Smith, Sheldon Day may be the most athletic dude on their defense and he is a DT.

Your other 2 frame of references are App State and Miami OH.  So UM has not been playing very athletic teams with explosive athletes by and large to even compare to.

In a way it is scary that we are losing to teams due to basic fundamentals and not better athletes because it speaks to how far behind the team is from where it could be.  I wrote this in another piece - Utah did not outathletic, outjump, outrun, out anything us - they outfootballed us.  They dont have superior athletes - the high star players in HS usually are athletic beasts.  Utah doesnt draw from that group. 

I fear what happens when we play a team that is not only well coached but athletic.  Thankfully not many exist in the Big 10.  One such team is MSU... they take 3 stars who are long lean athletic but not awesome at football and develop them.  They dont have Oregon athletes but compared to the brand of football you see in the Midwest they are going to look like a cut above.  Most of the rest of our schedule aside from OSU I'd list as UM having better athletes but aside from 4/5 players on the team I dont see a lot of them as explosive types.

Peppers and Lewis are 2 guys who fit the bill as explosive athetes but along with Frank Clark and Ryan (2012 version) that's about it.  Funchess is hurt so could be one, and Hayes is about it on offense.  I consider an explosive athlete a guy like Denard - adjusting for position (i.e. a LB is not going to be Denard fast).  I don't see many Denards relative to their position currently.  And we're losing a bunch of the most explosive players to the draft next year (JMFR, Clark, Funchess) so I am not as sanguine as everyone about 2015 and its talent.  Maybe Ty Isaac will be one of those guys in 2015 and Drake Harris but this is all projection.

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Hannibal.

September 26th, 2014 at 2:08 PM ^

I don't think that the new AD is even going to have the choice of keeping Hoke.  He will be gone somehow before the new one is in place.  Either Brandon's hand will be forced, he will fire him voluntarilly in a last ditch effort to save his job, or some sort of interim guy will do it.  I will be somewhat surprised if Hoke's fate isn't publicly known before November, and I would be shocked if Hoke is in Ann Arbor past Christmas. 

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Yeoman

September 26th, 2014 at 4:08 PM ^

The alternative is to be content with allowing another year and giving the new guy time to get it right. And if I were the new guy I would absolutely insist that the possibility be left open. It's the biggest decision an AD will ever make in his time at the school and anybody worth hiring into the position won't be taking a CYA attitude toward it of "at least this way I'm not going to get the blame."

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Hannibal.

September 26th, 2014 at 4:27 PM ^

There's absolutely no way that Hoke gets another year.  No institution get afford for its flagship product to be in this state and then let it linger because it takes a year for a slow process to complete so that a decision maker can be found.  No program would do this.  Sometimes important decisions come up at inconvenient times, and this is probably one of those times.  You find an interim guy or you speed up the process of getting the new AD.  Or, you form a committee that lords over Dave Brandon during the process like a puppet.  If you go the interim route, then the next guy inherits the coach.  Most leaders inherit their guys from the previous leader.  . 

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cutter

September 26th, 2014 at 1:46 PM ^

I was at the Men's Football Experience this summer and had dinner with Mike Hart.  Before he sat down, he and Brandon shoke  hands, hugged and talked like they were old friends.  There were a bunch of former players at the event as well.

Of course, take it for what that's worth.  Hart is the RB coach at Western Michigan and I sincerely doubt he'd be on bad terms with Brandon seeing that he probably aspires to the UM job when Fred Jackson leaves.

Bacon has been gunning for Brandon ever since he lost his press pass, so you have to filter everything he says IRT the athletic department with a grain of salt.  He's become just another version of Drew Sharp lately and that's unfortunate because there are things he does very well IRT UM football, particularly the program's history.

Bacon did write a very curious piece lately where he claimed the Big Ten isn't doing well or winning national championships because of a lack of leadership in the coaching ranks (he also tacked on a few other things, including less than ethical recruiting practiced by other conferences).  The three coaches he named as leaders were Barry Alvarez, Hayden Fry and Joe Paterno.  Well, the first two were pretty successful, but they never were in the national championship hunt on any consistent basis at Wisconsin and Iowa.  Given what happened at Penn State, using Paterno as a leadership model was an even more curious example.

The two recent Big Ten NCs were by Ohio State and Michigan.  JIm Tressel was OSU's head coach back then and I hope Bacon wasn't intimating that Tressel was his example of a leader.  Lloyd Carr, as we all know was the other, but Carr received zero mention in this article.  It makes one wonder what the relationship is like between Carr and Bacon.

 

 

 

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stephenrjking

September 26th, 2014 at 1:57 PM ^

Bacon is, of course, unhappy with the current Athletic Department; reducing him to the level of Drew Sharp is incredibly unfair and inaccurate, and impugns your reputation more than his.

Not sure what you're getting at regarding the coaching issue--most analysts would agree that coaching is a serious problem in the B1G and a major reason why it is struggling so much. Mid-range teams just aren't competitive, and their coaches impress nobody. Kentucky, basketball-first basement dweller of the SEC, is stealing B1G footprint recruits because programs like Illinois and Purdue can't recruit their way out of a paper bag.

Alvarez and Fry both produced outstanding programs in states that have little native football talent, teams that contended for and won B1G titles against strong programs. Alvarez turned Wisconsin from a perennial doormat to a contender that won Rose Bowls against legit top five teams like the Cade McNown UCLA team that nearly played for a national title in '98. 

So nothing you're criticizing here makes sense.

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TooFratToFail

September 26th, 2014 at 2:09 PM ^

"Bacon has been gunning for Brandon ever since he lost his press pass,"  Maybe we should ask why the Athletic Department is acting like some Eastern Bloc dictatorship?  They see the FANS as CUSTOMERS now.  Dave Brandon is more concerned about creating some chickenshit NFL-XPERIENCE and his bottom line than keeping the FANS happy. 

"Given what happened at Penn State, using Paterno as a leadership model was an even more curious example."  Oh come on.  Two separate issues.  I wish people wouldn't see this as such a black and white issue.  Sure, he messed up big time.  But that doesn't mean he wasn't a conference leader and a great coach.  Maybe the police should've followed up.  Maybe the goddamn STATE AGENCIES which allowed Sandusky to ADOPT and RUN A KIDS charity should also share some of the blame.  Maybe the cops, who knew of the allegations, should take some heat?  But we would never want to blame the goddamn government, would we?  The sheep would rather chalk it up to "Paterno the Pedo-Protector" than look at the STATE and the man who actually caused the tragedy.  And look at the disgustingly lax sentencing of Sandusky.  

And maybe we need to reexamine what a leader is.  Most of the WINNING college football coaches are insinuated as being unethical here on MGoBlog.  Whether it's Saban taking heat for St. Saban's or Stoops taking players, it seems like MGo fans would rather not win than get the program's hands dusty.  I just want to win.  The AD needs to refocus resources back to its origin.  Why are we building multi-million dollar stadiums for teams that produce no revenue, new applicants, new fans, new donations, or new students of above-average academic ability.  Put $10 million on the table.  Get Harbaugh.  Get Miles.  This is Michigan.  Spend whatever it takes to WIN.

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