10 Struggling College Football Programs and the Coaches Who Derailed Them
On bleacher report there is a article of the top ten college programs and the coaches who derailed them. At number 4 is Michigan and heres what the author has to say
4. Michigan —Rich Rodriguez
Sure, Rich Rod is only in his third season at Michigan, but three years of trying to fit a round peg in a square hole doesn't cut it.
Three conference wins in two seasons? That simply won’t get it done when coaching one of the most historic programs in college football.
In fact, if Rodriguez doesn't beat Ohio State this year, he won’t get the same time that Carr had to drive the program.
The Numbers: Michigan under Lloyd Carr (122-40) vs. Rich Rodriguez (8-16)
Also there is a poll on the page and 64 percent of the people that voted say that Rich wont be back for 2011.
Heres the link.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/346784-ten-struggling-college-footba…
February 17th, 2010 at 11:42 AM ^
Michigan wasn't at bottom. And, despite what the Carr haters and RR lovers say, Michigan's cupboard was not bare.
Our new CEO decided to COMPLETELY redo the 'business' of Michigan football. While I've long hoped I am wrong, I believe this was a fundamental error. Not just because we'd have to go through years of being fucking Indiana Hoosiers, but because even at its best it would never BE THE BEST.
Even for those lovers of RR and the spread. In my view, yes, my view, the spread at Michigan, or at tOSU, or at any Northern university will NEVER be as good and NEVER has the full access to the right talent that southern schools will. Meaning, again, in my opinion (since I know simply stating facts and uncertainties around here creates neg bombs), Michigan at its best under RR will never be as good as, say, Florida or Georgia.
I don't want to re-tool the Michigan program, go through years of suckage only to never be able to be better than a second or third.
I've said from the beginning. 2010 is RR's last. Neg me for stating my opinion just as you state yours but when you gotta put 100,000 asses in the seat you better have a great product. The new AD will bring in a new coach.
February 17th, 2010 at 11:54 AM ^
"Michigan at its best under RR will never be as good as, say, Florida or Georgia."
I'm quoting this because a) lolGeorgia and b) I think it will be fun to watch you eat [redacted] in coming years.
February 17th, 2010 at 11:58 AM ^
But do you honestly think that the previous 2 years of Michigan football had ANY FUCKING CHANCE of being good under ANY FUCKING COACH UNDER ANY FUCKING SYSTEM?
No they were doomed from the start.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:06 PM ^
with the talent that was there, I think Lloyd's assistant could have had a .500 record over these past 2 years, rather than the embarrassments that we've had (and we know that's what it's been). Of course, this is an argument with no possible way of verification.
Rather...
The hope of the RR believers is that once he gets through this painful reconstruction process, Michigan will be a (perennial) contender for the NC.
I hope so, I really do, believe that or not, but as I've said before, I don't believe it can or will happen. He is playing an SEC game but can never have the full complete access to the SEC talent. It would be like if Iowa's coach decided to move to Florida State and try and bring in a bunch of farm boys and a cloud of dust philosophy. Even at its best I don't think it could ever be good enough.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:25 PM ^
How is RR trying to play an SEC game? It sounds like to me you fault RR for coming in and not completely reshaping his coaching philosophy to mimic Lloyd Carr's. Of course Lloyd would have had a better 2008 season, what does that prove? Nothing. You can bitch about us hiring a coach who has a different philosophy than what you like, but you can't blame RR for not conforming to your standard. And any claim you make that we can never be good with his system is baseless, which might explain your point total.
February 18th, 2010 at 12:31 PM ^
I think Lloyd's assistant could have had a .500 record over these past 2 yearsAssuming you're right, even IF English or DeBord were to be hired, and IF either of them managed to go 12-12 or 13-11 over the past two years, with the talent being what it is, the Michigan faithful are still up in arms because we probably are still getting beat by OSU, losing to MSU, not making it to BCS bowl games, and not making any progress. Fans would still be calling for the coaches head. Martin is now getting heat for standing pat with a coaching succession plan that has been exposed as completely tapped out and we're right back where we started from in 2008, looking for fresh blood to revitalize the Michigan program, only now we're two years further behind.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:28 PM ^
Unlike Don below, I am going to neg you. You have the right to your opinions, and I have the right to neg you for your opinions being not only rubbish, but you basing said opinions on ridiculously stupid reasons. I don't even know what "playing an SEC game" means. Was he playing the SEC game at West Virginia, or did he just get lucky for 10 years straight?
