Dee Decommitted?
[Ed-M: Well, f.
In case you went to bed last night thinking that Michigan will be playing in a bowl game, a competent CEO-type athletic director is in charge of the program, and a 5-star-ish recruit perfect for our offensive system will be enrolling in January, you seem to have been 2/3rds correct.
Rivals reported last night that HB Demetrius Hart intends to decommit from Michigan in favor of Alabama. Tom VH spoke to someone close to Hart and confirmed...that it may be true.:
Regarding Dee Hart, I talked to someone close to him and it looks like the rumors may have legs. Not sure specifics yet.
The news inspired a 500-response thread and at least one user getting caved. As an attempt to restore sanity, and because I trust Tom, I am bumping Tom's diary on the subject (and on other RB options Michigan is in good shape with) to the front page.
At the moment, this seems to be rumor, but believeable. It becomes fact when Dee Hart says it is; until then we have a source close to Dee who says it's fact. For those of you who remember getting burned by Will Campbell only for a "just joking" thing after, this doesn't feel like that.
If you stick a gun to my head and say "okay Misopogon, you tell me why Hart decommitted right this second or I'll blow your brains all over your precious internet," I would say that Dee wants to get his college football career underway at the beginning of January, and Michigan wants to make a decision on who will be his head coach after that. This opinion is entirely conjecture, conflicts with a previous statement made by Hart, and should be taken as no more than that. Expect something more informative and concrete from Brian or Tim later today. Here's Tom: [/Misopogon]
TomVH: Dee Hart Alternatives
Hopefully everyone's calmed down from the Demetrius Hart news. For those of you that follow me on Twitter, I did talk to someone close to him and it looks like he will be decommitting. He's shut down contact, so I wasn't able to get a hold of him or his family. They don't like to disappoint people, so I'm not sure how much contact they'll have. The Michigan coaches will be making a visit out to try to do damage control with Dee. We'll see what ultimately happens with it, things can change.
Moving on from that, Justice Hayes is committed, Michigan is hoping Thomas Rawls makes grades, and there's two more options out there. Tre Mason (5'10", 190 lbs, 4 Star) and Devondrick Nealy (5'10", 175 lbs, 3 Star). Michigan is in great position with Nealy, and we most likely lead.
Mason is one to watch, and I talked to him tonight. He was interested and intrigued with the news of Demetrius Hart. I asked him about Michigan, and he had this to say.
I like Michigan, but Coach Dews has been talking to me about defense lately, and I do not want to play defense. I like Auburn a lot too, but if Michigan wanted me back as a running back then they'd have a good shot at me. I'm looking at depth charts and everything, so we'll see.
You have to think that Michigan had been talking defense with Tre because they had Demetrius Hart and Justice Hayes committed. They didn't have room for a third running back of the same kind. If Demetrius does in fact decommit then I would assume Michigan would tell Tre that they want him on offense again. Just something to keep an eye on if everything goes down as it seems like it will.
December 3rd, 2010 at 10:45 AM ^
How editorially circumspect are you being when your editorial opinion is longer than the post you're bumping?
December 3rd, 2010 at 10:28 AM ^
I hope individuals around the nation aspiring to be a Head Coach at a major program some day are taking notes. This how you effectively use negative recruiting to poach from a team like Michigan.
December 3rd, 2010 at 10:41 AM ^
This is completely unacceptable and a signal of epic failure. Whether Dee came to Michigan was fully within Michigan's control.
I don't have the time to go into a full blown analysis of what's going on with the coaching situation, but it's Brandon's fault that we're flailing right now. He has exhibited wishy washy feelings and communications on both of the major subjects of his tenure thus far: he was on the fence about The Game's timing, and he's fumble-dicking around with the coaching decision.
It's obvious that he's managing expectations of his performance by intentionally lowering expectations and hamstringing his coach.
The program was at a tipping point this year. Its had flashes of greatness. It needed to be supported, not left to flail in the wind and let survival of the fittest take over. Now, with Dee decomitting, we are tipping backwards not forwards. Here comes another 3 years of sucking.
Thanks Dave. Nice job.
