January 5th, 2011 at 1:39 PM ^
Fitting end to the rich rod era. Worst hiring. Worst record. Worst bowl loss. Worst defense. Worst firing.
January 5th, 2011 at 4:46 PM ^
No this is the worst firing ever
January 6th, 2011 at 1:04 AM ^
that's the BEST firing ever.
At least to watch.
January 5th, 2011 at 5:01 PM ^
I think DB handles himself and represents his university better than 99% of AD's out there. Straight up gansgta'...
Here's hoping our crazy and ignorant fan base doesn't hate him for no reason like they do our coaches.
January 5th, 2011 at 6:31 PM ^
I hope he's "straight up gangsta" enough to "make it rain" some "cheddar" all up in JH's "hizzle".
January 5th, 2011 at 7:25 PM ^
I hope he's straight-up gangsta enough to find us an effing head coach in the next week and fill out the recruiting class.
January 5th, 2011 at 1:41 PM ^
Happy here. No hate for RR though. He just wasn't a good fit here. I wish him the best.
January 5th, 2011 at 2:10 PM ^
I don't hate RR, but I'm pretty close to jumping on the Dave Brandon hatewagon.
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<br>Of course, we probably wouldn't be here if RR had managed to beat that pesky team from East Lansing once or twice.
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<br>Yeesh. This is a real mess.
January 5th, 2011 at 6:22 PM ^
"Posted from fetal position" maybe be the best intro I've ever read. That made me lmaof.
Thanks for that.
January 5th, 2011 at 2:28 PM ^
At this point I wouldn't be to shocked if in a week DB announces that the head coach is Rich Rodriguez. That's how ridiculous the program looks at this point.
January 5th, 2011 at 4:10 PM ^
I think all of our heads will asplode if that happens.
January 5th, 2011 at 4:16 PM ^
That's not gonna happen, but I'll bet RR lands a job somewhere before his old spot is filled.
January 5th, 2011 at 10:38 PM ^
...that this is all a grand conspiracy.
Pissed off that fans were unhappy he was averaging 8-9 wins a year, starting the season in the top 10 but finishing it in the 20s, constantly losing to The University of Ohio State University of the State of Ohio and getting blown out every time he went up against USC in the Rose Bowl, Lloyd Carr worked it out with Bill Martin that he, Lloyd, would retire, Martin would hire a coach from some hick town, also retire, they would work from behind the scenes with Braylon Edwards to undermine the new coach by making a kerfuffle about the #1 jersey, slow down the staff’s watches and clocks around Schembechler hall so that they would unknowingly let stretching go a few minutes too long every day, get Greg Robinson fired at ‘Cuse and, while he was down in the dumps, tell him the secret to great defence was rubbing random stuffed animals on players’ faces, convince Mary Sue Coleman to hire a replacement AD with ties to Bo who would perpetuate the Michigan Man Mafia, rely on the fact that the team’s 3 worst defensive seasons would be insurmountable, have the MMM AD fire the hick coach and then hire as the replacement coach...Lloyd Carr.
January 6th, 2011 at 12:55 AM ^
Maybe you won the Internet today?
January 5th, 2011 at 4:06 PM ^
Good attempt at "uniting" the fanbase. (sarcasm)
January 5th, 2011 at 7:03 PM ^
Harbaugh would
January 5th, 2011 at 8:15 PM ^
i completely agree
January 5th, 2011 at 4:06 PM ^
Lots of good football coaches out there who can manage better than 6-18 in the Big 10 over the next 3 years. Guessing we have a coach in place by Jan 17th.
Rob
January 5th, 2011 at 4:18 PM ^
January 5th, 2011 at 4:27 PM ^
Rich Rod is gone please support the process, what other living person would you rather have in Dave Brandon's position? He's played for UM, he's been a successful businessman, this is a tough decision and I'm glad he's not listening to irrational and angry fans like you.
January 5th, 2011 at 4:37 PM ^
Which of those two characteristics necessarily means he'll make a good decision?
Being successful in business does not mean you'll be successful as an AD. Being a former athlete doesn't do it either.
I hope he makes a good hire, but how he's handled it so far does not leave me hopeful. Telling people to simply support the process is just sticking your head in the sand.
In the end, I think a "good hire" this go around is someone that will run an offense that suits our personnel, and someone who can instill a good defensive staff. Those things happen and I think we can avoid steps backward.
January 5th, 2011 at 5:15 PM ^
All I'm saying is he has the right background to make this decision. I shouldn't be the first person to tell you that nothing is a guarantee in life. But if you're a scientific minded person like me (2008 Chemistry Alum)....you would agree that Brandon has the right credentials.
January 5th, 2011 at 5:22 PM ^
I am a scientific minded person. I also understand that athletic departments, especially very public athletic departments, are far different to run than corporations. And being a former player really means nothing, as Matt Millen has proven.
Brandon has never made a single high profile hire as Athletic Director. I don't know that he's ever actually been involved with a hiring process. Somebody who had risen up through big athletic departments would have better credentials to lead us through the process, not that the end result would necessarily be better.
