I Thought Real Friends Would Have Stayed
This is clearly not part of the 2011 football preview, except it is. It was not possible to write this year's "The Story" without closing the door on the Rodriguez era. Thus this.
I meant to, but never got around to, writing one of the Rich Rodriguez obituaries that sprouted across the Michigan blogosphere in the aftermath of his firing. At the time I was busy panicking about Les Miles, the lack of Jim Harbaugh, and the possibility someone with as thin a resume as Brady Hoke would get hired.
By the time I'd stopped railing about The Process and the hire it begat, Rodriguez's corpse was cool. People were already complaining about how I wouldn't let the last three years go. So I dropped it. They say things happen for a reason, though, and usually say so at press conferences.
A couple months later I was at show at the Magic Stick. We had no knowledge of any of the bands that were playing; we'd been encouraged to see the headliner by a friend of the MGoWife. Whatever talent the headliner had was overwhelmed by the impression she was the worst person ever*, but the second opener was this quirky trio from Ypsi called Lightning Love. Lightning Love is a twee indie band whose drummer (now) looks like he was acquired from the Megadeth surplus store. Most of their songs are about being a miserable discontented loser surrounded by people just like you**. MGoWife adored them, bought the album and all that, and eventually I came to think of one of their songs as The Ballad of Rich Rodriguez.
This is it. Yes, you're going to have to do this obit multimedia style:
Thirty Josh Grobans agree this is more in the spirit of the Rodriguez era than Josh Groban songs. And that's hugely depressing, isn't it?
It's his kid that kills me. Scattered amongst shots of Rodriguez emoting like a mofo are pictures of his son Rhett doing the same. At this point he must wonder why the universe hates his dad. Three years ago Rodriguez was promising his son as a member of the class of 2017. A few months ago this was happening after the Illinois game…
…a few months later it was this…
…and some heretofore innocuous sports photographer got a terrifying glimpse into life as a paparazzi.
The universe's capper:
The universe has watched your gladiatorial antics, Rich Rodriguez, and it is not impressed. Thumbs down.
In retrospect the downed thumbs were inevitable. I mean… the Groban thing. Come on. It was always something. It was Groban or another fake controversy about how people need to "get a life" or his inability to "get it" about rivals. Rodriguez wasn't subsumed by the overwhelming Michigan-ness of Michigan. He either failed to understand the need to throw himself at the shoes of the Great Tradition or just couldn't be anyone other than the guy who grew up in the "holler" and married someone my mother would certainly refer to as "that woman." You know how mothers do.
So the legacy program and local media rejected the organ transplant. The program started throwing t-cells at Rodriguez on day one. Rodriguez chipped in with stormy sideline antics and pouting. When he swore it was weakness; when he choked up it was weakness.
All of that was unambiguously negative for a football coach, but an offshoot of that was having your kid with you in a genuinely touching way. For a human this is the definition of low expectations. You publicly express your affection for your son. You are not a grim military object; you are capable of squeezing emotions other than rage out of your gray heart. Congratulations for not being a one-dimensional character straight out of American Beauty.
But I can't recall ever seeing the kind of father and son shots Rhett and Rich Rodriguez feature in before. Coaches aren't humans. They are walking soundbites wrapped in great swirling cloaks of mythology. Rap on one of their chests. You will get a hollow clang and a statement about senior leadership. Kick sand in one of their faces. You will get a lecture from Peter the Great. Peter the Great will be confused and incensed that he cannot sentence you to hang. Tell one his aunt has been dismembered by bikers on PCP and you will get a statement about senior leadership. Seniors don't do PCP and rip aunts limb from limb, because they have leadership.
Rodriguez was human. He was just this guy. He wasn't supernatural or metallic. If you rapped his chest he would probably get a little weepy. He did not seem like a great leader of men, or a colossus astride anything, or even a dude fully in control of his shit. He, like most of us, was doing okay but sometimes—too often—he was not. When Michigan instituted "The Team The Team The Team" as its official pregame hype theme it drove the point home: there is God, and there is man, and Rich Rodriguez is not God.
There was no clearer evidence of that than his answer to a question posed days before the Wisconsin game. Michigan was 7-3 but a teetering 7-3. The question was something about "how he projected the third season at Michigan." A coach would have blustered something about senior leadership. Rodriguez told it like it was, and though it was already kinda over this seems like the moment when Rodriguez accepted his fate:
"I thought we'd be further ahead.
