In Brandon's ear?
I haven't seen this discussed (but I'm sure someone will let me know if it has)
Who has Dave Brandon's ear during this coaching search? Who's advising him?
I know he's hired a search firm, which I believe is a smart move (even smarter if he'd done it 2 months ago), they can take on a lot of the work load and speed up the process.
But who else is he really listening to? Lloyd? Steven Ross? Other big boosters? Any specific ex players or coaches he is particularly close with?
I'm not looking for names and phone numbers, just curious since during the last search Bill Martin seemed like he was wandering in the dark, with only Lloyd and MSC mentioned.
Knowing who's whispering in Brandon's ear could give us pathetic speculators some more data to chew over.
January 9th, 2011 at 10:36 AM ^
Well, if you ask Jamie Morris, he'll say it's Lloyd that is running the show.
January 9th, 2011 at 10:43 AM ^
Even with all of his BS, I was giving Jamie the benefit of the doubt until that comment. Didn't DB let Lloyd go from the AD a few months ago?
January 9th, 2011 at 10:52 AM ^
He's back in my good graces... "Loser - Detroit Media.... they need to slow it down!"
Ha, well done.
January 9th, 2011 at 10:54 AM ^
After LC screwed up the process last time with his anti-Les attitude, I am not sure that DB is letting LC too close to the process this time around. LC is a former head coach with no coaching tree. What credibility does he have maneuvering the politics of finding a new head football coach in the crazy environment of 2011.
January 9th, 2011 at 12:45 PM ^
may or may not have an axe to grind. i would be wary of any of his comments the administration.
January 9th, 2011 at 10:37 AM ^
All I want to hear is ....BREAKING NEWS.... Miles to Michigan...... come on down, the price will be right .....!
January 9th, 2011 at 10:42 AM ^
Jon Gruden come on down
January 9th, 2011 at 10:47 AM ^
January 9th, 2011 at 12:43 PM ^
Agreed. I could live with Miles to Michigan, but if it's Gruden to Michigan I'll drive the 5 hours to AA and personally tell DB that he's the man.
January 9th, 2011 at 10:42 AM ^
your silence
January 9th, 2011 at 11:14 AM ^
The kid looks like a natural lots of positive mechanics i.e. the hips are leading, stiff front leg, swing is level, and the head is down. Try adjusting his follow through so the hands finish higher and his rear knee should hinge to maximize power.
Enjoy the moment before you know it the kidwill be glued to electronics, eating everything in sight, and everyhting is "dumb".
January 9th, 2011 at 10:45 AM ^
I want to hear.... Kris Frost come on down.....among others but we need a damn coach first to solidify our recruiting class.
January 9th, 2011 at 12:27 PM ^
and it sounds like we are totally out of it even if Auburn doesn't take his verbal.
January 9th, 2011 at 11:03 AM ^
Or even a secret saying like the Goonies do .. something like "Our Carr stalled in West Virginia so we brought back a newer faster one but it didnt work right and nobody liked it..so we got one with Les Miles and it will be here soon"
January 9th, 2011 at 10:45 AM ^
That too..... Jon Gruden come on down....... your price is also right ............!
January 9th, 2011 at 10:51 AM ^
Has it been verified that Patterson's extension has been signed, or is similar to Hoke's case where it is "in draft form"?
January 9th, 2011 at 10:53 AM ^
The TCU athletic department website reported it which makes me think it was a done deal. Not sure if SDSU did the same thing for Hoke or if his was just reported by the media.
January 9th, 2011 at 11:01 AM ^
I think he could be a good fit, but honestly do not see any reason for him to leave TCU now that they are going to a BCS conference.
January 9th, 2011 at 11:18 AM ^
I know Hoke hasn't signed anything and apparently told the department where he stands regarding Michigan. But everywhere I've read it makes me think he* signed it.
*he is Patterson
January 9th, 2011 at 11:08 AM ^
this email was sent to me by a friend, couldn't find it posted.
***freep-associated blog, take with grain of salt
January 05, 2011
Is Lloyd Carr is Behind The Disaster at Michigan
The disaster that has going on at Michigan over the last 3 years has largly been orchestrated by former Head Coach Lloyd Carr and his minions.
First Les Miles and now Jim Harbaugh have been overlooked to Coach the Michigan Football team because Lloyd Carr doesn't want them in Ann Arbor.
