ADC: who are the Primary Candidates?
In light of what appears imminent, it seems appropriate to consider who may be considered (perhaps already chosen?) as the next athletic director. It's my belief, that only someone very familiar with Michigan will be chosen. Furthermore, it will most certainly be someone with athletic director experience -- I think the Prez and the Regents have seen their fill of marketing gurus and businessmen. With that in mind:
Your Inside the Tracks Candidates:
Brad Bates: Bo nominated him as the next Michigan AD. Has the requisite experience at Michigan, and as an AD at BC. Likely that Bates is choice 1 or 1A.
Ward Manuel: As with Bates, has a great deal of experience with Michigan, and as AD at Buffalo and UConn.
Jeff Long: A good history within the Michigan athletic department, and understands it well. Currently the AD at Arkansas. Has hired Petrino and Bielema. To me, he would appear the favorite.
Bob DeCarolis: Spent a long time in the Michigan athletic department and is presently at Oregon State as AD. He hired Mike Riley, who has done well.
Your Outside the Tracks Candidates:
I don't think there are any likely candidates than those identified in the first section. It seems extraordinarily unlikely that an assistant would be tapped, as it Brandon's successor will need to carry enough experience, expertise, and weight to have those in the department follow his lead. No sense in hiring someone who has what may be a superior already at the department.
Regardless:
Joe Parker: Assistant AD TTU.
Mike DeBord: You know his background. Presently serving as assistant athletic director at Michigan.
October 15th, 2014 at 3:23 PM ^
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October 15th, 2014 at 3:41 PM ^
Schlissel
/ | \
/ | \
Football Basketball Weird Sports*
Coach Coach Master**
Harbaugh Beilein Bates
*w/ apologies to the next unknown Hockey Coach,
**a person eminently skilled in something, as an occupation, art, or science: the great masters of the Impressionist period.
October 15th, 2014 at 5:05 PM ^
Jack Harbaugh. If anyone could get Jim to take the job, it would be Jack.
October 15th, 2014 at 1:41 PM ^
I am hoping for Brad Bates , but I would be happy with Warde Manuel as well. Jeff Long, although better than Brandon, would not excite me as much.
October 15th, 2014 at 1:45 PM ^
Anyone but Dave Brandon works for me. Don't really care who it is as long as he fires Hoke on December 1
October 15th, 2014 at 1:55 PM ^
I either want Mr. Yost who is quickly rising the ranks of ADs or whoever is the closest to the Harbaugh family to get the job. I assume Yost will continue to post here and give us a lot of juicy inside details if/when he is named AD of course.
October 15th, 2014 at 2:12 PM ^
Michigan is unquestionably more prestigious of a job than Arkansas, but I don't know if Long will want the baggage that comes with it.
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October 15th, 2014 at 2:30 PM ^
before Long takes the job. If a stated reason for letting Brandon go is the shoddy safety procedures exposed by the handling of Shane Morris, it's not a stretch to can them both at once. I would assume that every candidate will be asked how they would deal with Hoke. It could be that they would all prefer their first major action to be hiring a new coach rather than firing the old one.
October 15th, 2014 at 2:38 PM ^
That is a good point.
I would think if the season went as poorly as you suspect (it is certainly headed that way now) then Long have little trouble letting the coach go.
Schlissel has made clear that the problem is communication and mishandling of various affairs by the department. He has not commented on the quality of play, nor would he. It is also almost certain that Schlissel endorses Hoke's strong record with players off the field.
If the team plays better than it has, the record is .500 or better, and they have improved throughout the season, including through the last two games, I don't believe Hoke's termination is a foregone conclusion. I would think that Long, or any of the other candidates, must have answered that question similarly to be considered in the first place.
