Brandon's low profile: Angelique
There is a nice article at the News by Angelique regarding Dave Brandon's low profile while recruiting a head coach.
An interesting quote:
Brandon said he ordered room-service meals and would have his wife, Jan, take delivery of the meal. "I would be hiding while Jan answered the door, so the room-service guy wouldn't Tweet," Brandon said, laughing.
This under-cover business is better than sailing, but a sure sign of the needed paranoia in maintaining confidentiality when conducting a search.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:02 PM ^
DB at his finest. The true Jason Bourne.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:40 PM ^
exactly
January 24th, 2011 at 3:03 PM ^
I pretend I'm James Bond sometimes as well.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:03 PM ^
Brandon has nicely balanced his low profile in conducting this coaching search with his high profile in loudly proclaiming what a great, taxing, tiring, exhausting, and awesome job he did during said search.
It's a wash.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:08 PM ^
Dude, that was pretty funny. I guess you have a bit of a comedian in you when you are so busy being a crank ass.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:19 PM ^
I mean, there are a lot of, um, facets to this, a lot of interested parties.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:22 PM ^
Bravo. If he were interested in keeping a low profile, he wouldn't give interviews about keeping a low profile.
January 24th, 2011 at 4:03 PM ^
and did I mention I went to five cities in six days? I did? Alright, cool.
January 24th, 2011 at 4:28 PM ^
That was absolutely amazing. Just thought I'd let you know. +1.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:04 PM ^
Mr. Brandon is very very sneaky
January 24th, 2011 at 3:13 PM ^
I think too many of us underestimate the sneakiness
January 24th, 2011 at 4:03 PM ^
The hideousness of that foot will haunt my dreams forever.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:07 PM ^
I hope he sticks to the low profile he used while doing the coaching search in the future. I honestly did not like having him so front and center over the course of the football season. Reminded me a lot of Gerry Jones, always on the sidelines, watching tapes with HC and doing interviews seemingly every two hours. Stay in the background where you belong DB.
Edit: and I don't mind how you interpret that DB, as I find the two choices to be almost interchangable at this point.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:10 PM ^
His being on the sidelines during the first and third quarter never really struck as quite odd. Rita's however, did. Could not for the life of me get why she was allowed there. That said, when DB was behind the team during the PSU disaster, I couldn't help but think "RR is in deep trouble..."...proved to be very true.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:19 PM ^
Your post also reminded me of Cowboys owner JERRY Jones.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:35 PM ^
Pronounced, of course, Jerrah.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:38 PM ^
This just reminds me of the time when George bought John Voight's car. I'm sure Jerry spells his name with a "G" occasionally just for fun.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:08 PM ^
When I first read this title I thought it was sarcasm. Still not sure.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:21 PM ^
The title came from her. It would be interesting to know how snarky and sarcastic Angelique is. My general impression is that she leaves the snark for Sharp, Rosenberg, and mgoblog.
Seriously, DB has a very high profile, as noted above. But I think he managed to stay undercover as regards the search for a head coach.
January 24th, 2011 at 4:53 PM ^
it was pretty well established via flight tracker, who he was talking to.. read: Miles and Hoke.
But honestly, I don't give a shit whether he was undercover or not. I just wanted him to hire the right guy.
I'm pretty sure he didn't. Oh well.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:09 PM ^
What a joke. If DB considers his behavior during his fly aorund the country in a Dominoe's pizza plane "low-profile", then he is even more self absorbed than I thought!
January 24th, 2011 at 3:28 PM ^
Was he supposed to teleport?
January 24th, 2011 at 3:10 PM ^
I think you mean Jerry Jones.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:17 PM ^
I can't explain why, but he just seems like a bit of a phony.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:19 PM ^
Well, his pizza sucked.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:20 PM ^
i just think its funny that you mention he seems like a bit of a phony and ur name is jesus! ha, nice i like it!
January 24th, 2011 at 3:27 PM ^
You sound a bit like Holden Caufield. Admittedly, the search was an absolute circus, however, it wound up netting Greg Mattison and a solid head coach.
January 24th, 2011 at 4:31 PM ^
I'll support Brady Hoke and be excited for him, but lets wait to call him a "solid" hire.
Secondly, my comment has nothing to do with Hoke or Mattison. I'm saying DB seems ingenuous. He was completely and unnecessarily aggressive during the presser and was in my opinion a bit demeaning towards the fans and everyone who isn't him. He seems totally self involved and not really that wholesome of a person. He just irks me.
January 24th, 2011 at 5:48 PM ^
Have you ever met a CEO who wasn't into himself / some sort of asshole?