![gerg[5]](https://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/gerg5.jpg "gerg[5]")
"I thought a lot of things when I got here."
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*[The chorus of every song was functionally "I'm sorry I don't care about you or any of the things you care about, except I'm not sorry."]
**[Or they've been arranged for marimba by a Michigan State fan… which… wow, internet. Vast and deep are your reaches.]
August 25th, 2011 at 2:11 PM ^
RR is a guy I like who ran an offense I like watching. I was pretty excited when he got hired and I would have given him another year, even after the bowl game, had it been my decision (provided a new DC was hired and allowed to choose his own staff).
I thought he'd be successful, but it didn't turn out that way. I'll always wonder what would have happened if he would have just left Shaffer alone and let him coach the defense.
I didn't go to Michigan, so, even though my fandom goes back to the Harbaugh guarantee game in 86, I don't know that I quite understand the Michigan exceptionalism that breeds phrases like "gets it" and "Michigan Man" but maybe that means I don't get it.
But I also have to admit that I'm excited about the start of a season for the first time since 2008.
Catharsis rules.
August 25th, 2011 at 2:15 PM ^
For Rich's short tenure, I blame:
- Lloyd Carr recruiting
- Lloyd Carr faction
- Insane amounts of attrition
- A(something)HG
- GERG, or RR's inability to let GERG run his own defense
- RR inability to pick an outstanding DC
- RR inability to win B1G games
- FREEP
- Tradition-worshippers and non-GETTERs
- About a thousand other things
Let's face it, this was NEVER going to work. Just none of us could admit it. From the moment RR was hired, what was ONE THING that actually went right (other than Denard and his trillion watt smile and majestic dreads)? We failed to get better week to week, our fan base was so fractured it simply created more friction, there were rumors abound about LC antics behind the scenes, the media seemed to live off RR tears... Even at the end it was terrible because of the fractured base. If he wins the bowl game you probably keep him, the RR haters get pissed. He loses the bowl game and you fire him, the RR supporters get pissed. It simply was not going to work.
Period.
That said, I do feel bad for RR as a person. Really tough situation and I know it had to be tough on him and his family.
That and that said, this Brian's blog and he can post whatever he wants. I disagree quite often, but still man if he wants to keep talking about RR, so what? I'll still read it...
August 26th, 2011 at 12:20 AM ^
Are you kidding? An 11-1 season would have fixed it all in a flash. Had he won more he would still be here. And we would all love his non-Michigan Man hillbilly ass.
We all (think) we love Brady Hoke. But if he starts losing, all of a sudden some of his quirky mannerisms that we find so endearing now will start to grate on our nerves.
Bo was kind of a dick during his prime years. But he was beloved because he won.
August 25th, 2011 at 2:15 PM ^
someday, when you are grown, you will find a video of 2011's Gator Bowl and you will watch your father tell the kicker, who is nothing for everything on the year, to come out in the third quarter, down by 17, and do what he always does, while the most dynamic offense this side of fielding yost heads to the sideline and as that kick is snapped and kicked and has no chance of making it and you remember that this has happened before this very year, you will understand...
August 25th, 2011 at 2:16 PM ^
RR may have showed his humanity more than many coaches, but let's not forget that humans are imperfect beings. He appears to have been a good father and to have been open and honest; however, he also tended to deflect blame to others. Firing a defensive coordinator who seems to be good at his job after one year as a scapegoat. Implying that he inherited a difficult situation instead of a dream job, and that while tradition is good, he is going to make Michigan football better by molding it to his vision. Passing the blame onto the players instead of accepting it himself, "They are young. They will get better." "Vince Lombardi could not make this defense better." He showed his human nature more than most coaches-for good and bad. In the end, his humanity was not why he is no longer coach, nor should it be the determining factor. He did not win enough games. That is the bottom line.
August 25th, 2011 at 2:19 PM ^
To be a head football coach at a famous program is about more than the coaching the team.
For the assistants it can be just about the x's and o's, schemes, scouting and recuriting.
For the head coach, the job comes with a lot of other stuff. First and foremost he has to win. Second, he has to stay legal. Third he has to be sure he is solid on all the other aspects: alumni, administration, community. Coach Rodriguez didn't win enough, stayed legal, but really tripped up with the alumni, administration and community.
