Anybody got a line on this chatter of something bad broiling within the athletic department. Stuff about hockey?
No, not a lurking OSU fan fishing for info, go look at my post history if you must. Ever since this fall any sort of message board ~rumors~ catch my attention more than they should because unfortunately a lot of stuff turns out to have legs. I don't know why or how so many random, unaffiliated people get info before the usual insiders do (especially OSU people what the hell is that about, it's like they've got every admin building wiretapped), but there are rumblings of a lot of egg on the face that will come out. Something about hockey assault accusations? Just in time during our big ten tournament run of course!
Fire Warde and ask questions later. Tell him it would appease the Big Ten and Tony Pettiti, and he might just resign to make his conference Daddies happy.
Resign and Re-sign are too similar
If President Ono had fired Warde a year ago, when he should have, no one would be calling for Warde to be fired now. We might even still have Jim Harbaugh & Co. plugging away in Schembechler Hall instead of in San Die ... oh, sorry, Los Angeles.
The truly sad thing is, no matter how bad things get across the board in Michigan athletics, it seems very likely we all will be having this same exact conversation a year from now because Santa Ono appears to believe everything is running like a well oiled machine. Can anyone name one thing Santa Ono has done that has made the University of Michigan better today than when he arrived? He's great on social media and showing up to take selfies with the one or two athletic programs that are still winning, but other than that he's pretty much AWOL when tough decisions need to be made. Warde needs to go ... and IMO President Ono has been a major disappointment so far.
wait.
didn't Ono essentially orchestrate Harbaugh's return for his national championship-winning season?
and didn't he create some room for the "One More Year" fund to exist?
I feel like this is revisionist history.
March 12th, 2024 at 10:28 AM ^
Good points. I was very much a fan of Ono for a while, primarily because of his visibility and public support of the Athletic Department. After the Harbaugh contract fiasco, it appears that he is just a more likable version of Warde. It seems like Ono, Warde, and the regents are all on the same page: minimize effort, don't rock the boat, and just weather any storm that comes up. It would be nice to see some more proactive leadership.
March 12th, 2024 at 10:55 AM ^
I honestly don't think anyone, Ono included, could have kept Harbaugh from chasing the NFL Ring. Coach had/has a next milestone to achieve; we are fortunate to have had him for as long as we did.
March 12th, 2024 at 11:16 AM ^
Jim wanting to chase the Super Bowl to the exclusion of all else may well be true and we were absolutely lucky to have him for as long as we did but, from the outside at least, it seems like U of M's efforts to keep him were lacking. If Warde and the others moved Heaven and Earth to retain Jim and he still said "smell ya later", I'd have no problem with the administration. It just looks like they slow-played the negotiations in such a way as to give themselves excuses for losing him to the NFL.
Yep. The fact that the extension talks seemed to drag on for far too long does give the entire episode a really bad look for the M administrators.
Coach might have been fed up with the B1G and NCAA and thought, I don't want to be around this BS any longer; or he possibly simply wanted to get a ring like his brother's; or some combination of the two led him to the Chargers. We'll probably never know his true thought processes because Coach communicates "indirectly", if at all.
They offered him the most money in college football. Why doesn't Jim get any blame for how the negotiations dragged out? Or better yet, just let it go and move on
No, they didn't. All the top coaches in the country have 10 year deals at $10+ million per year. They offered Jim a 7 year deal. And they offered him that a year too late. They waited until after Jim beat OSU and won the B1G for the third straight season and went on to win the CFP. Where was this offer after the 2022 season? Especially following the Rich Rod and Brady Hoke years, Warde didn't think beating OSU, winning the B1G and making the CFP for two years in a row was impressive enough to pay him as a top tier coach in the country? And it's not like Jim beat OSU and PSU three years in a row because they were having "down" seasons. He beat them at the top of their games. How could Warde not see how impressive that was and bend over backwards to make him feel wanted and keep him from leaving?
Why did President Ono have to step in a year ago to convince Jim to even return for the 2023 season? That's supposed to be the AD's job. In fact, at Michigan, it's arguably his most important job. Yet Warde totally dropped the ball, bickering over buyouts and other contract language to the point he never got an extension done at all. And as the University of Michigan Atletic Director, Warde Manuel barely had a relationship with his football coach by the end. Let that sink in. How is that acceptable?
Whatever Michigan offered Jim in late 2023 or early 2024 was a dollar short and a day late. That's not how you do "everything possible" to keep a championship caliber coach you really want to keep. It's a CYA move you make to minimize the fallout once you realize you've overplayed your hand and are likely to lose the best football coach in the country, a coach you didn't even hire but were extremely fortunate to inherit from the prior administration.
