50/50 Meme

In Brian's post he said the lieklihood of RR's tenure surviving was down to 50/50. It seems everyone has speculated on the amount of wins he needs to survive next year or the year after. As we move forward I would like when people are sharpening their knives after a loss to ND or handing out lifetime contracts after a win against OSU that you examine the current and the prospects for the future and not the past. I think so many bad decisions in sports are made on the bounce of a ball. I laughed yesterday when Wade Phillips was retained in Dallas. All the insiders said he had to win a playoff game to save his job. So he's coached for 3 years and Jerry Jones has dealt with him everyday and watched him in practice and in games and had him describe what went wrong and why it did and after all that he decided his fate is decided on what happens in this 1 game. Is he a great coach that can win a Super Bowl I have no idea, but I would think Jerry Jones would have known what his own opinion was long before last weekends games and regardless of what the outcome would have made the best decision for his squad. How this relates to Michigan is that I hope people(most importantly D. Brandon) base RR's future on the job that he is doing currently and not previous records. I stil see a team that has BCS written all over it for 2011 and my fear is that RR's future will be tied to things out of his control like a 6 game losing streak to OSU and the attrition that Misopogan has spelled out for us. Some people will say it's excuses I like to try and differentiate between excuses and explanations and make a rational decision. I would like to think if Mich is 6-6 next year and D. Brandon calls RR into his office and says WTF?? and RR says "well we have 10 returning starters on offense next year that have been in the system for 3 years and on defense we return 8 starters, I finally have depth at all the positions, Barwis has everyone in shape, the future looks great." I hope Brandon doesn't say "well that sounds good and I like you, I like the way you run your practices, I've talked to the kids they like you and you're well respected by the coaches I have consulted, but if Shaw had just gotten in on that 4th and goal and we were 7-5 I could sell that better. You are fired." Then we have to start over again when we were on the cusp. I understand there is a risk in holding on to a loser to long as well, but I think we really need to watch next year closely for progress and not just blindly rage on something that was coming the last few years regardless of coach. Last year was a big year of ifs that I think injuries really derailed. I have been frustrated by our play of late, but when I look at RR I see a coach with past success, that works hard, drives his players hard and is well respected by other coaches that has been hampered by bizarre circumstances. I just don't want to end up like the Cleveland Browns who gave up on Bellichick.