Alabama Coming After Chris Partridge, But Sam Thinks He'll Stay; Other Coaching Notes

Submitted by BursleyHall82 on

Sam Webb was back on WTKA this morning after being gone covering recruiting. He had a lot of insights on the coaching situation:

• Alabama is coming after Chris Partridge, but Sam thinks Harbaugh will give him more money and he'll stay here. Sam also said CP is likely to be the safeties coach.

• Sam's heard nothing to indicate Drevno and Pep are leaving.

• Dan Enos' role has not yet been defined. If he's not the OC, he'll still likely have a role in play-calling. He turned down a chance to be the Rutgers OC to come to Michigan. (Duh)

• Al Washington is going to coach on defense; don't know where the rumor started that he'd be coaching running backs.

I was listening in the car, so I hope I got all that right.

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Football

Wolfman

January 8th, 2018 at 1:41 PM ^

"It just seems like other than Gary Bama has beaten Michigan for every recruit that they are both after.
Hand, Najee, the other RB Harris, Ekiyor, etc."  if you're discussing purely those 5*s that seem to come down to the last day, mostly I think because Harbaugh refuses to quit and will even get in late on some. 

However, you should remember the quality of most of the recruits both go for early and MI has actually received commitments from many offered by both schools. Granted, most of these aren't head-to-head but it tells you that MI still carries a lot of status in the cfb world. Not too many are going to beat bama head-to-head right now though. 

I am interested in Partridge's answer because it has to be attractive and look damn good on a resume to be offered by the top program in the country. Should he stay with Michigan, it would be an endorsement of Harbaugh on his part, making a statement he believes he's definitely got the program moving in the right direction. 

Joined: 07/23/2008

MGoPoints: 8259

814 East U

January 8th, 2018 at 10:46 AM ^

The way this coaching thing has played out (so far) leads me to two scenarios:

1) We have coaches that can coach effectively at various positions and Harbaugh is evaluating all scenarios once the dust settles entirely;

2) Drevno/Pep have been "encouraged" to move on but no one knows what the hell is truly happening since no one else (NFL or other college program) has officially offered either a contract.

Sam not hearing anything is a grain of salt situation. Sam hears what the UofM football staff and AD want him to hear. I don't think UofM wants the coaching stuff out until it is all official.

Joined: 10/24/2012

MGoPoints: 20279

jblaze

January 8th, 2018 at 11:01 AM ^

"Sam not hearing anything is a grain of salt situation. Sam hears what the UofM football staff and AD want him to hear. I don't think UofM wants the coaching stuff out until it is all official."

 

Agree 100%, just like Sam said that Shea wasn't coming to Michigan because the coaches were happy with the current QB situation.

Sam is now the equilavent of a press release from Michigan.

Joined: 08/29/2008

MGoPoints: 19414

ColeIsCorky

January 8th, 2018 at 2:05 PM ^

Sam also said that before Wilton Speight decided to transfer... I think that's important information to include there. I don't believe the coaching staff was looking for a new QB until after Wilton announced his transfer to the staff. 

If you listen to the podcasts, you would never hear a tone of "I haven't heard Drevno and Pep are leaving, so it isn't happening" kind of thing. I think that's important to note as well. The way Sam discussed the coaching situation, it seemed pretty open ended. Almost so much that I partially wondered and assumed that he likely knew more than was being said (for obvious reasons). Not saying that he believes the staff is looking for a replacement for those two, but that he knows it's still a possibility, and possibly because of the fact that maybe he has heard that Pep and Drevno are looking around (which would make sense if Dan Enos will essentially be demoting one or both of them). This is all speculation on my part, but I do believe that Sam made it clear that he truly hasn't heard anything.

