Both lacrosse coaches are OUT
Warde Manuel making some moves today. Michigan announces coaches for men's lax (John Paul) & women's lax (Jennifer Ulehla) will not return.
— Brendan F. Quinn (@BFQuinn) May 2, 2017
Would we even have division I men's lacrosse without John Paul? Maybe this is best for the program moving forward, but celebrating this feels wrong to me.
I'm with you ol' wise Owl. I played for JP and we certainly had our differences (he basically kicked me off the team) but I loved the idea that he was the coach there. He definitely gave his heart and soul to the program and down deep he's a good guy - a Michigan Man through and through.
He used to be a better coach than this- our teams back in the day, while not facing the same level of talent, didn't make the dumb mistakes they do now. Those championship teams at the club level were better coached and more disciplined and could probably beat this team. I don't know what happened - I think he invested too much in and delegated too much power to the assistants, especially the defensive coach Ken Broschart.
I would've liked to see him get one more year with different/better assistants before they let him go for good.Something about the way they let him go doesn't seem right.
I dunno about that, we made plenty of bad mis-stakes when i was playing for him. I like JP, as you said, he is a good guy, and I have tremendous respect for what he did for the program in taking it from basically a beer league club sport to DI program, but I am not sure that he had the level of ability (as a coach) that would be required to compete for a championship. I am not certain he used to be a better coach than this, I am certain that the level of competition wasn't exposing his short-comings in the same way.
Bottom line, it's sad to see a guy like him, who gave his life to a program, get let go. Wish him the best.
He can go back to being the Pope now.
Top 5 job in D1 w/ state-of-the-art facilities coming next year. Michigan can make a big splash. https://t.co/yzk9Zrjh6j
— Anish Shroff (@AnishESPN) May 2, 2017
@russthompson19 Salary, location, academics, school brand, AND the best facilities in D1 as of next year.
— Anish Shroff (@AnishESPN) May 2, 2017
@russthompson19 The top job IMO is UVA. Michigan compares on every level. The UM brand is strong. Sleeping behemoth in Ann Arbor. Just watch.
— Anish Shroff (@AnishESPN) May 2, 2017
@aoneill @russthompson19 A: Brand new facilities hat will be best in D1. Seeking a coach to take them to next level. What else do you want?
— Anish Shroff (@AnishESPN) May 2, 2017
@BroadArrow1 Indeed. I'd expect a lot of big name coaches to show some interest.
— Anish Shroff (@AnishESPN) May 2, 2017
Anish is correct as are some of the counters. Michigan very easily can be a top 5 guy with the right guy on the sideline. We already seem to recruit extremely well considering how poor our record has been. A good coach paired with Michigan's facilities and Michigan's pull out east could be great
I really dig Anish. Smart guy, knowledgable about the sport and has a great announcer voice (Carc & Quessenich annoy the hell out of me). He almost sounds like Steve Levy sometimes. I think he's right - this should be the most appealing job in the country right now.
In moving Michigan from a club sport to a varsity sport but he was out of his depth at the Division I level. Sloppy passing, lack of agression on grounders, and some of the turnovers that I have witnessed in Michigan games are indications of coaching problems. This team has some real potential but needs to respond better to defensive pressure and get more mid-field depth. I do hope that Coach Paul is rewarded in someway for getting us to this level.
I understand why the moves were made, but am sad for JP who I briefly played with (I guess that means I'm getting up there). I hope that he finds another gig that makes him happy whether that is in coaching or admin (where he has experience and I think could do a great job) or something else.
I've heard a lot of stories of things behind the scenes from a friend on the team.
No one seems too sad she's gone.
For example, go over to the MLAX facebook post on JP being fired. Every single comment has some kind of positive message for him.
WLAX? None. A parent of a player commented "it's about time" which was then liked by another parent of a player. The post on Uhlela being fired was liked be several team members.
Here's the guys I would like to see in the mix:
Scott Marr - Albany is legit now thanks to him, probably the best upcoming coach from the mid-major ranks. Gives Michigan a pipeline to public schools on LI and in upstate NY and in the Iroquois Nation. Might actually be the most realistic candidate too.
Lars Tiffany - could install an awesome, fun-to-watch, high-flying offense though he just got to UVA (I'm actually surprised he left his alma mater Brown)
John Danowski - I think he's the best pure coach in the game, basically the John Beilein of lacrosse. But there's probably no way to get him out of Duke at this point.
Also - Joe Amplo (Marq), Seth Tierney (Hof), Kevin Cassese (Lehi), Richie Meade(Furm), Charlie Toomey (Loy). Lots of excellent D-1 assistants out there and great head coaches at the D-III level as well
Wild Cards: Bill Tierney? Gary Gait? Why the hell not?
Guys I don't want: Petramala - he was once considered among the best coaches in the game but I've never been a fan and Hopkins has slipped the last few years - they're not what they used to be (also he's best buds with Bellichick which makes my skin crawl)
Starsia - Getting old, but wants to get back in the game. But seems like a jerk and his program at UVA had all kinds of 'culture' problems.
Pressler - will never escape the Duke scandal so the pick would still be controversial. While he wasn't at fault, a lot of people overlook the fact that that program was out of control. His teams at Bryant have been OK but not amazing.
Any thoughts about Andy Shay, Yale?
Not a bad candidate - he's got Yale playing well and really had them knocking on the door a few years ago when thye almost beat Syracuse for a spot in the Final 4. Yale was never really so great so he really turned that program into something good. He'll be able to recruit kids who are smart enough to get in which is a plus too.
If they really are going to make a big time hire, I would love them to get Tillman, but Maryland probably has him locked up for a long time.
I don’t think Tiffany was planning on leaving Brown at the end of last season, but then UVA offered him more money than they were paying Starsia and now Tiffany is in Charlottesville. I’m not saying money is the only factor, but I am saying that life comes at you fast and I can easily see a scenario where Michigan makes an offer to a coach that his school can’t/wont match, and then a name we all thought wouldn’t ever leave is suddenly on a plane to Ann Arbor.
FWIW, the general tone on twitter from lacrosse types is that people think Michigan is going to make a huge hire and that they are a coach away from being a national powerhouse.
Yep and the lacrosse world seems to be rooting for it as micigan being a top program only helps the sport grow.