Reports: Drevno is Out
Message boards had it last night, Brandon Justice reported it earlier this morning, Sam was talking about it, and now Bruce Feldman has SOURCES:
SOURCES: OC Tim Drevno is stepping down at #Michigan. The Wolverine Lounge first reported the news.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) February 23, 2018
…so there’s enough smoke that we should probably report the fire. Michigan’s embattled offensive coordinator Tim Drevno, by hook or by crook, appears to be leaving the program.
We had high hopes for Harbaugh’s longtime sidekick due to the regular asskickings Drevno’s wards handed out at Stanford, and there was a brief moment last year when it looked like the OL was growing into a similarly ferocious meat grinder.
Alas, nobody’s pass protection has significantly improved in three seasons, and a lot of Michigan’s problems last year and today go back to offensive tackle recruiting, which also goes back to Drevno. He was looking increasingly superfluous last year when Michigan brought in another offensive coordinator type in Pep Hamilton and another offensive line coach type in Greg Frey. With Harbaugh calling the plays, Pep still around, yet another OC type Jim McElwain joining the staff, and OL development guru Ed Warinner with the team in some capacity, “What precisely do you do here?” was slated to remain a valid question.
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:05 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:38 PM ^
He deals with the God Damn Quarterbacks so the offensive coordinator doesn't have to. He has people skills!
WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!!!
/office space
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:30 PM ^
We need Pep if we want to have any chance with Dobbs and some of the other Detroit area kids. He's made it his personal mission to go after them and they've mentioned a couple times that they're building a relationship with Pep and how they're in contact all the time.
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:37 PM ^
Speaking of that I hope this doesn't hurt us with Calvin Anderson. I heard that Anderson and Drevno had really hit it off. But Sam Webb also said that Anderson really likes Matt Dudek too.
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:06 PM ^
Warriner at analyst is a waste. This HAD to happen, and I am more and more optimistic. Hopefully we get Patterson eligible and we are contenders!
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:07 PM ^
No personal animosity toward Drevno. However, he didn't get the job done, and I'm glad Jim made the change. Looking forward to more success under the new regime.
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:10 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:16 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:04 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:11 PM ^
recruiting is done geographically (at least primary recruiters) so not sure all of the OT misses are on Drevno.
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:10 PM ^
distinction between loyalty and cronyism. This makes me think that, although loyal, Harbaugh won't settle for anything less than what he thinks is best for the program. Gotta separate business and friends sometime. Glad it happened and hope everyone benefits from it moving forward.
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:23 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:53 PM ^
wish Drevno well on his new gig.
I liked Car though. What was his winning percentage? .758? The only ones higher were guys like Yost, Bo, and Crisler.
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:12 PM ^
Coach Drevno.
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:12 PM ^
I'm just excited Warinner gets to actually coach the players now. I kept forgetting that analysts were not allowed to participate in practices, etc...
Go Blue
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:13 PM ^
Drevno seems like a genuinely good guy. wish him the best. hope he lands a good gig but also think moving on from him is a good thing for the program. Best of Luck Drev!
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:13 PM ^
Ed Warriner is a hell of an O-line coach
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:15 PM ^
I expect the O-line to improve significantly this year with both more experience (i.e in the interior) as well as Warriner's expertise. I have some concerns about his recruiting bliffs at OSU, but hopefully he can regain traction in the recruiting field while in Ann Arbor. Nevertheless, Warriner is an elite OL coach, good get for us.
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:33 PM ^
is able to get the oline rolling, I can live without him being a stand out recruiter.
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:31 PM ^
Drevno was the same with Stanford talent. Just a crap OC.
February 23rd, 2018 at 2:37 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 3:29 PM ^
but at the same time he didn't make the Minnie O line god like in a year. We have better raw materiel, but there may only be so much you can do in a year. Frey was good at Indiana, and here before.
And if Shae comes in this may be a year with alot of O scheme changes.
Not saying it won't happen. as I said, I'm optimistic. However...we might want to pump the breaks on the idea of huge improvements next year. 'Good/decent' might be what we are looking at .
February 23rd, 2018 at 3:29 PM ^
And how would we know?
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:18 PM ^
Of course, my worry is that so is Drev. We need some luck, some recruits, *and* good coaching.
I think Drev took too much $hit on this board.
I hope that Warriner comes in and is the OL Guy.