Lloyd Carr believes that he should be on the Mount Rushmore of Michigan Football alongside Fielding H. Yost, Fritz Crisler and Bo Schembechler because of his 1997 National Championship. Lloyd has spent his years in retirement building a coalition that we will call "Lloyd's boys." He has spent a lot of time creating a division between Bo Schembechler's players (the Schembechlers) and his own. In short, he is more concerned about his own legacy than the well-being of Michigan football.
Moles in Ann Arbor tried to lay the story out for me and I will do my best to relay what I was told.
"Lloyd's boys," believe they have the right to shape the program because they won a National Championship and want to return the program to one of Lloyd's old Assistant Coaches, Ron English, Brady Hoke or Mike Deboard.
Pete Thamel of the New York Times alluded to the warring factions in his article today.
The "the Schembechlers," believing they are the standard at Michigan want to return the program to Bo's direct lineage by hiring one of his former players.
That is the rift, Michigan's goal now is to find a coach to bridge the divide. This is why Brady Hoke shouldn't really be a viable option. Nobody believes he is the guy to calm the waters. The "old Schembechlers" are having none of Brady Hoke.
Lloyd Carr doesn't want Harbaugh to get the job, remember, he didn't hire Harbaugh in 2002 to be a QB Coach, instead opting for another much less successful former Michigan QB, Scott Loeffler. Lloyd's ego and paranoia is clearly clouding his judgement and he had become a distraction in Ann Arbor before new Athletic Director David Brandon asked him not to come to work anymore. Lloyd's nose was also bent out of shape when Harbaugh made comments about Michigan's academic standards at Michigan. Lloyd knows Harbaugh will overwhelm the program and he will be an afterthought in Ann Arbor.
Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman loves Lloyd Carr, because of his fund-raising at Mott's Children's Hospital; he can do no wrong in her eyes. She wants nothing to do with Miles or Harbaugh because Lloyd has poisoned the well for former Bo players as they represent a return to Bo's lineage and not Lloyd's. Well informed sources believe Harbaugh wasn't even offered a contract, that it was a rouse to placate the fan base.
It is interesting to note that the "Lloyds" were the ones who sabotaged Les Miles's chance to get the Michigan job when they hired Rodriguez three years ago. "The Lloyds" leaked the story to Kirk Herbstreit early so he was forced to strongly deny interest in the Michigan job before the National Championship game.
Ironically Les Miles may have aligned himself with the "Lloyds" in order to get Rodriguez out.
My sources also claim that Lloyd has sabotaged Rich Rod at every turn during his tenure at Michigan, including a hand in leaking the "practice-gate" information to the Detroit Free Press.
In the end, the two factions are only hurting Michigan football, the players and Rich Rodriguez. Rich Rod was thrown to the dogs and it is unfair and unseemly. He thought he was hired into a unified Michigan program and he was duped. He didn't make it better with his own mistakes, but he was doomed form day one.
This information comes from two separate sources with no knowledge of the other, I found that stunning and hard to believe until I quizzed them individually without the others knowledge.
January 9th, 2011 at 11:26 AM ^
I think this is probably closer to the truth than most would want to believe... I have my own sources, but this sounds accurate to me. Yes, I am Random Internet Guy and therefore not to be believed, that's fine, but I do actually believe this account.
January 9th, 2011 at 11:56 AM ^
I've heard independently from 2 people who both know LC very similar things and even more than related here. Based on this, I believe that LC did not retire, DB got rid of him because he was not "all in". Which only lends more truth to the fact that the scales were tipped against RichRod from the beginning. I also thought (hoped?) DB would understand and might keep RR because of it. I'd be surprised if Lloyd had any input now into the search, he's not the revered retiring coach he was 3 years ago.
January 9th, 2011 at 4:25 PM ^
My sources are random message board rumors, but it does seem like LC i still controlling lots of things behind the scenes. At first I didn't believe it, but those rumors might be closer to the truth than I anticipated.
January 9th, 2011 at 11:20 AM ^
Count on it.
January 9th, 2011 at 11:24 AM ^
Well, it's no secret Lloyd doesn't like Les Miles.
January 9th, 2011 at 11:41 AM ^
I think we should all believe everything always. That way we're always right. and wrong. but right mostly. and wrong.
January 9th, 2011 at 1:05 PM ^
WOW, if true, talk about the definition of CLUSTER F
January 9th, 2011 at 1:14 PM ^
Former wdfn and wxyt radio host, gregg henson posted this on gregghenson.com. gregg now does radio in texas. Take it for what it's worth. could be true, could not. sad if it is. It would be nice if lloyd would talk on the record and put this to bed.