When people play the retrospective game and wondered what if, the real decision was when he decided to look at the UM job. Had Coach Rodriguez stayed at WVU and finished out his career there he might be thought of as their Bo. He was the guy who put them back into national prominence. He'll definitely get another HC job but he'll know he'll have to pay attention to other things.
An underlying theme was to remember that everyone involved are people and should deserve some compassion. I applaud Brian for this noble sentiment, but realistically this is only going to get harder. The amounts of money involved and the passions stoked up by 24 hour cable/internet makes that unlikely. We'll probably not see any long serving HC because everyone goes through a bad patch (even Bo was 6-6) and today and the foreseeable future, there will be someone stoking up a "dump name xx" campaign whenever that happens.
Great post and looking forward to the season.
August 25th, 2011 at 2:27 PM ^
I believe he gave everything he had, but it just wasn't meant to be.
Good luck, coach, to you and your family. I look forward to watching you land on your feet and building a tough program somewhere else now.
August 25th, 2011 at 2:35 PM ^
While the debate over RR good/bad can be called a dead horse, your obit is not. Glad you had the courage to write it. And a damn good job to boot.
August 25th, 2011 at 2:37 PM ^
I agree completely. From day one there were people arguing that RR was not the right coach for Michigan. He seemed like a good, and genuine man who was honestly trying to do the best he could. Unfortunately, it was this humanity that doomed him. People don't want their leaders to have the same flaws they do. I think it's astounding that people are so willing to accept Hoke's initial lower-rated recuits (Stacey, Braden) but with RR we were treated to a chorus of "you can't recruit like you're in the Big East anymore... he doesn't Get It". Even now, it's "trust the coaches". Where was RR's trust?
I understand that it's time to move on. I support Hoke, as I supported RR. But I can't help regretting What Might Have Been.
August 25th, 2011 at 2:45 PM ^
From day one there were people arguing that RR was not the right coach for Michigan.
...and from day one, there were people (primarily here) arguing that Hoke was not the right coach for Michigan.
it was this humanity that doomed [RR]
...or his record, losses to MSU, sanctions and failure to field a competitive team.
I think it's astounding that people are so willing to accept Hoke's initial lower-rated recuits
...Who are part of a class ranked between #1-#5 nationally.
August 25th, 2011 at 2:39 PM ^
RR committed major NCAA violations at WVU and at Michigan. Both schools have been playing football for a long time and before RR was head coach neither school had ever committed major violations. Coincidence? Brian refuses to put any blame towards Rich Rodriguez. He blames everyone, but Rodriguez. I find that very interesting.
August 25th, 2011 at 3:15 PM ^
This is an excellent point. The easy and common answer is to blame the Free Press, just as Nixon might blame the Washington Post.
August 25th, 2011 at 6:12 PM ^
The correct analogy is Ray Donovan. You remember Ray Donovan, the former Secretary of Labor. Indicted and tried in federal court, then acquitted. He later asked the press on the courhouse steps a question that has been the quote forever associated with him: "Which office in Washington do I go to, to get my reputation back?"
At the time it seemed a daring gamble: the defense rested its case without calling a single witness, relying entirely on cross-examination and closing arguments to make its points. But as it turned out, it was no gamble at all: several jurors had already decided that the prosecution had no case, and once the nine-month trial ended, the rest of the twelve-member panel agreed. Only one vote was needed to acquit all ten defendants of each of the ten charges against them. All that remained after 9 1/2 hours of deliberations was for Jury Forewoman Rosa Milligan to pronounce the words not guilty 100 times.
Thus ended the long ordeal of Raymond Donovan, the first U.S. Cabinet member to be indicted while in office. Almost from the time of his confirmation as Secretary of Labor in 1981, Donovan was plagued by allegations that he had maintained close ties with mobsters while he was a construction executive in New Jersey. A special prosecutor investigated him twice and concluded each time that there was "insufficient credible evidence" to indict Donovan for anything. Nonetheless, in 1984 Bronx District Attorney Mario Merola persuaded a grand jury to indict Donovan and the other defendants on charges of larceny and fraud in connection with a subway-tunnel deal. The next year, after a judge refused to dismiss the indictment, Donovan felt obliged to resign. Small wonder, then, that after his acquittal Donovan, rigid and pale, called out to Prosecutor Stephen Bookin, "Give me back my reputation!"