*****If that's the case, I hope he can work the same magic here he did at OSU, vs. the harder time Drev had.
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:46 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:14 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:17 PM ^
This sort of bums me out. Not because he didn't deserve to go, but because a friend of mine grew up down the street from the Drevno family in Torrance. My friend has no Michigan ties, but became a Michigan fan the last few years because of his relationship with Tim and his family. He went from knowing nothing about Michigan to bringing it up nearly every time I saw him.
Hopefully he finds a nice landing spot.
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:17 PM ^
He dealt with the god damn players so the coaches didn't have to. He has people skills; he is good at dealing with people! Can't you understand that? What the hell is wrong with you people?
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:19 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:18 PM ^
I'm glad I'm not the idiot who wrote a diary about his career as an OL coach a week ago.
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:30 PM ^
I am also not that idiot.
But I can be the idiot to say: Oakland is still in play.
Best wishes, coach Drevno.
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:15 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:20 PM ^
Oakland really isn't even in play for the Raiders any longer. Maybe for what, one more season of pissing on their fans before they find out what it's like to play in front of crowds that root for the opponent more than the home team?
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:20 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:26 PM ^
Here's hoping he finds another job elsewhere.
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:29 PM ^
I think he was always going to be gone as soon as it didn't endanger particular recruits (as in, he'd have left in December if NPF had signed early), and Harbaugh was willing to keep up the image maintenance fiction that Drevno was being "hired away."
Only Drevno didn't get the new job quick enough. Finally the fiction was too hard to maintain, or Warriner was getting offers and said "I need to have that OL job you promised me or I will Enos you and go get it somewhere else."
February 23rd, 2018 at 3:31 PM ^
That is quite the threat. I am going to start using that one with people who have no idea what I'm talking about.
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:31 PM ^
Jim recognized what had to happen and took the necessary steps a head coach should...even if that invovles parting ways with a good friend. To me, this new staff looks likes a solid college football offensive staff
Ed, get to work
Best of luck to Coach Drev, I bet we see him soon back at it somewhere.
Onward
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:55 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 2:57 PM ^
I am happy to report that my UM Football prognosticator status has been officially upgraded to "Cautiously Optimistic" for the 2018 season. =)
Yay progress!
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:43 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 5:49 PM ^
In certain contexts you're not wrong, including this one, but it rankles if I let this go as-is.
In U.S. business culture (in my experience anyway) it's a common sentiment that apologizing is a sign of weakness, but the more accurate interpretation of an apology is that it's the first step, acknowledging both a problem and responsibility for it. The kicker is, you're not done. You still have a problem to fix. The next steps are to lay out a plan to get things back on the right track and prevent things from re-occurring, then execute the plan. What went wrong, what was the damage, how to repair the damage, and what needs to be different going forward. If you don't have these answers, you're done, and your apology ain't worth the breath you wasted on it.
Case in point, we didn't recruit tackles, and even after this became very evident, not to mention costly, we kept whiffing on tackle prospects and the ones we had weren't improving. There was a problem, OK fine nobody's perfect, but the real killer was the problems weren't getting fixed. If Drevno was as culpable for the O-line's recruiting and development as Brian thinks, yet couldn't find a way to change things for the better, then it was indeed time for him to go. But apologizing, by itself, had jack all to do with it.
February 23rd, 2018 at 6:41 PM ^
Apologizing is basically mortgaging your reputation for competence in exchange for a final chance to fix things. In you succeed, you get your rep back and get to keep your position. If you fail, virtually any support you may have had will evaporate and you are completely cooked.
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:46 PM ^
I really hoped that by stepping back and focusing on what got him to this level of the Peter Principle he would be able to coach the young line into a force.
Best of luck in the next gig, Coach Drev.
Let's hope Warinner learned the same lessons & is able to coach up a line that needs it.
Go Blue!
February 23rd, 2018 at 12:53 PM ^
For whatever reason things just didn't work out and I won't presume to know enough to belittle his ability or competence. Interwebs or not...
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:03 PM ^
Is anyone else a little suspicious that Jim forced his friend out in a weirdly weak and passive aggressive way? I mean rather than just fire Drevno outright, Jim hired a former Big 10 o-line coach as an analyst, and then brought in a former Power Five head coach as a new WR coach? (Watch out Pep...) If my boss pulled this shit with me, and then sat back and waited for me to get the picture, rather than just level with me up front, I would be mad as hell.
That said, a change was needed, so I'm not arguing with the end result.
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:27 PM ^
Comments