And the thing about Partridge. This came across to me as an assumption from him based off of both who Partridge is and what he has said in the past. I believe they have a fairly good relationship if that means anything. He made it clear that it was strictly an opinion, and his opinion was not based off of any new evidence he could present. Partridge has made it clear in the past how he loves Harbaugh and wants to remain loyal to him and the staff, and I think that's where that is coming from. He may know that money won't be the issue, but I don't think he has more than a guess as to what Partridge really wants to do. His opinion was based off of the relationship Partridge has with Harbaugh and previous loyalty to him.

Joined: 11/15/2016

MGoPoints: 4627

ak47

January 8th, 2018 at 10:44 AM ^

What the actual fuck? How can you look at the disjointed shitty mess this offense was and conclude that somehow there doesn't need to be any changes? Fuck me.  Guess its just time to pray we get lucky and maybe get like the 40th ranked offense in the country and can beat osu and msu like 14-10 or some shit with a defensive td thrown in.

Joined: 05/05/2011

MGoPoints: 33614

Arb lover

January 8th, 2018 at 10:36 PM ^

It's like a husband you didn't do a prenup for. You can get rid of them but they are going to take a cut on the way out the door.

In the case of Drevno and Pep, its more than what you are going to pay for a new coach... and technically they are still pretty good at their core functions. 

Joined: 11/26/2017

MGoPoints: 6915

1VaBlue1

January 8th, 2018 at 12:24 PM ^

Not sure how much there was to "coach up" last year.  The OL was an ugly mess that whittled down the QB situation to the third string guy.  The WR's had all of, what, 25 catches between them coming into the year?  The slot reciever was out all spring and summer hoping to avoid prison - not sure his mind was totally on football.  There is no OC in the world that was going to make the mess that was Michigan's offense last year look good.

I don't know if Pep is good, or not.  And I don't know how much influence Drevno has over anything but the run calls.  But everyone's heart throb Joe Moorehead couldn't have made this offense shine!

Joined: 01/31/2016

MGoPoints: 127835

Ezeh-E

January 8th, 2018 at 12:57 PM ^

But even the best coaches in the country will have a worse offense than coaches who have experienced QB, OL, WR, TE, and RB plus depth. We had experience and depth at TE and RB and to some degree QB... I forget the one study posted on this site, but QB and WR were the two positions where age/experience correlated with wins. OL, TE, and RB didn't.

I would have liked to see more improvement, but with the QB carousel, it's harder to see. I won't mind seeing Pep gone (and Drevno), but I don't think the sky is falling if they return.

Joined: 07/22/2009

MGoPoints: 6234

I Love Lamp

January 8th, 2018 at 3:35 PM ^

Played through varsity in high school. My school pretty much always makes the playoffs, with occasional deep runs. 9-0, 8-1 seasons were very common. I remember as a junior how engaged the coaches were with a very talented team, which ended up going down in regionals. Practices, film session, play-calling, everything seemed to have a purpose and intensity. Then came my senior class, the once-in-a-generation “black sheep” class, which couldn’t finish higher than 3-6 in a season leading up to varsity. We were awful, really awful. Our coaches tried I suppose,and they coached us to a 5-4 season, but we had a lot of help from juniors and sophomores who weren’t ready yet. Practices, film, etc did not have the same fire, the same attitude I guess. Not saying this Michigan staff didn’t try, because I’m sure they did, but they recognize when they are limited, and when you just want to make it through the season. Maybe this is why it was so vanilla on offense. Maybe this was why jim wasn’t nearly as animated on the sidelines. Idk just drawing some similarities from what I’ve experienced

Joined: 07/15/2014

MGoPoints: 8305

Perkis-Size Me

January 8th, 2018 at 10:57 AM ^

I'd say he deserves another year to prove himself. There were times under Peters where the passing game looked like it was beginning to take shape. But everyone will be a year older next season so if it looks just as disastrous next Fall, it will be time to try something else. 

Joined: 11/30/2011

MGoPoints: 106387

Fezzik

January 8th, 2018 at 1:51 PM ^

I hope you're right but I did not see improvement by any of the QBs or WRs this year. In Speight's case he got worse. McDoom, Crawford, Perry all seemed the same exact player they were last year. I kept waiting for a breakout game from DPJ, I'm still waiting.

