Slap a #3 on that kid's shoulder and it already looks like another LONG season.
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Hello: Defensive Coordinator Greg Robinson
Two reliable sources are reporting that Greg Robinson is indeed the guy at defensive coordinator; unless there's an unexpected derailment an official confirmation should come sometime soon. (Bonus, ethically dubious confirmation can be found at Maize 'n' Brew, which relays some goings-on at the premium sites.)
I've said my piece on Robinson already—in a word: yikes—and am pretty skeptical of the hire. However, I am not a football coach or even that familiar with Robinson's work except in a macro "holy God what happened to Syracuse?" sense. Rich Rodriguez is, and he's basically gambled his career on his future performance. All hail Gamblor!
Also: Michigan might not be done searching for coaches. LBs coach Jay Hopson is apparently searching for a job closer to home, further proving that nothing escapes Mississippi's inexplicable gravitational pull.
Yes, this would make it a seriously uphill battle to retain the services of either non-enrolled DT commit.
Commence panic?
Update: official.
January 20th, 2009 at 2:50 PM
#2
That picture is scary...
January 21st, 2009 at 2:06 AM
#3
For the record, this shoop
For the record, this photoshop predates your comment by six days:
http://mgoblog.com/content/scoutmovement-dc-front#comment-56198
January 22nd, 2009 at 11:32 AM
#4
Just saw this now!
Read my freakin' mind! Not a bad job, maybe improve on your selection techniques but colors look good.
January 20th, 2009 at 2:51 PM
#5
How is Maize'n'Brew ethically
How is Maize'n'Brew ethically dubious?
January 20th, 2009 at 3:00 PM
#6
I'm pretty sure it's the
I'm pretty sure it's the "relays some goings-on at the premium sites" part.
January 20th, 2009 at 2:52 PM
#9
Death and Violence!
Death and Violence!
January 20th, 2009 at 2:55 PM
#10
Bloody hell
Can we just get some stability in the defensive org chart?
Also - wtf, Hopson?
It's gotta be the wife.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:02 PM
#11
The picture is goofy
This guy was a terrific DC for the Denver Broncos. He interviews as a gentleman and coaches as a coach. Put in a picture that is a little less on the maniac side. He isn't one.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:05 PM
#12
"Commence panic?" I love
"Commence panic?" I love this hire. Football Outsiders ranked his first year's defense at Denver #28 in the league, and his second year's #2. The man knows his Xs and Os.
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teamdef1995
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teamdef1996
January 20th, 2009 at 3:05 PM
#13
The only saving grace to me is...
(and I hope it to be true) that RR used the full Michigan network to come up with GR. I am going to assume he did not get the full use of that alumni base last year and that GR has been vetted on a few levels. The other benefit should be an opening back into CA recruiting (maybe?). Else, it seems a bit odd.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:05 PM
#14
Uncertainty.
Uncertainty.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:06 PM
#15
how is the maizenbrew report ethically dubious
He did not steal premium content i.e. no wholesale quotation or reprinting - he credited Rivals Balas with breaking the story and saying there is smoke coming from the website. Should have provided a link, but not seeing any dubiousness there.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:08 PM
#16
Oh god.
Oh god.
Oh god.
Oh
Oh god.
Oh god.
Oh god.
Oh god.
Oh god.
Oh god.
Oh god.
Oh god.
Oh god.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:09 PM
#17
I can only hope that RR
I can only hope that RR thought this through, as all empirical evidence points to GR being past his prime and a bad choice as DC. The only hope is that GR can maximize the talented group he inherits, much like he did with Texas. The one advantage that I think he has, at least compared to SU and one that he enjoyed (briefly) with UT, is that UM is a national brand, and enough top kids are already predisposed to playing there that he won't have to work too hard to get some of them to sign. That said, DC might prove to by RR's Achilles heel.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:11 PM
#18
The "empirical evidence"
The "empirical evidence" shows he is an acceptable NFL-caliber DC at worst.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:20 PM
#19
If this was 2001, I would
If this was 2001, I would totally agree with you. But after leaving Denver, he helmed one of the worst defenses in the league in KC, had a 1-year uptick not killing UT, and then 4 years of abject failure at SU. So the "empirical evidence" shows that he once was an acceptable NFL-caliber DC, but now may be on a steep downward trajectory.