October 15th, 2014 at 2:13 PM ^
October 15th, 2014 at 2:17 PM ^
October 15th, 2014 at 2:18 PM ^
DeCarolis seems like a stretch to me. Crediting him for the (re)hiring of Mike Riley is generous. Riley was coach at OSU in 97/98 and was a fan favorite. A local kid who knew the program inside and out. When he left for the San Diego Chargers gig, they brough in Dennis Erickson with a "win at all costs" type mentality. Erickson raised the program, but off the field issues plagued the team. Ultimately when they decided to part ways with Erickson, Riley had already been done with the NFL and it just made sense for hte prodigal son to return home. It really didn't take much thought to make that happen.
His profile does list many other fine achievements though (other coaching hires and stadium expansion). The Mike Riley hiring is just a stretch IMO.
October 15th, 2014 at 2:42 PM ^
I agree.
I'd think it came down to Long and Bates.
October 15th, 2014 at 2:22 PM ^
and that's a great hire.
October 15th, 2014 at 2:35 PM ^
Bob De Carolis is battling Parkinson's disease, unfortunately. His health my prevent him from making a move.
Jeff Long is close friends with Hoke. Schlissel and the Regents may not want to entrust someone who is so connected to Hoke with the decision on whether or not to retain him.
I think this is a two-horse race between Manuel and Bates. Personally, I would prefer Manuel because of his youth and likeability. Brandon has some wealthy and powerful friends who may be put off by his ousting, so we need an AD who can smooth things over with them and make sure the department doesn't lose their support. Also, after having an AD whose personality can best be described as toxic, it woould be great to have an AD who is engaging and personable.
October 15th, 2014 at 3:16 PM ^
Brandon has some wealthy and powerful friends who may be either invested or interested in his success at Michigan, I have to imagine that there's some powerful folks who, because of DB's past, could be interested in anyone else besides him being the AD. I would think that someone with his business background may have created some factions in his wake.
October 15th, 2014 at 2:46 PM ^
The answer is of course. If they weren't former Michigan players, I guarantee their names would never come up. It's the continuation of the "Michigan Man" obsession. The fan base just can't help themselves.
You don't need Michigan connections to be a great AD. Maybe Bates and Manuel are great. But there has to be others under consideration that aren't from here.
October 15th, 2014 at 3:08 PM ^
But the Regents may be looking at this with expediency in mind, thinking that with the end of the season not that far away, they want someone new in place very soon. If a full-blown nation-wide search were done using a search firm or consultant, they would probably need to put an interim AD in place. The whole process could take months. And if there is a strong likelihood of needing to also replace the football coach, the Regents probably want the permanent AD to hire the new guy, not the interim.
In an ideal world where time is not an issue, I'd say yes. Look at the whole universe of potential AD choices not just people with Michigan ties.
October 15th, 2014 at 3:58 PM ^
October 15th, 2014 at 4:49 PM ^
Right, here is the test. Can you picture Bates or Manuel being hired at another top athletics department, such as USC, Ohio, Florida, Texas, or NC? I can. This makes them strong candidates on their own terms, setting aside Michigan connections. (No disrespect to Brady Hoke or his track record at Ball State and San Diego, but could you imagine him getting hired at any of Florida, Ohio, USC, et al. at or around the time Michigan hired him?)
October 15th, 2014 at 8:51 PM ^
October 15th, 2014 at 10:17 PM ^
October 15th, 2014 at 9:28 PM ^
I know a Miami grad who claims that Bates is a great guy, very focused on academics, but basically cratered their football and basketball programs. I wish others familiar with Bates' tenure at Miami (Ohio) would chime in.
October 15th, 2014 at 3:03 PM ^
Brad Bates. He's got a lot of experience as AD with large athletic programs, knows Michigan, has achieved masters and Phd degrees, and will certainly accept the job. I thought he'd be a great choice when Martin retired. But unfortunately Brandon slipped in and with his enormous clout at U-M and being a former Bo player, Bates didn't have a chance.
October 15th, 2014 at 3:10 PM ^
The Ph.D he has from Vanderbilt has to help his chances with Schlissel making a large part, if not all of the decision.