/business school bitches
January 24th, 2011 at 8:37 PM ^
January 24th, 2011 at 3:18 PM ^
I'm confused. He waited until the last possible minute to make a decision on Rich Rod and even then it took him 2 days to fire the guy. The whole time speculation grew annd grew and a number of media outlets reported RR was fired even before Brandon made an announcement. Then he embarks on a coaching search in a plane with Michigan wings painted on it. How is that keeping a low profile???
January 24th, 2011 at 3:48 PM ^
It was determined that he was not using the UM-painted plane. Apart from covering himself with a blanket or putting on a fake mustache, in this day of Flightaware, how is he supposed to travel secretly?
January 24th, 2011 at 3:21 PM ^
It's pretty bold of him to think that anyone, other than Michigan fans, would have any clue who he is. Especially during the 5 second exchange between him and a room-service delivery guy.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:24 PM ^
OMG David Brandon horrible human being. Sometimes this board makes me naseous.
Most of you peoples don't know shit, but it doesn't affect your ability to yap.
January 24th, 2011 at 5:32 PM ^
being on loop makes it seem like the one cat is being surprised over and over and over again. and every time, he's like, OMG! thanks for the humor in the otherwise deadly serious DAVID BRANDON IS THE DEVIL or DAVID BRANDON IS A SAINT debate.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:28 PM ^
And, yes, rare is the AD who makes himself so visible (while at the same time expressing shock re all the attention he gets). The sideline thing is unusual by AD standards. But the real issue, I think, is that DB sits in on the coach's weekly film-sessions. How awkward must that be for the coach? Do any other ADs routinely do this?
January 24th, 2011 at 4:48 PM ^
Do you use this board for any purpose other than whining and complaining?
January 24th, 2011 at 7:04 PM ^
I don't think he's whining. I wonder if DB will continue to sit in as often as he did with RR, or if he might disengage a bit, and big picture it a little more.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:30 PM ^
Everybody (or at least a very vocal group) is pissed off about the coaching search, I think that's abundantly clear but continually nagging about it only undermines the strength and bond of our program going forward and zero good will come out of it. It's time to put that period behind us and focus on the future, "with malice towards none".
January 24th, 2011 at 3:36 PM ^
Agreed. In my opinion I thought the process was a little sloppy but so far the end result has been pretty damn good. I think DB rubs people the wrong way because he is a smart, powerful man and he knows it. Haters going to hate type of thing. It is hard for me to question the fact that he does want what is best for Michigan. So this alone is reason enough to give the guy a pass on some things because his heart is always in the right place. Aside from the search this man is making a lot of exciting things happen at this University and should be commended for it.
January 24th, 2011 at 4:50 PM ^
Agreed. In my opinion I thought the process was a little sloppy but so far the end result has been pretty damn good.
This is when you know you've got a keeper.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:37 PM ^
If I'm sure of one fact, it's that Brandon is more qualified to do his job than anyone who has ever posted on this board ever, anywhere. I secretly think he loves people debating about him because it means they are no longer debating over the head coach.
January 24th, 2011 at 4:06 PM ^
Are you kidding me? Anybody with a lick of sense knows THE KNOWLEDGE would have hired Jim Harbaugh as HC, brought over Steve Sarkisian as OC, Will Muschamp as DC, and would have already installed a Godzillatron that would dwarf the puny screen down in Austin.
January 24th, 2011 at 4:26 PM ^
...for a good old posbang.
January 24th, 2011 at 3:57 PM ^
"He said he avoided hotel gyms and tried to get through lobbies quickly."
"Brandon said he ordered room-service meals and would have his wife, Jan, take delivery of the meal."
Can't you guys see how arrogant he is?
He avoided hotel gyms? Why? Are they not good enough for you, Mr. Brandon? Was the equipment not brand new like you requested? Were you afraid of breathing the same air as your fellow gym rats?
And you couldn't even receive delivery of your own room-service meals? I know you are a former-exec and all but that doesn't mean you can't receive food from someone other than Wolfgang Puck. Must you force your wife to test the food to ensure that it meets your impossibly high standards?
Mr. Brandon, you've taken michigan arrogance to a whole 'nother level. The real world won't put up with your excessive demands, arrogance, and condescending attitude. Next you'll be asking for a gold throne in your personal restroom. We don't cater to those types of demands here, go to stanford for that!
/s
January 24th, 2011 at 4:03 PM ^
You had me right up until you used that /s device.
January 24th, 2011 at 4:35 PM ^
It's kind of a douchey thing to do.
January 24th, 2011 at 5:03 PM ^
owns the team, amirite?