President Ono‘s role is not to oversee athletics. That is but one thing on his agenda and all of the other things are of far more importance. The athletic department is Warde‘s responsibility.
March 13th, 2024 at 12:06 AM ^
This is a cop out. It's Ono's responsibility to oversee Warde. And he is dragging his feet on doing that. Have you seen our baseball and softball teams lately? Neither will make the post season again this year. Warde gutted the volleyball program with the sudden firing of Mark Rosen with absolutely no explanation. Fortunately, ice hockey is going to barely squeak into the post season, but it's possible the program is at the very beginning of the same slow slide we have seen with every other sport except football over the past few years. Defense has declined steadily two years in a row and we are now down to 4th place out of 7 teams in the conference. Men's basketball missed the NCAA last year and literally set a record for dysfunction this year. And that leaves football, where we just lost the best coach in the country along with half the staff. At what point do people stop saying these are all out of Warde's control? Really, there was nothing he could do? If so, why is he paid $1.5 million per year (and apparently has been pushing for a raise and extension)? And have you noticed Warde usually just promotes an assistant coach at a fraction of the salary every time one of our best coaches leaves or is fired? He rarely even undertakes an official search for the best possible replacement. That alone should raise some concerns, don't you think?
Michigan is a top 5 athletic department at worst. We deserve one of the best athletic directors in the country, especially with all the significant changes in college athletics currently taking place (conference realignment, NIL, transfer portal, student athletes likely becoming employees). Can people here honestly say Warde is the guy you want shepherding the University of Michigan Athletic Department through the many critical decisions that need to be made over the next five years? Hell, do you even want him in charge of hiring the next men's basketball or baseball coach? He's the poster child for the Peter Principle. Is it really necessary to wait until he oversees the regression of the football program back to the Rich Rod and Brady Hoke years before we demand President Ono take action? I sincerely hope not, but that seems to be where we are. It's like watching a slow motion train wreck.
This reads like a classic Michael Musto blind items column. Guess the celeb he's hinting at! My guess is Jake Gyllenhaal.
Yeah, this is absolutely a WTF OP.
But if it somehow gets rid of Warde, then I'm for it, I guess?
March 12th, 2024 at 10:56 PM ^
My guess is Bert Convy!
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xas9sf
Move the slider to 9:58.
There is an OSU podcast on youtube hosted by an ex OSU player Kirk Barton and recruiting scamartist Nevadashmuck aka Ken Stickney (both banned from OSU practices for stealing video https://awfulannouncing.com/college-football/kirk-barton-banned-stealing-practice-film ) where they are selling to their buckeye partisans that the NCAA is going to come down hard on Michigan "any day now" regarding issues with the football, basketball, and hockey team. In essence, they are alluding that Michigan has been purposely hiding illegal or criminal acts and that it will spell the end of the Michigan athletics as we know it.
And remember folks, I am just the messenger relaying what these two scumbags are propagating.
UPDATE 3/12/24: These two clowns just posted a new vlog on youtube and Nevadashmuck's "sources" in the B1G are telling him that NCAA is widening its scope due to new information and that the NCAA has hired two new investigators as the NCAA will need to re interview all of the coaches and interested parties at Michigan again. And that the NCAA has now put Michigan as a "repeat offender status." Again, this is from the duo that said the findings would be released any day now.
If this is true, then it could explain why Michigan caved into the B1G regarding Harbaugh's second suspension, however; unless Santa is completely overwhelmed with his role at Michigan, then he would have fired Warde for the mess under his "leadership" by now.
My personal opinion is that this is a bunch of b.s. from an OSU alum targeting the three biggest sports programs at Michigan.
rather charitable of you to include MBB in "biggest sports programs at michigan" ;)
Biggest and tallest?
I have to admit that sounds like a completely unbiased source definitely not trying to sell his podcast.
Yeah, I skipped around a bit in that video and it sure sounds like some OSU dingleberrys trying to get attention after being stuck on the periphery of OSU sports due to being caught.
Sounds like OSU fantasy porn clickbait.
The basketball team has been assaulting our eyes since December.
But on the bright side, we've been spared worry about being on the bubble for the NCAA tournament.
March 12th, 2024 at 12:23 PM ^
There is ALWAYS something positive to look at!
Former Oline Kirk Barton is now just a lisp of his former self. It's all over the internet that he molests collies! Go ahead look it up, it's trending.
You didn't hear it from me.
See, in addition to being bad people in general, those guys are pretty clearly also bad businessmen. If they’re going to edge OSU fans this hard, they’d get more money starting an OnlyFans instead of a podcast.
Buckeyes calling for major sanctions against Michigan - whoa, this is new news.