December 3rd, 2010 at 10:40 AM ^
In case you went to bed last night thinking that Michigan will be playing in a bowl game, a competent CEO-type athletic director is in charge of the program, and a 5-star-ish recruit perfect for our offensive system will be enrolling in January, you seem to have been 2/3rds correct.
Well, at least 1/3rd correct. And at least one 1/3rd wrong. Maybe more.
December 3rd, 2010 at 11:42 AM ^
Not sure if I agree yet, but that's funny either way...
December 3rd, 2010 at 11:46 AM ^
I was trying to do a rhetorical math thing, and got it wrong. My thinking when writing that was:
- We're going to a bowl (stable)
- DB is competent (?)
- Hart is coming to M (?)
The idea being that either 2 or 3 would be correct. But no, that is entirely wrong, especially if you think (2) is dependent on (3). I'm gonna just leave the comment and everyone can imagine I was endorsing DB because the real idea that was going through my brain was completely incorrect and makes no sense.
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:00 PM ^
Wow - should our evaluation of DB depend completely (or even > 50%) on the decision of 1 recruit? That's as big of a fallacy as saying our evaluation of RR should depend on one 18 yard punt.
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:20 PM ^
Okay, so add more fail to the comment.
Or read my thoughts above on DB's strategy and its ultimate affects.
December 3rd, 2010 at 10:52 AM ^
Maybe UM just can't have nice things...
December 3rd, 2010 at 11:06 AM ^
Nice Foxworthy reference
December 3rd, 2010 at 10:55 AM ^
Glad I went to bed early last night. This sucks.
December 3rd, 2010 at 11:03 AM ^
Aren't there really just two options all of which assume Brandon has spoken with Harbaugh:
1. Harbaugh said he will take the job but only after his BCS bowl. Harbaugh understands the recruiting issues, but tells Brandon he will deal with it. Thus, Brandon is silent.
2. Harbaugh has said he will not take the job. In that case, Brandon should support RR.
If Harbaugh has said he will take the job and doesn't care when its announced, it would be out there already. Thus, its seems like #1 is the logical answer.
This assumes Brandon is not a Bill Martin type who won't contact people until he has full permission from his administration, their administration, the NCAA, Barack Obama, the KGB, etc.
Guys -- tell me why its more complex?
Go Blue!
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:21 PM ^
There are a many fairly significant assumptions in your scenario. These assumptions include: 1) Brandon wants to replace RR with JH 2) Brandon won’t replace RR with anybody but JH 3) JH has given a definitive answer (or at least a strong indication) 4) Brandon really didn’t mean it when he said he waits until a season is complete to evaluate his coaches.
I’m sure there are others. The reason for the complexity to which you refer is that the assumptions you made may not be true.
December 3rd, 2010 at 1:42 PM ^
Not sure if its more complex, I just think everyone is looking into it way to much. Remember DB has said from the beginning that he would wait till the end of the season to do evaluations, he said it again when we were winning and had a 5-0 record, and again at the end of the season. DB has never publicly put RR on the hot seat and that is why he is sticking to his comments.
There isn't anything anyone can say here ( unless it is coming from DB himself) that will cause me to believe RR will or will not be back next year. The fact of the matter is we re all just going to have to wait and see.
December 3rd, 2010 at 1:55 PM ^
to be the end of the regular season. December is prime recruiting season for early enrolees, which are becoming more and more of an emphasis.
Like it or not, there are always going to be some poor seasons where it may not be clear to all that a coaching change will or will not be made.
Recruits are going to want to know unambiguously where the coach stands before they commit to an early enrollment.
December 3rd, 2010 at 11:09 AM ^
I haven't seen this mentioned but MgoRecruit says that the coaches are in Dee's school today. Good to know since Alabama being at Dr. Philips is what preceeded the potential decommitment:
December 3rd, 2010 at 11:12 AM ^
Damn, I was hoping his announcement after the game was about him breaking the state record for TD's. He was gonna thank all his coaches, family, etc.. and re affirm his committment to michigan.
Sucks, but this is pretty surprising to see him go to Bama now if he actually does.
December 3rd, 2010 at 11:14 AM ^
This is why he needs to make up his stupid mind now in the first place. He is just keeping the uncertainty in the program swirling. He needs to think about it from an investor standpoint like he would have at Dominos. It kills investors confidence to have uncertainty around a company, and in this case our investors are our recruits. They are not going to commit, or they are going de-committ if they are not sure of the head coaches job security for at least next year.