January 20th, 2009 at 4:15 PM
#20
I am undecided on htis hire,
I am undecided on htis hire, but what i don't understand is how someone can be on the decline? Did he forget how to call plays? Did he forget how to diagram plays? Did he forget how to teach players? All doubtful.
What likely happened was that the players in KC either sucked or did not fully grasp his system in the 1 year he was there. He did a pretty good job in Texas, and in Syracuse he proved that he is an awful coach and recruiter, that is all.
January 20th, 2009 at 4:58 PM
#21
oh, come on.
you're talking about "empirical evidence" of his skill as a defensive coordinator, but you're counting four years of lousy head coaching as .
let's play a game - name the offensive coordinator: after five lousy seasons as a college head coach, he spent four years as a successful nfl offensive coordinator, which got him his next job - one year as a head coach for the worst team in the nfl. so - you're john harbaugh, looking for an offensive coordinator. do you hire cam cameron? of course you do. the lousy years as a head coach clearly don't mean that he can't coach an offense, and coach it well. which he did.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:20 PM
#22
All empirical evidence
pointed to Dick LeBeau being past his prime as well.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:14 PM
#23
Hurry Up
I'd like to see how RR spins it to us. Is he going to lean on the Super Bowls from the Middle Ages as his crutch for the hire and sweep the whole Syracuse thing under the rug or is he going to bring up something fresh that we haven't thought of to make it sound like a great move.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:15 PM
#24
Robinson must feel quite
Robinson must feel quite fortunate to land on his feet with that one last job before retirement.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:23 PM
#25
I feel very fortuate RR was able to snare him. And may that
retirement be a highly-successful ten years away.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:23 PM
#26
I call him Gamblor...
...and I shall free your mother of his neon claws!
January 20th, 2009 at 3:24 PM
#27
The Gambler...
'And somewhere in the darkness, the gambler, he broke even. But in his final words I found a coach that I could keep.'
Hope is only as good as its object. Let's hope he's good.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:25 PM
#28
This really sucks
I expected Rodriguez to make a splashy hire and revive our spirits after the worst season imaginable. This is not restoring my confidence in Michigan football.
Super Bowl DC + Barwis + ninja offense better = lots of wins, or this alum is going to start taking the writing on the wall seriously.
January 20th, 2009 at 4:59 PM
#29
that's so sad,
that he didn't restore your confidence.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:27 PM
#30
NO!
Mile, you're quoting stats from 10+ years ago. This guy is a disaster. In not being to attract a decent D coordinator, I hope this is not a sign that we're losing our luster.
This is not good.
January 20th, 2009 at 5:00 PM
#31
you have no fucking idea
if he's a "decent d coordinator." none.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:30 PM
#32
Brian, I love the site,
but saying, "However, I am not a football coach or even that familiar with Robinson's work..." and then to basically condemn him, while generally believing that RR was a good hire doesn't make sense to me.
If you are going to throw GR under the bus, at least put some research into it man.
There are definitely positives about him (2 Super Bowls, ~10 years of NFL DC experience, a good D at Texas, positive Texas fans views on him, improved Denver D).
As has been said many times, a HC is not a DC and vice versa. They are 2 different skill sets, and recruiting at Syracuse isn't like recruiting at M (meaning that we are better).
GO BLUE!!!
January 20th, 2009 at 4:09 PM
#33
There is no contradiction
there. Brian (plus Chitown in a diary post) laid out stats of Robinson's coaching tenure. They are not impressive, for the most part. So saying that one isn't familiar with someone else's work (having not, as most of us don't, watch Syracuse or non-M football every game) but that the stats look bad, is perfectly logical.
January 20th, 2009 at 7:43 PM
#34
It has to do with comparing
his HC experience at Syracuse (which makes him look like the worst coach ever, no question) should not be compared to a DC position. Those stats are not comparable.
Also, I don't but that he is 1/2 a HC, because obviously RR decided to put his influence on Shaffer with the whole 3-3-5 debacle, so he does pay attention to the D, and I'm sure will continue to pay more attention to the D.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:30 PM
#35
It should look good to recruits
He has success in both college and the NFL as a D-Coordinator. He also runs a defensive scheme very similar to what's commonly used in the NFL. That has got to look good to recruits.