February 17th, 2010 at 1:55 PM ^
Football is not an "SEC game".
February 17th, 2010 at 6:05 PM ^
EVERYONE knows the spread only works at 75 degrees Farenheight and above.
What was RR possibly thinking?
/sarcasm
February 17th, 2010 at 12:06 PM ^
While I disagree with your assessment of the success of the spread in the northern schools, it's all epinion.
Do you agree that no program can afford to be 15 scholarships under the limit the way we were last year, and that being in the position of having to play walkons at critical positions on the defense is not ideal? If you look at the 2005 and 2006 classes, the number of highly-ranked washouts—especially on defense—is pretty eye-opening, and we certainly could have used some of those potential 4th or 5th-yr seniors the last couple of years. I don't blame Carr for the fact that Eugene Germany, Marques Slocum, James McKinney, Cobrani Mixon, Chris McLaurin, Chris Richards, Quintin Patilla, or Johnny Sears—all of whom Carr had for 2 or 3 years—couldn't make the cut, but I don't blame RR, either. Nor do I blame either for the fact that Kevin Grady never fulfilled the hope/hype surrounding his 5-star ranking. Sometimes recruiting classes just turn out that way.
If RR is not fired after 2010, you will post a comment admitting your prediction was wrong, right?
February 17th, 2010 at 2:08 PM ^
I will.
Doubt others will, however.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:20 PM ^
Michigan at its best under RR will never be as good as, say, Florida or Georgia.Yeah, imagine RR having to go up against Georgia without access to all the right talent southern schools get. It would be *terrible*.
February 17th, 2010 at 5:53 PM ^
That is some impressive football, but the video makes me appreciate Wolverine Historian all the more. I mean, do we really need to see every replay?
February 17th, 2010 at 11:41 AM ^
Yeah. Let me stop you right there.
February 17th, 2010 at 11:42 AM ^
It's not like they struggled before he got here. It's not like they had the worst defense in 40 years in 2007, or lost to a 1-AA team or anything. Yep, it was just smooth-sailing before RR was here.
February 17th, 2010 at 11:43 AM ^
If RR this year or next has Lloyd's WORST year, you'd claim Rich Rod a genius.
February 17th, 2010 at 11:51 AM ^
And I think that "2008" was Lloyd Carr's worst year. So Rich Rodriguez will be pretty much beating that one to death.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:15 PM ^
2005.
I know, I know, The Horror and all, but 7-5.
February 17th, 2010 at 5:08 PM ^
You're right. I'm ritarded.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:16 PM ^
Who let the idots out?
February 17th, 2010 at 11:42 AM ^
but they're inevitable as long as RR is on the wrong side of the win/loss column. Whatever the reasons for the slide during the last two seasons, ultimately he has to have more wins than losses, and pretty quickly. Even his strong supporters recognize that.
Before the start of last season, RR was one of those always mentioned as being on the hot seat. After ND, the criticism dropped off considerably, and after IU it was largely gone, except for those whiners like myself who saw ominous things in that victory. Winning makes up for a large bucket of bad juju.