October 15th, 2014 at 3:10 PM ^
From the standpoint of my own poetic aesthetics, I am going with Brad Bates. B-squared. Bo likes Bates. M Go Bates. Bates hates Michigan State.
October 15th, 2014 at 3:19 PM ^
I want Denard Robinson and Jordan Kovacs to be co athletic directors
October 15th, 2014 at 3:51 PM ^
Just imagine the intro press conference: "DAVE BRANDON IS OVA!!!"
October 15th, 2014 at 3:48 PM ^
Bates seems like the safe pick and the most likely choice (I say speculatively). I'm sure Schlissel would admire the fact that he holds a doctoral degree and also taught courses at Miami (Ohio). The guy is also a native of Michigan, earned a scholarship under Bo while attending as an undergrad, and received his master's degree from UMich as well. His resume is polished, clean, and he also has clear ties to the university (he's a Michigan Man fergodsakes). Bates is not of the corporate world like DB; he's an educator. I don't see him micromanaging, imposing sickening corporate strategies, or squeezing the fan base out of every last nickel. Long worries me from the little I've read into his background. He's a politician, which could present challenges. He's more of DB's ilk, and I say speculatively, more likely to implement the corporate strategies we have unfortunately grown accustom to under DB's tenure than Bates. I know the chances of landing a Harbaugh are slim, but wouldn't a Harbaugh prefer an AD willing to lead from the rear opposed to being aggressively involved? Perhaps it's pure fantasy, but I'd imagine either Harbaugh would prefer Bates to Long. Can anyone provide a more informed opinion on this matter? I'd also hate to see Hoke receive even more money from this university, which I find completely undeserved to begin with, and likely to continue given their friendship, whether it be in some advisory role or as an assistant to the AD. I just find it despicable that despite Hoke's obvious incompetence; he could continue to hypothetically receive a substantial salary from the university. I'd love to see a poll posted on this board, with the aforementioned candidates being polled for preference. I imagine Long would be favored, but I think mistakenly so.
October 16th, 2014 at 12:58 PM ^
October 15th, 2014 at 3:49 PM ^
October 15th, 2014 at 4:04 PM ^
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October 15th, 2014 at 4:05 PM ^
What keeps Lloyd busy these days....why not throw his hat into the ring?
October 15th, 2014 at 4:14 PM ^
Helping care for his sick grandchild. He's 69 and has family issues right now with his grandson being ill...I doubt he's going to want to jump into this tire fire. Even if he did, how long does he stick around for? A few years and we have to go through it again. Unless we have a homerun hire, his replacement is going to want to bring in his own guy.
Also, is he going to fire Hoke, his friend, guy he hired and who was on his NC staff?
No thanks. Too much baggage.
October 15th, 2014 at 5:12 PM ^
Also I don't think long would sacrifice potentially his job of a lifetime for whatever friendship he has with hoke. Who knows how good of friends they really are.
October 15th, 2014 at 9:53 PM ^
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October 15th, 2014 at 5:16 PM ^
October 15th, 2014 at 5:36 PM ^
The worst case scenario os that it is Mike DeBord and the Inbred Michigan Coaching Tree remains in power. This, of course, would keep the offense in the 20th century for at least three more years.
October 15th, 2014 at 7:13 PM ^
Are we considering making Harbaugh the first ever AD-coach?
October 15th, 2014 at 7:30 PM ^
I'm hoping it's Manuel.
One doesn't have to be friends of Harbaugh for him to coach at Michigan. If the pizza guy is gone and Harbaugh wants the job he probably gets it as long as Lloyd doesn't have any input.
October 15th, 2014 at 8:53 PM ^
This whole thing is a farce!
October 15th, 2014 at 9:50 PM ^
bates ,has got this job. he came in second too brandon last time around
October 15th, 2014 at 10:06 PM ^