He may not be the sweet talking southerner who will go to the recruits house and woo his mother. We have other guys for that.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:31 PM
#36
Big East
This is a clear indication that Rodriguez cannot compete in the Big Ten because he thinks he's still in the Big East.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:46 PM
#37
you devine this from his hiring of a guy who's been successful
in the Pac10, Big 12 & NFL, but not the Big East? Interesting.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:52 PM
#38
'Twas sarcasm
It was sarcasm- a callback to last year's "RR thinks he's still in the Big East" meme.
Pretty mediocre hire in my opinion, anyways, but will give him time to succeed before I abandon ship.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:38 PM
#39
My $0.02, if worth that......
OK, so I can't really get excited about this hire. Maybe I can reserve judgment pending some results, but I think this choice for DC puts that out another year, as in i won't expect great things out of him his first year. Concerns are that he seems to be highly dependent on having top-flight personnel to work with, yet does not seem to be able to recruit such personnel. I don't believe he has the roster to be successful at present and by all accounts he is a liability in terms of recruiting. Prognosis? Put my faith in RR's hiring chops? Hmmmmm...
Bigger concern, is this really the best candidate we could pull and what does that say about UM's desirability as a coaching destination? If I look at the opportunity objectively, I don't think I would consider being DC at Michigan my dream job given recent history and the outlook for next year. I would look at it as a giant opportunity to be told what to do and to get hung out to dry in the next year or so, at least. Is it possible that RR called on a bunch of potential candidates and was told 'No thanks' and thus reduced to Robinson as the best alternative?
Color me skeptical, I guess. I am just scared that the perfect storm of events that resulted in the debacle that was last season may not have come to an end yet.
Just for the sake of putting these comments in context, I am a big supporter of RR, I think we got lucky in hiring him and generally think he walked into a buzz-saw of a situation last season that does not portend future results. I like him also and do not buy into any of the negative hype.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:45 PM
#40
Who are some of the superior choices
you'd like to have seen get the job instead?
January 20th, 2009 at 3:49 PM
#41
The reason we cant get a top
The reason we cant get a top flight DC is bc they wont pay them like at other big time schools.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:39 PM
#42
We will be
alright. We will have a winning record (i predict 8-4 next year) and will begin a new consecutive bowl streak that ended last year. He is a good DC not a HC and he is a great role model for these young kids. I don't love the hire but i like it. There were no other options out there who would've accepted $250-300K a year.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:52 PM
#43
Money is a HUGE factor in
Money is a HUGE factor in this. The pool of money that RR has at his disposal to pay his coaches is just laughable considering what it is at other big time programs.
January 20th, 2009 at 4:06 PM
#44
I am always amazed when UM
I am always amazed when UM gets outbid for top coaches considering just how much money the AD has at its disposal. I know that some schools act like idiots and throw around obscene amounts of money (ND with Weis, UW with Holtz), but if you are already committed to spending millions on new student-athlete halls, practice fields, weight rooms, etc., why suddenly get frugal with the coaches?
January 20th, 2009 at 5:03 PM
#45
really?
we got outbid for someone? who? orgeron? monte kiffin?
let's not pretend that we missed out on someone here.
January 20th, 2009 at 4:34 PM
#46
RR has $1.95 million to pay
RR has $1.95 million to pay nine assistant coaches
January 20th, 2009 at 4:38 PM
#47
Exactly. That's not much.
Exactly. That's not much.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:44 PM
#48
Thank Lloyd Carr?
Can't help to think that LC was influential in getting this done.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:55 PM
#49
Lloyd
He was spotted at Syracuse in the fall, wasn't he? (leading to ridiculous rumors about him being interested in their HC job...)
I suppose there is a chance these things are related. More likely, though, I'd guess it's coincidence, since I find it hard to believe he has much of a hand in the football program these days.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:55 PM
#50
How on earth does that make
How on earth does that make the least bit of sense?
January 20th, 2009 at 4:04 PM
#51
Anonymosity explains..
Don't think I need to elaborate..but not that far a stretch that since LC was at Syracuse helping them that he might have been a middle man between GR and RR. I could be wrong and that's fine but I think it makes sense.
Capice?