I agree that losing to OSU alone doesn't guarantee that RR will get fired, but if it's part of another 3-9 season it's certainly conceivable. OTOH, if we lose to OSU again but go 9-3 overall, RR ain't going anywhere but A2 for the 2011 season.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:29 PM ^
I agree with this almost completely. On the one hand it's annoying to see bleacherreport being thought of as grounds for any type of discussion. But on the other, we shouldn't be surprised that articles like this are being written. Regardless of circumstance, outgaining only EMU, WMU and baby seal u in year 2 should not have happened. At a certain point you've got to shut up and just produce. We're reaching that point with Rodriguez.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:32 PM ^
Don't bother with the Bleacher Report. It's all horrible articles written by the lowest common denominator of sports fans. If you would like further proof, just take a look at this god-awful "article." I'm still amazed to this day at how stupid the writer is. I don't think it's even that I'm offended because it's about Rich Rodriguez--this is like the Ecks vs. Sever of bad articles.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:23 PM ^
Thanks for referencing that article by Lisa @#$%-face. It's a (bad) point of reference that I often use.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:40 PM ^
I have to give you credit for sticking to your points around here. I generally agree with you that Rodriguez has essentially completely failed up to this point. I think I have a bit more optimism than you do that it could all work out in the end, but it's hard to look at the last two years as anything other than a failure.
You have taken a no win position and stuck to it on this board. If Rodriguez succeeds, everyone will point to you as a delusional negative Nancy. If he fails and you're right about him getting fired after this season (which I agree is a strong possibility if there's not a major improvement), a, no one will acknowledge that you were right, and b, the masses will blame it on the administration and say Rodriguez got shafted (which may or may not be true). Basically, I applaud you for being honest with yourself and sticking to it.
Everyone says it's easy to be a pessimist and say the sky is falling, but I think it's even easier to just say this isn't Rodriguez's fault. There's no way you can lose. Either he succeeds and you look right, or he fails and the administration did him a disservice. I don't think there's necessarily a right answer, but if there was, I'd bet it's somewhere in the middle.
February 17th, 2010 at 2:10 PM ^
Thanks.
February 17th, 2010 at 6:04 PM ^
I don't think anyone would say RR has succeeded at this point. And I don't think anyone was content to miss a bowl game last year. But there is simply not enough evidence to either support or deny a claim that RR won't be successful at Michigan. It's just as ridiculous to claim RR will win national championships at UM as it is to say he will completely fail. IMO neither "opinion" should be applauded because neither one has any objective or substantive merit.
Say you flip a coin, and I tell you it's going to be tails for some asinine reason and then it does end up being tails, does that really justify my argument?
February 17th, 2010 at 6:53 PM ^
I obviously can't speak for everyone, but there are certainly posters who will acknowledge that he was right. I certainly will.
Assuming I haven't jumped off a bridge in the meantime, of course.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:47 PM ^
Another way to think about it is that it was a sanctioned derailment. The program has undoubtedly been derailed. Bu RR didnt cause the derailment, Bill Martin did, after Carr started letting it get to the edge. Martin hired RR knowing doing so would a systemic change, a sanctioned derailment. We knew the program would take a hit (perhaps not as bad as it has) but we also know it will be back in a different, and better form.
So don’t deny derailment, it was sanctioned, it was strategic. Re-frame it as a positive. The point now is the “re-rialment” that RR will carry through.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:11 PM ^
Did anyone else notice that the author described Coach as a "round peg in a square hole"? To the best of my knowledge, a round peg will ALWAYS fit in a square hole.
February 17th, 2010 at 6:18 PM ^
Not if the diameter is greater than the side.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:13 PM ^
Who the fuck cares about what's written on the freaking Bleacher Report.
Lisa Horne or whoever. It's high school level writing and garbage at its best. This article or any other.
Dont waste your time.
February 17th, 2010 at 2:12 PM ^
Bleacher report actually is meaningful. It may publish opinions that are ill-informed, but it does mean something simply in terms of how much it is read. Technorati ranks the site #67 of ALL blogs, and #1 of all sports blogs, based on the criteria below. The rankings are updated daily.
"Authority is calculated based on a site’s linking behavior, categorization and other associated data over a short, finite period of time. A site’s authority may rapidly rise and fall depending on what the blogosphere is discussing at the moment, and how often a site produces content being referenced by other sites"
http://technorati.com/blogs/top100/page-3/
February 17th, 2010 at 5:33 PM ^
this article wasn't authored by the Freep?