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964567,00.html#ixzz1W55RlTMt
So, no. Not "Nixon." "Ray Donovan" is the correct analogy.
August 26th, 2011 at 12:49 PM ^
This is a total fail.
Perhaps you didn't understand the analogy. Nixon was guilty. Michigan was guilty, as it admitted. There is the anology. Pointing to someone who was innocent is meaningless in this context. Why don't you start a Rosenberg blog. I bet you will accumulate lots and lots of points on it.
August 27th, 2011 at 4:31 PM ^
Your point wasn't that "Michigan was guilty." That was never even Michael Rosenberg's point.
Your point, and Rosenberg's point, was not that there was a problem in Michigan's Athletic Department, with record-keeping and with details of GA job descriptions. That's a boring story, that no one except a seminar of compliance officers would care about.
No; your point is exactly what Rosenberg's point was -- that this was some form of "cheating," which Michigan had never before been accused of, at least not in the context of Major Violations. (And I've discussed at great length how Rosenberg did his best to make it major.) And that Rich Rodriguez was responsible for the alleged cheating.
Michigan did admit guilt, such as it was. Rodriguez did not admit guilt, at least not to any Major Violation as alleged. And the University of Michigan sided with Rodriguez, in denying his personal responsibility, or any institutional responsibility, for "Failure to Promote an Atmosphere of Compliance." The press-related damage to Rodriguez's reputation was akin to the damge done to Ray Donovan's reputation. So yeah, that's your comparison.
You're in a very bad place, when you are keeping ideological company with Rosenberg.
And let's get this clear too: My complaints about Rosenberg are no different from what Brian Cook has stated, and no different from what David Brandon has stated. I'm just more forceful, and more persistent. So much for your suggestion about "a Rosenberg blog."
Here's a straight question -- if you agree that the Freep story was an awful in its content, and that it did substantial harm to the football program, why did we not hear from a lot more former players like yourself, putting Rosenberg in a corner? I can only presume that a lot of former players were somehow unhappy with Rodriguez & Co. And no matter how unfair the press treatment of Rodriguez was, if it served to get him taken out, it was all okay. If I'm wrong about that, you can explain. Or was it the case that a lot of former players just didn't follow the situation as closely as the MGoBloggers did? And didn't know what sort of depredations Rosenberg had engaged in?
August 25th, 2011 at 3:25 PM ^
If you mean re: the violations, then it's probably because Brian read the allegations and talked to people in the athletic department and has an informed view. You may note that the NCAA dropped its allegation of Rodriguez failing to promote an atmosphere of compliance, or whatever the nomenclature is, and that multiple heads rolled within the compliance department.
If you mean in general, then you simply didn't read this or prior posts.
August 25th, 2011 at 2:44 PM ^
Bluto: Hey! What's all this laying around stuff? Why are you all still laying around here for?
Stork: What the hell are we supposed to do, ya moron? RR Got fired. There's nothing to fight for anymore.
D-Day: [to Bluto] Let it go. War's over, man. DB dropped the big one.
Bluto: What? Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
Otter: [to Boon] Germans?
Boon: Forget it, he's rolling.
Bluto: And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the goin' gets tough...
[thinks hard of something to say]
Bluto: The tough get goin'! Who's with me? Let's go!
[Bluto runs out, alone; then returns]
Bluto: What the fuck happened to the MgoBlog I used to know? Where's the spirit? Where's the guts, huh? This could be the greatest seasons of our lives, but you're gonna let it be the worst. "Ooh, we're afraid to go with you Bluto, we might get in trouble." Well just kiss my ass from now on! Not me! I'm not gonna take this. Kelly, he's a dead man! Dantinio, dead! Fickell...
Otter: Dead! Bluto's right. Psychotic... but absolutely right. We gotta take these bastards. Now we could do it with conventional weapons, but that could take years and cost millions of lives. No, I think we have to go all out. I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody's part!
Bluto: We're just the guys to do it.
D-Day: [stands up] Yeah, I agree. Let's go get 'em.
Boon: Let's do it.
Bluto: [shouting] "Let's do it"!
[all of the MgoIdiots stand up and run out with Bluto]
August 25th, 2011 at 3:11 PM ^
This is the angriest thread that I have read in quite awhile.