January 5th, 2011 at 6:05 PM ^
Ok so Brandon has yet to make you believe in him, I'm not blindly supporting him like I believe many bloggers on here blindly supported richrod, but I'm willing to give him a chance just like I gave richrod a chance (three years). I think DB should have a chance to make this hire before we start evaluating him. If we lose a couple recruits because of it, it's not ideal, but is shows me he's making this decision carefully. Quicker the better but he knows his first priority is finding the right guy because that is the long-term solution.
January 5th, 2011 at 6:49 PM ^
I don't know that he's ever actually been involved with a hiring process.
Dave Brandon was a CEO for like 15 years before becoming AD. You honestly don't think he has ever hired someone?!?
January 5th, 2011 at 8:12 PM ^
By the sentiment of statements, I think it's clear what I mean, but I'll spell it out for you: I don't know that he's ever actually been involved with a hiring process in an athletics administrator capacity, specifically a coach of a high profile sport.
Being a skilled CEO does not automatically make you a good athletic director. As CEO of Dominos, the percent of the population that cared who he hired as CFO was miniscule. Not getting the guy he wanted would probably only be known by a handful of people. Obviously hiring the head football coach at the University of Michigan is a bit different.
January 5th, 2011 at 9:14 PM ^
and 10% Madman and that's one reason why his saying almost nothing of value at the presser doesn't bother me.
January 5th, 2011 at 9:52 PM ^
DPZ has more shareholders than there are seats in Michigan Stadium. If you don't think they had a vested interest in who he hired as CFO, I'm not sure if we'll ever see eye to eye on this.
January 5th, 2011 at 10:55 PM ^
Especially, continuing the corporate analogy, the way a lot of people invest these days as evidenced by things like the "Cramer Effect". Most Michigan fans, good or bad, know way more about Michigan Football than lot of people know about the companies they buy shares in and fans definitely care more about coach hirings than investors care about execs.
January 6th, 2011 at 10:07 AM ^
This. Shareholders care, but outside the institutional investors, not many of them are following the day to day operations of the corporation. And even fewer could tell you if a CFO hire was a good one or a bad one. The corporate world is far murkier to the average citizen than college football.
Let me put it to you this way, how many CFO's of fortune 500 companies can you name? How many college football coaches can you name?
January 5th, 2011 at 4:37 PM ^
January 5th, 2011 at 5:28 PM ^
It pains me to say this as an M fan, but I think the fanbase here has to be a major drawback for any coach (except maybe Harbaugh) considering taking the job. The seemingly dominant faction is spoiled, stuck in the past, hostile to outsiders, and has no patience or perspective.
Here's what I suspect will happen: The toxic environment here will scare all the A-listers off, we'll hire Hoke, he'll do a decent job with what he has left after a bunch of RR's recruits bail and go 7-6, 8-5, 7-5, this won't be enough to satisfy the fans, he'll be fired before the bowl game in 2013, and we'll be right back in this same spot.
January 5th, 2011 at 6:04 PM ^
Do you really think Brandon's decision was based on anger and an irrational review of RR's tenure?
January 5th, 2011 at 8:20 PM ^
January 5th, 2011 at 9:30 PM ^
Fortunately I haven't encountered the fans that you mention. I have talked with people that are substantial donors/long time supporters and my experience is that they were ok with RR until very late in the season. It may be over blown that influential alums were against him from the beginning. I have said it before that most of the big donors are focused on other interests rather than getting embroiled in details about the football coach's performance.
January 5th, 2011 at 11:21 PM ^
January 7th, 2011 at 5:07 PM ^
Hope you were able to talk some reason into your uncle - is he a big donor that speaks directly to Brandon or other members of Michigan's admin?
PS - how is Mike London doing on the recruiting trail. It would be nice to see him succeed.
January 5th, 2011 at 5:45 PM ^
January 5th, 2011 at 5:46 PM ^
I'll bring the pitchforks.....let's meet at Pizza Bob's.
January 5th, 2011 at 4:27 PM ^
If we don't have a coach by January 7th, then we failed. Forget about 2 weeks from now...
January 5th, 2011 at 4:15 PM ^
Prophets of Doom
January 5th, 2011 at 4:34 PM ^
But, well, you know...
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<br>But good call!
January 5th, 2011 at 4:15 PM ^
Dave Brandon will undoubtably make a better choice than Bill Martin....If for no other reason than having learned from the RichRod years.
I feel terrible for the players, for the recuiting class, for RichRod, his coaches, and their families.
January 5th, 2011 at 4:20 PM ^
Let's set the bar on hiring coaches above what martin or Goss did for football or basketball!
January 5th, 2011 at 4:25 PM ^
January 5th, 2011 at 4:36 PM ^
The system won't seem to let me pos-bang you. So let me put it into words. Like, uh yeah.
Rich Rod wasn't a "Michigan Man"? So we get a Michigan Man like Chris Peterson or Gary Patterson?!?
There's no chance of a bad or mistaken "hire from within" now. There is no "within." The only people available to talk to the student-athletes on our football team right now are functionaries from Weidenbach Hall.
January 5th, 2011 at 4:38 PM ^
I think what people learned is the AD should not hire someone that the over 60s with lots of money do not like. Those this would affect would be any coaches that run an offense other than the pro-set and any coaches that do not have ties to Michigan. That leaves . . . Brady Hoke.
January 5th, 2011 at 4:51 PM ^
. . . and he is us.
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