What player alumni really think of the current players
October 12th, 2014 at 11:51 AM ^
of what us as fans don't really see. What this program and department need is some truth and less politicking.
In short, Dave Brandon and his marketing blitz and money-making machine has alienated the general fanbase, especially students and season ticket holders. The coach choices over the last seven years have alienated the former players into the Bo-era players and the Lloyd-era players. This is very sad.
The "fracture" between these three groups is only going to widen until a complete culture change happens. We need an AD who's main goal is to make the ath dept and the football program as strong and untied as possible and to hire a football coach who is here to win the right way and to mold the young men that come here to be better husbands, fathers, and alumni that everyone can be proud of.
The childish infighting between Lloyd's era and Bo's era has to stop. Doesn't everyone want the same thing? The best and winningiast football program in the country? This isn't that hard.
October 12th, 2014 at 4:00 PM ^
First off, last night was a good win, in which the team showed a lot of heart and basic, sustained competence. Let's not forget that. Only very stupid people will say beating Penn State means nothing.
Second, I don't know if this kind of thing -- arranging for players and their families on a road trip to stay with former players -- has been common in the past, under Carr and earlier. Somehow I doubt it?
It feels to me like a Brandon thing -- he seems hung up on his past and it colors everything he does. If so, then it's a fairly big instance of his incompetence, and something that your family should consider bringing to the new President's office. It may not be a terrible idea, but it certainly sounds like it was badly mishandled.
Third, for what it's worth and this is just me, but I would be interested in knowing what Hoke might do with a competent AD making his job simpler instead of making it more complicated, which is what this thing you're talking about sounds like to me. Just the kind of messy distraction you don't need when you're trying to do Hoke's job.
I don't see the point of trying to hire a new coach with Brandon still in place -- even if you could convince someone good to come, they'd still have Brandon to deal with. So get rid of Brandon, and see what Hoke can do next year (and, ideally, the rest of this year). Then make a decision on Hoke.
October 12th, 2014 at 5:04 PM ^
Brandon obviously needs to go first, but the problem with the on field product is entirely Hoke's doing. Dave Brandon isn't the reason there is no player development, or atrocious clock management. I have no idea what anyone could possibly see in Brady Hoke that inspires confidence, and can think of zero reasonable scenarios in which he should be coaching Michigan next year.
October 13th, 2014 at 9:09 AM ^
I just don't think having the families of current players basically doing alumni relations (which is, at root, fundraising) is a good idea. Not just because it isn't necessarily a given that being an active former player means you are not a fool, but also because it's a distraction regardless.
These trips are going to be used for fundraising -- besides television money, it's probably the principal reason why the B1G took Rutgers and Maryland. No doubt Brandon wanted to show immediate results on the first trip to the greater New York City area. But mistakes were made, mistakes that may be undermining the team, if what the OP is reporting is any indication.
Hoke has got problems as a head coach on the field, and it's not clear that he is improving in those respects -- that's why good practices continue to fail to translate into good games, but saying there is "no player development" is just wrong.
I think it is likely that you are going to see that thing you find unreasonable happen (next year), right or wrong. But that's mainly because I see improvement despite the chaos, and I still expect at least one big upset win this year -- if it is at MSU, then watch out. But as I said, that's just me.
October 13th, 2014 at 11:49 AM ^
I agree with you that Brandon clearly needs to go, but what more are you expecting to see from Hoke? He has four years and things are clearly going in the wrong direction. Something about his staff has demonstrated that on offense they are unable to develop the potential of the talented players that have been recruited.
It is possible that this is the result of keeping Borges for three years. But for a CEO-style coach who is only an administrator, not a defacto coordinator as well as HC, the single most important characteristic he needs, even moreso than recruiting, is an ability to evaluate the people he chooses to surround himself with. He has no ability to do this. Keeping Borges, which he stated he was going to do for Year 4 prior to the Nuss hire.
Additionally, he is unwilling to adapt to changes in the game around him. No ability to utilize tempo, the punting formation, MANBALL when it clearly doesn't work, etc..
It is unfortunate this didn't work, he can really recruit, which is what I had assumed would be the most important characteristic for a CEO-style coach.
October 13th, 2014 at 2:53 PM ^
I taught undergraduates for many years. So I have some practical sense of what happens inside of a University and in the education and maturation process at those ages. I'm not saying you, but I think a lot of fans have a distorted sense of what is going on here.
I just don't see what you think is obvious, that players on offense are not being developed. The line is still a work in progress, but there is development there. Kalis? Being a five-star is not an automatic guarantee of success. Is there anyone else who is truly performing below expectations? You had two young running backs coming along nicely. One got hurt, but still. Darboh had something resembling a breakout game against PSU. That's good, especially for Funchess against MSU. Jake Butt looks great.
So Shane Morris had a rough go of it -- in his first real, non-mono and its long recovery process, game since his junior year of high school. So what?
I think you can fire Hoke for putting Morris back into that game. There's really no excuse for that. Period. And maybe for being a deer in headlights in general when standing on the field during competitive games as head coach. And maybe for ignoring innovation, whatever. But for a lack of player development? I don't see it.
October 12th, 2014 at 10:20 PM ^
"Bo who?" When Schembechler got here, no one even knew who the hell he was. It turns out he was the right man for the job, and he became the face of the program. That is what we need, and nothing more. Who can lead the team to victories and make a trip to Michigan Stadium something for opposing teams to circle on the calendar again? Only time will tell. What we do know is that connections to the program and upholding the tradition of 3 yards and a cloud of dust should no longer be job requirements.
Thank you, Will for writing this. It bothers me to hear that this sort of thing goes on, especially coming from the guys who were once in their shoes. Sadly, it appears that only winning can repair the divides in the program and fanbase. Unfortunately, we need to do much more of that. I do hope that your brother knows that nearly all of the fans do support the players, and we want them to be successful.
October 13th, 2014 at 7:50 AM ^
This is great to get your perspective.
I sit by a bevy of former players in Section 17...some of whom were on the field the other night instead of in their seats. Their families said the guys had gone down to the field to "support Hoke." I asked if they believed in Hoke and if they were supporting the coaches more than the players. While this is essentially second hand, from the families of these letterwinners, it was telling that they said both, and yet repeated the mantra of "support Hoke," as if this was the canned reason they were supposed to say should someone ask, or if that was the wording in the invitation.
To further this, most of these families supported Rodriguez and thought he wasn't given a fair shake, especially after a solid but ultimately poorly ended final season.
These letterwinners are various ages and played under everyone from Elliott to Bo to Mo to Carr, so it's a pretty broad spectrum.
October 14th, 2014 at 9:19 AM ^
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