It just drives me crazy that he is dragging this out this long. Let RR stay and move on. Add some stability to the program for now and lets move on. RR is a great recruiter and he will get us back to where we belong. Give him another year or 2 which he deserves. But dragging this out is just stupid regardless of his decision.
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:19 PM ^
...Warren Buffett would definitely be buying Michigan football on the cheap right now ;)
December 3rd, 2010 at 3:36 PM ^
Amazing how so many want to blame DB. He got this pile handed to him. For those that think that ANY of the top UM officials are totally concerned about next years recruiting, or even the next 2 years recruiting had better think again. This is about the long term $$ and long term face that UM will have to wear.
Face it, UM made a bad decision in RR. In just 3 short years, he has dragged the program and univeristy into a huge hole. Set the worst kind of records possible, sanctions etc. Watch him on the sidelines...he is NOT a Michigan man. Hey, I wish it were different but it's not. He's probably a good guy and never really got a good chance...but hey, thr university will move on and so will the program. Book it...RR is gone.
December 4th, 2010 at 9:24 AM ^
was approved by the compliance department who were holdovers not brought here with RR. The fact that you don't see many upperclassman starting should tell you something about the state of the program when RR took over. The lack of high draft picks would also indicate a lack of talent. BG is the exception, but without Barwis he wouldn't be where he is today as he was overweight and out of shape when LC was here.
December 4th, 2010 at 2:59 PM ^
...transfers hurt both the level of senior starters as well as the lack of draft picks (Mallet will probably be a 1st round pick, that guard who went...to the program to the South also could be). However, for what its worth, such transfers can be a part of every coaching change and I'm not going to specifically fault RR for that.
December 3rd, 2010 at 11:20 AM ^
The thing that's disconcerting about this is that if Dave Brandon is keeping RR, but won't say so in order to stick with his initial timeline, he's causing some damage across the board - to the team, the recruiting, the coaches. If, at this point, he really doesn't know if RR is staying, a bowl game won't change RR's body of work. Of course, a win is great, but what does it really mean?
So I suspect he's getting all his ducks in order to make a change. At this point, if he doesn't make a change, he looks kind of silly and obstinate.
December 3rd, 2010 at 1:48 PM ^
if he hasn't already made one behind the scenes.
If everything is fine he should step up and say so, so as not to undercut the program.
Man, if he's going to do this every year even if everything is fine, we'll never get another early enrollee again.
December 3rd, 2010 at 11:21 AM ^
December 3rd, 2010 at 11:28 AM ^
Looking to allocate blame? Look no further than our AD. I love Dave Brandon but imho he is playing this like an amateur.
December 3rd, 2010 at 11:37 AM ^
There is clearly a reason DB is waiting. Right now I want to punch him in the nose, but withhold that punch until we hear the backstory on why he's waiting.
What's super awesome about all of this is that Dee Hart can now run all over our arses when we play Alabama in 2012. That will feel good.
December 3rd, 2010 at 11:40 AM ^
for most comments on a thread?
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:02 PM ^
In this thread.
December 3rd, 2010 at 11:43 AM ^
"I liked Michigan either way and if [Coach Rodriguez] were to leave it wouldn't affect me because I think I can play in any offensive system. So it really wasn't my concern. That being said I wanted to make sure everything came together. He's winning ball games right now and the future looks good so it's coming together."
This might help settle the arguement that Dee Hart is decommiting due to Dave Brandon's timetable. He made this comment earlier this year, so he may have backtracked also.
Franky, it could be any number of reasons and those will come out in time.
December 3rd, 2010 at 11:50 AM ^
So if you look at this:
"I liked Michigan either way and if [Coach Rodriguez] were to leave it wouldn't affect me because I think I can play in any offensive system. So it really wasn't my concern.
You go "oh, he's committing because he likes Michigan, not for the system."
But then if you just take this:
I wanted to make sure everything came together. He's winning ball games right now and the future looks good so it's coming together."
It sounds like RR's future and that the school will give him a chance to make the team great right away (as opposed to another painful transition that makes us great by 2014), are important to him.
