How is RR doing as a "Michigan Man"

that hit that homerun against the sox in like 2003...

FTR, Curt Schilling: not a true yankee

Michigan Man may have meant something positive once but it has since become a code word to imply all sorts of things the user does not want to say outright.

I embrace RR. I see many things that I like about what he has done at Michigan. I see an emphasis on hard work and discipline. I see players earning their positions and not being granted them through seniority. I also like RR's modernization of Michigan football's approach to the media and the public.

I invite those that have criticisms of RR to state them clearly and specifically. I suggest they cease to use code words like MICHIGAN MAN, or FAMILY VALUES, or fall back on things like ASK SOMEONE ELSE BECAUSE EVERYONE KNOWS. These approaches are cowardly and dishonest.

I hate to look like I am defending Saban, but it is my understanding that he saw MSU as a career job until the administration started meddling with his program. Apparently, he grew increasingly angry with the interference until he couldn't take it anymore and quit.

MSU seemed, at the time, to be at the forefront of a growing movement in the NCAA for academic administration personnel to become much more involved in running the sports programs.

I'm really glad Saban left; he was doing a great job in EL. If he had stayed, I'm not so sure MSU wouldn't actually be the best program in the state instead of just talking about it like they are now.

Thankfully, UM is still the better of the two programs, despite the excessive "mileage" MSU fans have gotten out of 2008.

One who doesn't have the numbers for the HoF. e.g., Alan Trammel.

MSU can trace much of its problems to Saban bailing on them and establishing them as a little brother program.

Establishing? MSU has been a little brother program for 40 years. The only time MSU was a national power was in the '50s and '60s, when it aggressively recruited black Southern players who were frozen out of their local programs by segregation. When the South integrated, this talent pipeline dried up and MSU has been mediocre ever since, save for the occasional fluke season.

little bro has been little bro since 1855

that the majority of Michigan fans have no clue what "Michigan Man" even means. Perhaps reading "Bo's Lasting Lessons" will help?

And to that OSU fan randomly throwing shit against the wall to see if it sticks? Character flaws? That you have very little evidence for? WHAT!! HE LEFT HIS JOB!!! WHAT AN ASSHOLE!!!! Hey, I can do that too. Jim Tressel IS a true OSU man because he lacks character. I mean, corvettes and such...

First time I ever heard the phrase, Michigan Man, was from Bo when the basketball thang got all stupid and Fisher got the job. Bo just basically pulled it out of his ass spontansously. Every idiot and their brother jumped on it after that.

potato salad motherfuckers.

Here are some thoughts re posts above:

RR had no such experience in his resume, and it's apparent that he knew relatively little about Michigan prior to taking the job.

RR had more connection to the program through Don Nehlan that Kirk Ferentz and certainly more than Schiano, who were rumored to be picks ahead of RR. This is a non-issue and apart from an early learning curve, RR has embraced M's history and has generally been a great ambassador with fans under 45 and team alums, most of whom he has won over. That Les Miles is not coach cannot be held against RR.

I just wanted to throw the question out there. I guess I define a Michigan man as someone who thinks that the program is more important than they are. Sort of a mafia thing, I guess, 'never take sides against the family again, frodo.'

Ahh, Bilbo Baggins' famous quote from Lord of Rings, correct?

First time I ever heard the phrase, Michigan Man, was from Bo when the basketball thang got all stupid and Fisher got the job. Bo just basically pulled it out of his ass spontansously.

Ding, Ding, Ding - this phrase originated when Bill Fireder took the ASU job RIGHT BEFORE the NCAA tourney in 1989. At the time it was something that described a negative i.e. you are not staying at Michigan when you have committed to be elsewhere next year. It has now exploded on the message boards as some lofty ideal of M-dom, unattainable purity, that only Bo, Lloyd and Mike Hart can aspire to. I think it is fine to develop the mythology of the Michigan Man and the type of people we like to see coaching and on the team, but there is no historical standard other than someone who agrees to take another job before the season is out.

I just wanted to throw the question out there. I guess I define a Michigan man as someone who thinks that the program is more important than they are. Sort of a mafia thing, I guess, 'never take sides against the family again, frodo.'