January 9th, 2011 at 3:44 PM ^
Every time I've heard Lloyd asked if he supports RR, he has never answered the question. He answers how he's tired of answering the question and says he supports the program, but he has never, that I have heard, said he supported RR. And I think it's true that he didn't support RR.
January 9th, 2011 at 1:23 PM ^
I , like Nigel, "believe everything I read"!
but seriously this scenario does makes a lot of sense - sadly
January 9th, 2011 at 1:52 PM ^
MSC wanted nothing to do with Miles, but Lloyd had to sabotage his hiring by leaking it prematurely. It makes no sense, but it fits with making a lot of attacks with few facts and no sources to back them.
January 9th, 2011 at 2:31 PM ^
All these attacks on Carr are really gross. He got rusty in the end, sure. And he wasn't exactly candid. But he won a MNC, played fair, and stressed academics in a way few coaches do. He represented the school extremely well. And he never passed the buck.
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<br>Where has any of this ugly stuff been proven or published (in a respectable publication)? Who has gone on the record?
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January 9th, 2011 at 2:01 PM ^
Lloyd Carr doesn't want Harbaugh to get the job, remember, he didn't hire Harbaugh in 2002 to be a QB Coach, instead opting for another much less successful former Michigan QB, Scott Loeffler.
Some clarification is in order here: A big reason why Loeffler was "unsuccessful" was because he suffered a career-ending rotator cuff injury. He remained on the team, serving as a de facto assistant and working with his classmate, Brian Griese. He then served as a grad assistant and helped mentor Tom Brady, before he went on to CMU and served as their QB coach for two seasons. By 2002, Loeffler was already making a name for himself as a bright young coaching mind, and Carr knew him well from his previous stints here. Harbaugh, by contrast, had been removed from the college game for 16 years and had no experience as a QB coach. Carr, to no one's surprise, went with Loeffler.
Anyone who reads into that situation as evidence of some vendetta on Carr's part has no idea what he's is talking about. And the idea that that decision somehow presaged anything that's gone down in 2011 is even more ridiculous.
January 9th, 2011 at 4:19 PM ^
jm, I wish I could give insider info on all this, but I can't. But one thing should be clear: Lloyd has a way of looking at coaching candidates that includes more than how well they coach.
Lloyd likes bland personalities (DeBord, et all). Lloyd doesn't like brash personalities (Harbaugh, Meyer). Lloyd clearly wants the sort of person Lloyd likes to be coach.
Make no mistake, Carr still has influence. I think Lloyd would prefer a bland, upstanding guy who wouldn't do anything "wrong" and who won 8-9 games a year than a dynamic personality who might do controversial things and win big. Just IMHO. FWIW.
January 9th, 2011 at 2:15 PM ^
95% is not true! Do some research, rather than rely on sources. Mary Sue Coleman was from the "BO" era.
Lloyd Carr (considered the Brady Hoke era) hired Brady Hoke as Michigans Defensive Coach in 1995 until he left for a Head Coaching job in 2002. Lloyd Carr is and has always been a Michigan Man, he had a swinging door for the players for academic and/or personal, he done a tremendous amount of charity work.
The reason that Rich Rod was hired was the fans *****ing about not running a spread offense. When press conference was held, we were all told that Michigan Football was going in a new direction and that it would take time. Fans just didn't want to be patient. Rich Rod is a very good coach, accept it or not! Defense and Special teams were the issue. In Lloyd Carr's 13 years of coaching Michigan was always ranked.
Fact is not all fans are going to be happy all of the time.
Lets just say that an ideal coaching status would be:
Rich Rodriquez- Head offensive coach
Brady Hoke- Head defensive coach
January 9th, 2011 at 4:03 PM ^
The reason that Rich Rod was hired was the fans *****ing about not running a spread offense
That is not the reason RR was hired.
January 9th, 2011 at 2:56 PM ^
This doesn't even make sense. If Les Miles was enemy #1 three years ago, why is he apparently now a viable option? Because he aligned himself with the Lloyds? The Lloyds so despised Rodriguez that they made a Faustian bargain with public enemy #1? And do we forget that Dave Brandon himself would be a "Schembechler" in this dramatis personae?