Joined: 09/11/2015

MGoPoints: 5552

SlickNick

January 8th, 2018 at 10:48 AM ^

I am fine with Drevno being a full time O-Line coach, but I will be extremely disappointed if Pep is back in any capacity. Worst passing season since the 70's...9 passing touchdowns? lower than the service academies. All of our QB's regressed, and to my eyes our WR's either regressed or stayed the same all season long.  But what was most alarming to me was the design of our passing schemes, and the implementation of them in the games. The 20 yard routes on 3rd and short? The wide reciever screens to the sideline against tight man coverage? The deep fades we couldnt even keep in bounds. This passing game was a disaster, back up QB's or not. 

Passing Touchdowns

Air Force-10

Navy-10

Michigan-9

That is a stat that should never happen here. 

Joined: 09/28/2015

MGoPoints: 6079

maize-blue

January 8th, 2018 at 10:52 AM ^

Hopefully UM doesn't allow Bama to walk in and take Partridge, like a bully taking lunch money.

I thought Hamilton already had a NFL gig lined up?

Joined: 01/10/2013

MGoPoints: 44661

Michigan9

January 8th, 2018 at 10:59 AM ^

seems to be extremely loyal to his coaches which is why I don't see Drevno or Pep exiting unless going to a different job.  Besides not retaining the S&C change this year, has Harbaugh ever fired/let a coach go?

Joined: 10/13/2014

MGoPoints: 3476

JFW

January 8th, 2018 at 12:14 PM ^

We hear al about 'too many cooks' but he's had that forever at Stanford and even the Niners, IIRC. 

His offenses were fine the first two years. Last year, for some reason, he brought in Frey and decided to run IZ and gap. I have no idea why. Maybe there is logic to it, but it seemed to stifle our team. 

I'd rather they just run gap and keep to the same philosophy they did the first couple of years. 

Joined: 10/20/2010

MGoPoints: 15285

Michigan9

January 8th, 2018 at 10:59 AM ^

seems to be extremely loyal to his coaches which is why I don't see Drevno or Pep exiting unless going to a different job.  Besides not retaining the S&C change this year, has Harbaugh ever fired/let a coach go?

Joined: 10/13/2014

MGoPoints: 3476

Alumnus93

January 8th, 2018 at 11:57 AM ^

Disagree...   Harbaugh is loyal to merit and would dispose quickly of a crappy coach, just like Bo.  If Drevno or Pep arent cutting it then you better believe they are gone.

Joined: 09/10/2009

MGoPoints: 9684

1VaBlue1

January 8th, 2018 at 12:31 PM ^

I'll go with this, but also add that he seems to have a very good eye for talent and work effort.  If he's never outright fired a coach, it's because he identifies really good candidates that usually flourish.  If they don't get it done, it's normally not a situation where they outright suck, and he helps them go somewhere else.

I'd rather have this than have some HC that just keeps firing guys because he hires crap to start with.

Joined: 01/31/2016

MGoPoints: 127835

jblaze

January 8th, 2018 at 11:07 AM ^

How does Harbaugh have basically 3 OCs (Drevno, Pep, Enos) on staff? Unless they are BFFs, that's a recipe fr disaster (too many cooks and all).

Joined: 08/29/2008

MGoPoints: 19414

jblaze

January 8th, 2018 at 11:07 AM ^

How does Harbaugh have basically 3 OCs (Drevno, Pep, Enos) on staff? Unless they are BFFs, that's a recipe for disaster (too many cooks and all).

Joined: 08/29/2008

MGoPoints: 19414

fharajli

January 8th, 2018 at 11:09 AM ^

If this is true and Pep and Drevno are staying. Plus, the Enos hire wasn't inspiring at all. I'm hoping Sam is wrong on this one. We'll see who we get as OC. Curse Harbaugh's stubbornness.

Joined: 06/09/2016

MGoPoints: -65