Did Bilbo say that before he had samwise shoot frodo in the back of the head with an arrow while in the canoe on the River Anduin?

that goes to 5-10 coaches clinics a year and actually prefer RR to LC in that sense. Alot more personable and you always get it how it is, not like the old Michigan fort that you could never get the full story out of.

in comparison to top academics at Michigan, and any other university. I've got two degrees from the place, many of my clients from the past 15+ years have been UM clients, and my wife has worked internally at UM for about 25 years. In all that time, by far most of the academics or staff that my wife and I have worked for or studied under have been great people. However, both of us have also encountered a few high-achieving and highly-regarded UM professors and staff who are completely loathesome and thoroughly contemptible assclowns. They're in every school and department. Medicine, law, business, LSA, doesn't matter—it's just a fact of life. But that doesn't prevent the University from touting the virtues of these people in its marketing communications or advertising; Their character flaws are not openly debated in print and online media, at least to the extent that a head coach's flaws are.

It's extremely common for top-level academics to move from one institution to another, and nobody thinks ill of them for doing so, unless there's something particular about their situation. It's generally accepted that MSC won't be UM President for much longer, and what she'll do when she steps down is anybody's guess. It would not be surprising in the least if she took a position with some other institution, because that happens all the time. And nobody is criticizing her right now because this might happen. It's simply part of the deal in the academic world.

When it comes to coaches, it's completely different. Fans have a hugely emotional investment in their teams, and any coach who doesn't declare undying and permanent fealty to the school he's at risks the wrath of alumni and non-alumni alike. One of the reasons Bo became such a legend is that he briefly considered and then turned down cold an offer from Texas A&M. If he'd taken it, his legacy at UM would be very, very different.

No, I can't say I'm any different from most fans myself, either. If RR is successful over 8 years and books for another position, I'll be very disappointed. I hope he realizes that he can join Bo and Crisler and Carr if he sticks around. I hope he wants that, too.

in college football would be a lateral move. And I can't imagine too many NFL GM's looking for a coach that runs the spread-option. I'm not worried about him going anywhere.

Stop it with the "Michigan Man" crap! God, I hate that phrase. It's like the "Curse of Bambino" that people used to through around, or the "True American" rants that littered the 2008 elections. There is no such thing as a "Michigan Man." If you graduated from UM, you are a Michigan "alumni." If you like the school and teams, you are a Michigan "fan." Unless you were born after an illicit love affair between the UGLi and the tower on North Campus, there is no such thing as a "Michigan Man." RR is a good coach, and I think he understands the importance that UM football holds in the lives of Michigan fans and alumni, and has done a good job trying to make it better. But his actions are guided by his own moral compass and his experience as a head coach, not some disembodied notion of "leadership" and morality spawned by some nostalgic writers and fans harkening back to an earlier coach's motivational tactics. I think Bo was a a great coach, but one part of his legacy that I wished disappeared was this notion that only certain people can come and lead at UM.

Nope. That was 'never let anyone outside of the family know what you are thinking.' My comment was mike to fredo in vegas. I can't believe I put frodo instead of fredo, though. I have got to start proofreading these posts. You guys don't miss anything.

While I've been reading Bo's Lasting Lessons, I have at numerous points been led to believe that The Rod has, indeed, taken a few lessons out of it. In general, the way he conducts the organization as a true meritocracy and seems to be genuinely hard-assed about it reminds me of Bo's philosophy. So if that makes him a Michigan Man, wonderful.

I don't think it's necessarily anything to do with being a "Michigan Man" though -- it is plainly the best way to run a football team. I like his ambition, and I think if he stays here long enough (a few years or so) he will be brainwashed into loving this glorious place ... if it hasn't happened already

Richard Jonathan Rodriguez is becoming a MICH MAN. I think he has more than enough people helping him with the tradish (tradition) that there isn't anything to worry about, so CALM DOWN. I'm excited to see how the team does this year with more of his kids out there. Should be pretty bad ass, no? Lets stop talking about RR and his oopsy on the "#1 jersey" or his "letting Rita on the field" and support MIIIIIIICH as a whole! Woooooooooooot, woot!

What about MichMan419, does he fit the bill?

To answer the original question, given that in 2008-09 the team recorded its highest collective GPA in more than 20 years - higher than in any year under Moeller or Carr - I'd say RR is doing well.