On 11W - they predict vacated seasons, Show Cause for Harbaugh and the staff - ceding the NC - scholarship reductions - etc.
This is a not even a Brown Jug cheeseburger and fries.
March 12th, 2024 at 10:49 AM ^
If Connorgate has shown one thing crystal clear is that no one knows what the fuck is going on, not the insiders and definitely not randos on the internet (from either camp). My immediate instinct is to dismiss anything anyone affiliated with OSU says about this. On the other hand, the reactions to your post reflect all the same reactions when Connorgate broke in the OSU forums.
So until the NCAA actually does or doesn't do something I'm going to assume a very wide range of outcomes are on the table, and maybe these clowns turn out to be right, but it won't be because they have super duper secret inside information, it will just be a lucky guess.
March 12th, 2024 at 12:57 PM ^
If you care to enjoy a bit of scheinfreund I suggest listening to Kirk's pre-Bowl podcast where he scoops how everyone will be playing for OSU v Missouri, and they look amazing and Missouri would be wise to essentially concede and skip the game
If you care to enjoy a bit of scheinfreund I suggest listening to Kirk's pre-Bowl podcast where he scoops how everyone will be playing for OSU v Missouri, and they look amazing and Missouri would be wise to essentially concede and skip the game
scheinfreud = "shiny happiness," or the pleasure one takes from light.
scheinfreund = "shine friend"
Schadenfreude = probably the word you're looking for.
Love, -German pedant Hans Mülleimer
Ohio State fan here. Ignore those 2 con artist grifters. Maybe they'll be right, but it will be by complete accident.
This is stupid. How can we be considered a repeat offender when we haven't even been found guilty of anything once? We just received our notice of infractions on the 2020 stuff in December and have yet to submit our response. Idk why anyone would listen to a podcast by such idiots.
So when the NCAA president said we won the national title fair and square, that was just a bait and switch?
I didn’t think it was possible for OSU fans to get more desperate and pathetic than they already were, but here we are.
Never underestimate them and their desire for a fantasy reprieve from living in Ohio. Discerning they are not.
It's moved from ridiculous to funny to pathetic IMO. They are the sports equivalent of doomsday preppers who absolutely KNOW beyond a shadow of doubt that the world will end any day now so they have to be ready. And when it doesnt they just keep moving the date of the rapture/armaggedon/what-have-you back but keep claiming it's coming any day now.
They never, ever take a step back and rethink their convictions. So my guess is while their numbers may dwindle there will always be a few hold outs convinced that "any day now" something really bad is going to happen to Michigan.
"It's coming. I'm telling you, any day now the hammer is going to drop and that will be that."
Oh it's Coming...The Rapture
March 12th, 2024 at 10:15 AM ^
Their response is something like the president isn't a part of the infractions committee, so his statements don't have any impact on the infractions committee's decision. Or something like that.
March 12th, 2024 at 10:47 AM ^
That seems to be the coping strategy for the 11 whiner masses.
Go Blue!
March 12th, 2024 at 12:57 PM ^
I didn’t think it was possible for OSU fans to get more desperate and pathetic than they already were, but here we are
Buckeyes now act like Spartans: obsessed with the idea of some third party coming in and beating us when they cannot do it themselves.
But I thought Warde made good with the B1G and NCAA yuckity-yucks?
Can we just fire this clown show already? Is the Ann Arbor True Value sold out of pitch forks and torches yet?
Warde strikes me as the sort that is immensely better at getting & holding jobs than doing them.
He's not going anywhere.
"I don't know why or how so many random, unaffiliated people get info before the usual insiders do (especially OSU people what the hell is that about, it's like they've got every admin building wiretapped), but there are rumblings of a lot of egg on the face that will come out."
OK, "info" is doing far more work than it should if you're going to implicitly lend any manner of unchecked credence to "random, unaffiliated people".
I mean, I am not a physician, but if you want to hand me a glove and allow me to do the hernia exam, that's on you.
Your point is well made, but to clarify, the exam your are referring to is a prostate exam.
It depends on what "intimate area" will be ... accessed.
March 12th, 2024 at 12:26 PM ^
Will the ass be overtaken?
The walls are closing in!
Source - Trust me bro
OP writes:
No, not a lurking OSU fan fishing for info ...
Interestingly defensive posture, OP, especially for someone who did a fair amount of concern trolling over SignGate. Here's one of your more colorful posts:
With a posting history like that, it doesn't seem wise to invite a careful review. And, if you really went to Michigan you wouldn't have to be so spicy. :)
Good point. Two UM degrees would certainly suggest a firmer grasp of punctuation and capitalization.