You Were Killed By A Bear And I Am Sad

On Virginia Tech message boards, there's a lot of complaining about the moribund state of the offense, the rebuilding after the Vick Jr. debacle, and other such topics. But there's no doubt about Frank Beamer. He'll be there -- he'll always be there, or so it seems. Thanks for reminding us that even permanent figures like Beamer and Schembechler ultimately have to pass on, even if we don't want them to.

There's another long interview with RR on espn.com. Mostly the same questions and answers. Says the Big Ten is "dang good". Is it possible to be too media friendly? He truly is the anti-Carr. Not that all the spelling mistakes in the playbook will matter if the plays actually work.

Well done. There's no need to demonize Carr and the past ; it's only necessary to understand it's the past.

You simply cannot make a post like that without including this scene from an Iowa win:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_k_XC6fwjE

"Pink locker room!"

The Florida game, for me, made me wonder,"Why could we not have done this offensively?" Injuries aside of course. I think Carr understood one thing very well. And that is it is easier to change your beliefs than change your behavior.

Although it is articles like this that make me wonder why major detroit area newspapers are not lining up to have you write for them.

In reading the piece yesterday, I was struck by the same quote, about Coach Carr's love of reading and the way that, on the surface, it does not carry over to Coach Rod.  I was struck by the idea that it was not a bad thing, just a different thing, but something that is gone.

I was going to write about it, but once more, Brian not only beat me to the punch, but did it far more eloquently than I ever could.

So thank you Brian for this...new day dawns on Saturday.

I don't think all of the "FIRE LLOYD!" crowd will realize how much they miss him until about 8PM on Saturday.  Rich Rodriguez may be a great football coach, a system guy, media friendly, somewhat engaging, but where he falls short is the strong sense of tradition and loyalty Lloyd Carr had for Michigan.  Yes, the "Michigan Man" thing can get tedious, but at the end of the day, wasn't Rich Rodriguez a "West Virginia Man," and didn't that change on a dime?  Loyalty to your team and to your school is important, and most of all, being a well-rounded person who doesn't fall back on the "aw, shucks!" country bumpkin defense is where Coach Carr shined, and where RichRod falls far short.   I worry that RichRod will be a short-lived flash in the pan, with his shortcomings that have been so far lost in a sea of "OMG Barwis!" and open practices becoming well apparent when the next can't-miss job opens up and he makes us look like fools.

This was quite a suprise!  I wasn't expecting a new post when I logged in this morning.....Great job wrapping up the BO-MOE-LLOYD era.

I've always been tired of all the talk about hiring a "Michigan Man" No Rod
wasn't, but he is now. I've been in love with Wolverine ball my whole
life. I can honestly say that I have never cared who the coach is or
was, I just wanted wins. Isn't that what we all want? Michgan was
about 10 years behind in innovation in today's football game. So they
went out and grabbed someone we know is what today's game needs. Who
cares if he wasn't a "Michigan Man" He has something we need. A
creative mind! If we wanted a "Michigan Man" we would have kept Carr
around and be shitty for a few more years.

I personally
welcome the change and hope the team gels quickly so they win 10
games. I thiink they can easily do so. It's about stepping up and playing
to their potential. And lt us not forget, the ultimate "Michigan Man,"
Bo, came from OSpew. Nobody mentions Bo as not being a "Michigan Man"
when he got here. Look what it did for him. If Rod wins a couple
NC's, he'll be right where Bo was. Someone who came in as an outsider and
ended up being the face of the University.

“What kind of stupid question is that?”

I can't remember the circumstances exactly, but I think he had Navarre take a knee with 30 seconds or so remaining in the half, and the sideline reporter just asked him why. I remember rolling on the floor laughing hysterically for about 20 minutes. Does anyone remember this? What was the deal?

You know Brian, every once in awhile you hit one out of the park.  Like "over the rooftop and into an adjacent parking lot" out of the park.  Nothing sums up the Lloyd era like the conflicting emotions so many feel for something so dear to us.  Anyone could do a UFR, not everyone can write like this.  Terrific.

Oh, and Bando- your lack of support has been noted.  Unfortunately for you, we are about to embark on an era of onfield success which previously only existed in peoples' minds.  You have 5 days to get on the train, or it leaves the station without you.  And this usher has a long memory. Try to get on later and you'll be booted in a heartbeat.

Knowing how LC is stubborn to change and his cronyism with with coaches, would you want him back as a head coach this year and the next?

I bet most would say "no". 

Lloyd is a good man with normal faults. One of his best attributes is a tremendously strong sense of personal loyalty to those close to him. That was also his most significant weakness as a coach, as he was undone time and again by the inadequacies of those he kept close to him on his staff. It's telling that after close to 30 years as a Michigan coach, 13 as HC, he hasn't spawned a single remotely successful head coach.

Chitown,  I don't believe that it was the game that passed Lloyd by, it was his excessive loyalty that caused his teams to fail to reach their potential.  Don hit it on the head.  He kept coaches around that were not able to perform. 

Lloyd let Debord switch to a zone blocking scheme.  That is a major departure from the past. I'm not going to argue with the pros and cons of a zone blocking scheme, but rather that lloyd had a willingness to turn over major portions of his team to his OC and DC, and he was let down repeatedly.  He kept a S&C coach around who was clearly 15 years behind the curve. 

Lloyd was a CEO-style coach.  He was not hands on and leaned on his coaches for most of the execution.  Lloyd just failed to bring in the best available talent to replace those that were clearly deficient (Moeller, Debord, Gittleson, in particular).  Frankly, there were two aspects of Martin possibly hiring Les Miles that had me very excited, one were his ties to the program, and two (but much more significant) was his willingness to go and hire the best available coaches.  (Please don't read into this that I am anti-RR, I think that he is a great hire, I personally never thought that he was on the market.)

Lie-bot, what is the most pathetic thing?

Phillipe, the most pathetic thing in the world is a man who sits on the sidelines and mercilessly criticizes another man who dedicated his life to serving his university and entertaining him, and enjoyed great success while doing so. One man had the stones and talent to do what he loved, another only has the fortitude to sit at a computer and find fault.

If you are incapable of understanding that Lloyd Carr did many great things for the University and the football program, that he took it to greater heights than revered Bo, that he kept it clean, that he steadied a program that could have gone under in the Mo scandal, then I pity you. You will never be satisfied.

It is time for the Revolution, but the Revolution would never have a chance if it wasn't for Lloyd leaving a strong foundation for it to build upon.