In reality, it's probably both, as it should be. I certainly wouldn't put it past Saban to be like "they're going to fire the coach you committed to" and that this made a difference with Hart. I obviously can't say I know that's what happened, but it seems plausible.
December 3rd, 2010 at 11:44 AM ^
everything i hear from this blog on Brandon is all positive, but im starting to think he's the one that needs to fired seems to me RR is on his way out the door (i personally think he deserves one more year) so lets get this answer over with so we can move on and start focusing on next year. i truly think if RR is fired we will regret it for at least two years. When is it going to be fun to be a Wolverine fan again? Because this sucks.
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:01 PM ^
I think the strategy right now is to play his cards close and not let an electoral eruption tear the fanbase apart while he weighs his decision. The way to spin it was to say "for every coach of every program we evaluate after every season," and not give one sliver of information beyond that.
The upside of this strategy is it doesn't close off any options, and at least somewhat keeps the fans from tearing each other (and his options) apart in consternation.
The downside is it puts program building on hold. For the first time in his career, Rich Rod does not have a fully public endorsement from the University that he can use to tell recruits "you aren't signing up for a coaching change." Until he has that, this will be an anchor. It's an anchor for one month, and an important month, but there's still a long way to go until February.
When a decision is made, either way it will be a resounding one: either Brandon is going to say
- "Rich Rodriguez is our man," which will imply "...so much so that we are not even pursuing the slam-dunkiest coaching candidate in decades when we probably could have him" and this will be the clearest indication since 2007 that Michigan is committed to Rodriguez for the future. OR
- "Rich Rodriguez didn't get it done and we're turning to Jim Harbaugh," which will be such a cataclysmic shift in the program that minor December earthquakes will hardly be thought of.
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:40 PM ^
If Rodriguez is given another year, is there any reason to believe that this exact same thing will not happen next year? Will there be defined goals that must be achieved before he will be given another year? My biggest concern now, if Rodriguez gets 2011, is that we'll be in this same place next year with some saying 8-4/9-3/10-2 is an improvement, some saying no, etc. To me, that is the worst possible result - to, in effect, push the decision off for a year.
(For what its worth, I appreciate you simply stating facts in your posts.)
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:40 PM ^
I think that 93-, 10-2 would pretty make everyone happy provided at least one of those wins was against MSU or OSU. Anything less and I think the consensus would be that a change needs to be made. But yeah, either give RR a multi-year extension or fire him, because punting with a lame-duck year won't help anyone.
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:47 PM ^
In some ways, I think if DB sticks to his timetable this year, the "chatter" will decrease next year. If he goes back on his stated timetable, then the perception will be that "chatter" can influence his decision-making timeline.
December 3rd, 2010 at 1:40 PM ^
if we are going to forego Harbaugh to give RR more time, then we should commit to two full years so that we are seeing what RR can do with "his guys" as Seniors.
At that point we'll truly know whether the RR experiment is going to work or not. We'll either be happy or we'll be able to move on with full peace of mind.
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:38 PM ^
I largely agree, but what do you do about the early enrollees? Those kids don't have until the beginning of January for a decision; they basically have to sign up today and be on campus in a little over a month. That is why the timing of Brandon's decision doesn't make sense to me - if he wants RR gone, he might as well get it over with so that JH or whomever comes in to replace RR can convince some of these kids to stick around. Otherwise, even if kids decommit and then ultimately recommit, you'll see a string of very public decommits that won't help the UM program regardless of who is at the helm.
December 3rd, 2010 at 11:58 AM ^
Hart has seemed to go back and forth on his choice of college for the last year. I for one never figured he was really here until he actually showed up. If he comes, he comes. I certainly would not change my approach to evaluating the program based on one recruit, who may or may not pan out. See, e.g., 5 star running back recruits Kelly Baraka and Kevin Grady. Making the right decision about who leads the program is infinitely more important than where Dee Hart plays football.
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:10 PM ^
Could not agree more. What are we dealing with concerning Mr. Brandon? Stubbornness? Arrogance? Why does this have to wait a month until after the bowl game? Either give Rich Rod the vote of confidence (which I wholeheartedly believe he deserves) or say the program is moving in another direction. This indecision is catastrophic for the program....