If this account is true, it belies the "LM slept with Moeller's wife" rumor, doesn't it? I mean, that rumor implies that Carr hates Miles because he wronged Moeller, who was undoubtedly a Schembechler guy. And for that matter, Carr himself coached under Schembechler for a decade. Does anyone really believe this is all about Carr's ego and his desire to elevate himself above Schembechler? I think it's more likely that Carr didn't want Miles because Miles is a sleazy, unscrupulous guy (whether it's because the Moeller's wife thing is true, or just the negative recruiting stuff), and stuff that has transpired in the three years since then certainly seems to corroborate that characterization. I find it hard to believe that Miles was able to heal this rift simply by "aligning himself" with the "Lloyds" in backroom efforts to sabotage Rodriguez (which, like, how on earth could he do this from Baton Rouge?), especially if Rodriguez's original sin was not being a Lloyd guy himself. If Carr still has the clout in Ann Arbor to keep Harbaugh from getting a sniff, why wouldn't he also have the clout to do the same to Miles (like he did three years ago)? And if he has that kind of clout with MSC, how did he get shown the door last Summer by a Schembechler guy?
January 9th, 2011 at 5:08 PM ^
And taking them seriously. The quality of MGoBlog is plummeting. To think Lloyd is plotting over how he's remembered is either spoken by people who have never met Lloyd and don't know him, or have never met anyone who's known him. It's always a source tells a source tells a source. I can see why Lloyd left the athletic department...to get away from all the stupidity circling around Michigan. (And yeah, he left...he didn't endorse his friend do his friend could just fire him).
January 9th, 2011 at 5:17 PM ^
Strap on your tin foil hat, we're going for a ride. This is whole bunch of bullshit.
January 9th, 2011 at 11:12 AM ^
Wow, that's some strong stuff. If true, Llloyd needs to vacate the premises.
January 9th, 2011 at 11:19 AM ^
Is in Brandon's ear for sure. He was the only person that had contact with DB between the two meetings with RR this week.
I am pretty sure Desmond gave his $.02 on the next Michigan head coach.
January 9th, 2011 at 11:22 AM ^
If this were true, then TCU is Michigan's #1 priority. DH LOVES him some TCU... and has for a while.
January 9th, 2011 at 11:29 AM ^
I saw a Sportscenter with Desmond and Herbstreit the day between the RR firing where Herbstriet continued to joke with Desmond by basically saying that Desmond "was the search committee".
January 9th, 2011 at 11:21 AM ^
If Lloyd can only hang his hat on Ron English, Mike BeBord, and Brady Hoke, that doesn't say much for Lloyds lineage does it?
January 9th, 2011 at 11:41 AM ^
Dude, why go there?
January 9th, 2011 at 11:28 AM ^
An 80% solution made in a timely manner is much much better than a 100% solution when it is already too late. I only hope that DB isn't searching for the perfect candidate at the expense of the next 2-3 seasons.
January 9th, 2011 at 11:38 AM ^
statement he Brandon made.
I evaluated the program on the following measures:
- Performance in competition
- Recruiting and retention
- Academic Performance
- Leadership
- University image as it relates to our players
- University image as it relates to our coaches and the staff
There is no need to get into the factors of this discussion, but I want it known to all that this is the bottom line when it comes to hiring a new coach.
I know I have a lot of work to do; this is job number one. And while I want to do it as quickly as I can, I want this choice to be the best decision for Michigan football. This one decision is going to last a long time, and this decision rests on my shoulders.
I am not going to form a committee, but I will get advice from people I know who are out there, close to the program and whose advice I value. This is not going to be a popularity contest. My job is to get the right coach.
I need to engage in a process that affords me the ability to get that coach. Clearly it is a disruption; the faster we can bring in a new leader, the better. But I am not going to be motivated by those circumstances and those pressures; I need to get the right individual into this position that will be successful.
Former players, alumni and fans can write and/or e-mail me their thoughts if they think it is therapeutic but again, this will not be a popularity contest.
I want to reiterate what I stated back in March. One of my first objectives was to bring the University of Michigan athletic community together again. We need cohesion among our support group. We were divided, we are divided, and if we want to be successful as a football program and our athletic program and our entire university, we need to rally around the new coach. We can't find fault or make hasty judgments. We need to support the new coach and that is what I hope fans, our alums and our former players are ready to do.
We need to come together to help our football program be successful.
Go Blue!
January 9th, 2011 at 11:44 AM ^
Hoke to me. We'll see ...