August 25th, 2011 at 3:21 PM ^
I agree that it was time for RR to leave.... and it was because he made a few mistakes [tradition (#1 Jersey, etc.), not emphasizing games with rivals, not winning those games, crying over Josh Groban, and GERG]. And, while the potential for this year would have been great.... [who knows!] he lost that ability to see that potential by not getting his team ready for Mississippi State. You can't have your job on the line then lay an egg.
I also think that its sad that RR didn't understand what Brady Hoke does.... how to make Michigan fans weep for joy: talk about toughness. talk about defense. talk about character. talk about who awesome Michigan is [because it is!] sell us what we want, and we'll support you .... if RR got that, he'd still be the coach at Michigan
August 25th, 2011 at 3:25 PM ^
For that we should all be grateful!
Why did he have to Scapegoat Shafer!?!
August 25th, 2011 at 3:32 PM ^
And that's the end of that....
Until John U. Bacon's book comes out in October and we can all talk about all of this stuff again. It should be pretty interesting to get a glimpse into the last 3 years from the inside, though.
August 25th, 2011 at 4:32 PM ^
Now that ought to be very interesting for sure!
August 25th, 2011 at 3:56 PM ^
Necessary writing to wrap up the end of an era and get us set for the new regime and season. Well done, enjoyed reading. I agree, and also feel for the son who is now considered collateral damage.
August 25th, 2011 at 4:23 PM ^
Now your talkin Brian they can all go to Hell. Hell yeah. Had RR played this instead of mamby pamby Josh Groban it would all have been different.
Somewhere RR is musing with Uncle Rico about what might have been!
August 25th, 2011 at 4:31 PM ^
Probably still too close to the time of his departure for us to really see what his 3 years mean in the grand scheme of Michigan football long term. I'll bet he thought he was inheriting a lot more talent, and that the assistants he brought with him were a lot better than they turned out to be, and that deep in his heart he wishes he had stayed at WVU had he known all that was about to befall him and what he was going to inherit and experience. I'll bet he resurfaces as a head football coach next year somewhere and does well.
August 25th, 2011 at 4:53 PM ^
Thanks for the last words on Rodriguez. I miss the excitement he and his offense generated. Somehow, I think Hoke will benefit from what Rodriguez taught these young players. Rodriguez deserves much of the credit for this coming season's success.
August 25th, 2011 at 5:03 PM ^
...stop trotting out the fucking "bill martin went sailing" bullshit? it was overblown, made up crap then, it's even more so now.
you want to say the rodriguez wasn't the guy, that he was a bad hire, fine. but it didn't happen because bill martin went out on his boat one afternoon during the job search. give it up.
August 25th, 2011 at 5:36 PM ^
I liked the RR hire when it happened. Unlike most I have no problem admitting I was dead wrong. I'm aware of all the excuses that have come up over the last 3+ years, so spare me. RR was not leading the team down a path to success no matter how you slice it. Turnovers, poor tackling, pathetic special teams, guys out of position...the list goes on and on. These things are a direct result of poor coaching...not Lloyd Carr...not the Freep...not the old/cranky fanbase. Time to move on and hope for the best. This is Michigan.
August 25th, 2011 at 6:06 PM ^
Kudos for the ability to admit you are wrong and to succintly explain why RR had to go.
August 25th, 2011 at 8:15 PM ^
Thanks. I judge a coach by what I see on the field. Thats where his leadership skills should be reflected.
On a side note...I'm watching Brionte Dunn right now. Very strong kid. Would look great in a winged helmet.
August 25th, 2011 at 9:04 PM ^
RichRod was here for 3 years. One year we had decent special teams. One year we had bad special teams (surprisingly the year we were forced to start plenty of freshment who would normally be on special teams) and one year we had arguably the best special teams unit in the Big 10. I don't really know how you could say that is pathetic or that is is the direct result of poor coaching.
August 25th, 2011 at 9:51 PM ^
What team did you watch the last 3 years? I watched the University of Michigan. You see any dropped punts or kickoffs? How about missed fg's? Rich brought us Denard and we can be thankful for that.
August 25th, 2011 at 10:25 PM ^
I see you decided to only look at the kickoff and punt teams from 08 and the kicking game from last year, not, you know, all of our special teams over the past 3 years. I wonder why you didn't mention one of our punt/kick returners setting a Michigan record. I wonder why.
Also, I am sure all of the returning starters and pretty much the entire team who was brought in by RichRod appreciate you saying they aren't worth shit. Sometimes I wonder if people who say RichRod didn't do anything positive other than Denard realize they are calling our entire team worthless.