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:30 PM ^
Since you are so enthusiastic about keeping Coach Rodriguez, I'm sure you can show evidence supporting your argument that the rest of the world is missing. Can you please enlighten us on why he should stay? Is it the pathetic special teams, the swiss cheese defense, or the statistically fraudulent offense? I am dying to know!
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:35 PM ^
You can't say
I'm sure you can show evidence supporting your argument that the rest of the world is missing.
as if you actually want objective reasons and then say
Is it the pathetic special teams, the swiss cheese defense, or the statistically fraudulent offense?
I got it - you don't want RR back. Duly noted. But there certainly are arguments, valid even, why he should be retained and why his approach is working at UM.
December 3rd, 2010 at 1:51 PM ^
Thanks bronxblue, I am not sure I could have said it better.
We will just let Burner continue down the same path of dissatisfaction and disloyalty every three years until the University of Michigan gets lucky, hires a coach for which the stars align within the first three years and he lands us a National Championship.
Instead of me "showing" you the reason I am allowed to believe he deserves more years as the Michigan coach, why don't you show me all of the numerous examples of past coaches that have turned programs into national contenders in three years and how we can bring them on as the coach this January.
Or for that matter, show me the guarantee that Harbaugh will do this by 2014. Or, will it not be an issue because he is blessed as a "Michigan Man"?
December 3rd, 2010 at 2:40 PM ^
Coaches that have turned national programs around in less than 3 years:
1. Nick Saban. Alabama: 2009 BCS National Champions (3rd season)
2. Urban Meyer. Florida: 2006 BCS National Champions (2nd Season)
3. Jim Tressel. Ohio State: 2002 BCS National Champions (2nd season)
4. Bob Stoops. Oklahoma: 2000 BCS National Champions (2nd season)
Those are just a few examples of coaches that have turned national programs around in 3 seasons or less. Obviously, these coaches are not coming to Michigan next season, but it proves that 3 seasons can be pleanty of time to at least show that a big time program is heading in the right direction. Michigan's performance against quality competition this season shows no signs of improvement at all. I agree, hiring a new coach does not gurantee anything, but Michigan cannot sit back and hope that Coach Rodriguez is gonna turn it around. The defense is young, but there is also a lack of blue chip talent. Mike Martin is only player on the defense that is a lock to have a future in the NFL. I don't know how we are watching the same team every saturday? Maybe all of that corn is clouding your judgement.
December 4th, 2010 at 9:09 AM ^
He's had two full recruiting classes. Most everyone is returning. 7-5 is what most predicted and that was before T-Woolf went down. JH bitch slapped the university and program about academics. DRob. Maybe if we had more quality RS seniors, seniors, and juniors starting I would feel the same way, but we don't and that's not RR fault.
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:33 PM ^
the current timetable makes sense. I can imagine a situation where Harbaugh wants to finish this special season with Stanford and not leave before the bowl game and DB doesn't want to fire RR and leave the program in limbo for a month with people speculating "WHY HAVEN'T WE HIRED ANYONE YET?! WHAT ARE THEY DOING?! WHY IS HARBAUGH STILL IN CALIFORNIA?!" DB's actions, to me, say the decision has been made and Rich Rod will be let go but he can't announce the new coach until early Jan. and rather not leave an empty void at the top for a month.
December 3rd, 2010 at 1:29 PM ^
DB is going to tarnish his halo if he announces on Jan 2nd "Just kidding this last month, RichRod is still our coach", and we've already lost hlaf our recruiting class.
December 3rd, 2010 at 4:59 PM ^
No nod from Brandon right now for RichRod likely means he is toast. Brandon is not as dumb as most of the folks on this blog seem to think. Can you imagine what would be going on right now if Martin was still with us??
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:18 PM ^
I fully understand why Brandon is waiting until Jan. 1st to fire Coach Rodriguez. He will be saving a lot of money for the University and he is handling the coaching search with patience. However, he is driving a sword in the heart (no pun intended) of the 2011 recruiting class. Ultimately, I believe Brandon is doing the right thing for the big picture of Michigan football, but it comes at a price.
December 4th, 2010 at 9:04 AM ^
he won't save a cent unless RR decides to quit.
Comments