August 25th, 2011 at 10:50 PM ^
I said nothing negative about any of the players. I didnt single anyone out and bash them. I blamed the man in charge, who was paid significant money to win football games. I'm sorry if you feel like we had some great coach and special teams guru with RR. So criticism by any poster on here is considered attacking UM players? Good to know. Guess 99.9% of the people on this site hate Michigan. Including Brian. Interesting.
August 26th, 2011 at 12:54 AM ^
Ah, so when you said we can give thanks to RichRod for bringing Denard, you meant "Denard plus every other player on the team?" Why didn't you mention Gordon or Molk or Shaw or Robinson or Gardner or Roundtree or any of the other 19 starters? See, when you criticize RichRod and then point to 1 player we can be thankful for, you are suggesting that RichRod had nothing to do with all the other players or that we can't thank RichRod for them. I am pretty sure everyone knows what you were talking about. You can criticize RR all you want, but when you suggest that 1 player is the only thing we can thank RichRod for, you are telling us you don't think very highly of the rest of the team.
August 26th, 2011 at 1:42 AM ^
Denard is clearly the highlight of RR's tenure. It doesnt mean he's the only good player on the team. I dont really know where you're coming from on any of this. The topic here was Rodriguez and why he failed as a coach. I believe Michigan has plenty of talent. I did not list talent evaluation in reasons for his dismissal. You think we had good special teams during his tenure. I disagree. Having a great return game one year is great, but that is a portion of special teams. You don't win games playing the way we did. Period. The coach is responsible. He gets paid. The players (at most schools) don't.
August 25th, 2011 at 6:03 PM ^
"rejected the organ transplant....the program started throwing t-cells at Rodriguez on day one."
Too bad the transplant surgeon (BM) didn't recognize the slim chance that the transplant would succeed. In retrospect, the program would have survived better with conventional treatments.
To be sure, I feel sorry for RR. He got far more than his share of criticism from the press. He was attacked mercilessly from a group of semi-psychotic West Virginians. He did not receive the help he desperately needed from the AD in coping with the bad PR. Often seeming alone and overwhelmed, he looked like the proverbial deer in the headlights.
His fatal flaw perhaps was that he was too decent a man. He did not know how to counterattack when he needed to do so. By contrast, I can remember how Bo and LC handled the media eg when a reporter asked why his QB took a knee toward the end of the half of the OSU game, LC said: "that's a stupid question." RR never would have said that and kept the press on the defensive.
In summary, I do think that what happened to RR was unfair. My more compassionate side genuinely regrets his difficulties. But my more competitive side is really not sorry at all that he is gone. He was not the right man for the job.
August 26th, 2011 at 12:36 AM ^
RR faced some uphill battles, but I don't think it's fair to say he wasn't supported by the AD when he got here.
WVU decided to enforce his buyout . . . the AD paid his buyout. He brought in a new strength and conditioning regime . . . the AD spent a million dollars on a new weightroom.
It's not like he was brought in here and then abandoned.
August 30th, 2011 at 5:43 PM ^
I agree that Martin helped RR in many other ways. It's just that Martin seemed totally incompetent when it came to PR and RR needed help with this.
August 25th, 2011 at 11:03 PM ^
Rich Rodriguez will win again, wherever he ends up. The cards were always stacked against him at Michigan, for reasons now that are all too clear. And by the way Brian, David Foster Wallace would be proud.
August 25th, 2011 at 11:37 PM ^
August 26th, 2011 at 1:24 AM ^
2014...we are right back where we started. Michigan should never lose to ASU or Toledo. Nor should MIchigan lose like they did to Mississippi State.
Chip Kelly doesn't know beans about defense. Somehow his legacy is not the same as RR's. My fear is that DB may not have fixed the problem rather have traded one for the other - but only time will tell. Denard is going to delay that answer a couple years at least. DB's definitely scheduling like he did fix it. Hoke does not have the luxury of six years or even four years. Hoke is just a guy like RR - but Michigan needs to do whatever it takes to be Michigan. There is just no reason to settle for less.
Somehow a well paid Mattison like DC could not work with RR despite being what is best for Michigan football. That is sad. The schism that this post is and Bacon's book will center on is only going to go away when Ws come back. It can't come soon enough.
August 26th, 2011 at 7:44 AM ^
August 26th, 2011 at 9:27 AM ^
Myth #1 - That he "didn't understand" CARA and coach-number rules. Anyone who concludes this hasn't read the whole public record. It's IMPOSSIBLE to conclude he didn't know. (And if you read WVU charges, there is an explicit statement by a Compliance person there that RR was TOLD about coach-number problems of his there.
Myth #2: That RR told the truth to the NCAA. His interview, and his statements, are laughable excuses which didn't pass the straight face test. It needs to be described for what it is: RR LIED THROUGH HIS TEETH. All this talk about him "not being a M Man?" -- I agree with that -- and this lying is far and away the main reason for his "not being a M Man." It was embarrassing, and I also think he lost ALOT of credibilty and respect when he executed on his plan to try to lie and coverup. This was his NUMBER ONE defect.
Myth #3: That RR was a great coach. He was a one-trick pony (and what a pony he had - Denard.)
Myth #4: That RR's NCAA violations were started by him: Not entirely true. The practice-time absence of records preceded him. This is BILL MARTIN's legacy, and he never got properly blamed for that side of it.
Myth #5: That RR dragging his 12 yr old boy around with him is evidence that he's a great guy. A good bit of that display was painful, and shameless PR-manipulation by RR - you wanted to call RR up and say, PUL_EEZE will you spare your kid all this limelight? He even arranged a late Oct video down at Saline High or whatever, with RR and wife in stands, and it was posted on MGoBlue. Shameless.
Myth #6: That RR is a great and decent person. I'm guessing a little more here, but it's worth noting. UM's strength for 100 years has been the men of really superb character who have been Head Coaches, with perhaps the exception of Kipke. RR was a foul-mouth, abusive coach who engendered a whole lot of enmity from many people he dealt with. I just don't think he met that UM standard.
Myth #6: [This may be the biggest myth of all]: That anyone can make a believable estimate as to some "tiny number of minutes' by which RR's practice time exceeded NCAA regs. [Brandon emphasized this.] THERE WERE NO CONTEMPORANEOUS RECORDS. None. Zippo. This myth is created out of thin air.
Myth #7: That Rosenberg is responsible for all the NCAA fuss, & it was completely overblown. If #6 is a myth (and it IS), then the violations were likely substantial. Just between us girls, I assume almost everything Rosy reported was true, as I assume most everything SI printed last May about the MANY more players involved in OSU's tatt-gate was true: College FB Athletic Depts are masters at "killing" and burying evidence, & using their power to "encourage" participants to shut their mouth. ALOT of that went down, and everyone knew what they were supposedd to say when NCAA came to town. To contend that repeated practice-time and coach-number violations generated no "competitive disadvantage" is difficult. And it is by no means a given that that long-term double violation necessarily is outweighted, say, by cash payments to one player -- in terms of competitive advantage.
Myth #8: That there is no difference between major college FB above -- then below - the Mason Dixon line. There is a HUGE difference, and below that line it's really just professional football in so many ways. And RR could be be a good coach and successful coach somewhere down there.
Myth #9: That RR is all bad. He's not. People are "layered", as John Updike used to say, and he has a number of strengths. Despite some of his flaws above, I found him (when I could see what I thought were non-PR glimpses) to be a very interesting, bright, and sometimes likeable guy, who might be a great guy to have a beer with.
August 26th, 2011 at 12:11 PM ^
your method of mythbusting is to say "nuh uh" to each one?
/facepalm
August 27th, 2011 at 9:57 PM ^
The whole RichRod era makes me sad. I can't argue with his firing, and am thrilled with the early signs of the Hoke era. That said, I think that RichRod is an offensive genius and had he been savvier about defensive coordinators (or given Scott Shafer free reign to run a defense and hire a staff) things might have different.
That said, I love this post -- American Beauty does totally suck.
August 27th, 2011 at 10:25 PM ^
Once he dismissed Shafer but kept the rest of the defensive staff it was no longer possible for him to be savvy about defensive coordinators. Who's going to come in under those circumstances, knowing that he won't be able to choose his own staff or scheme and that the HC's loyalty is not to him but to the people under him? Greg Robinson may very well have been the best available option, given the circumstances.
The chain of command demands respect in both directions, downward as well as upward. I hope for his sake and for the sake of his next school that RR absorbed that lesson.
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