CC: Addazio - I believe we missed a realistic, plausible, good(?) option in the CC parade
After seeing the Lance Leipold post, I should preface this post by saying that I did as complete a search as I could and did not find Boston College HC Steve Addazio mentioned as a CC topic and he wasn't even covered in Ron Utah's and Alum96's lists. He was mentioned in comments from time to time but I think he's worth a serious look and find it odd he's been overlooked.
In my various comments I've been one of those guys (similar to Brian) saying there's Harbaugh, Harbaugh, Miles, Mullen, then abyss ... but if there was a "solid, second teir" of choices I think Addazio belongs on that list more than anyone else (such as Butch Jones, case and point).
Addazio has some obvious and glaring connections to names already mentioned throughout these CC posts: Brad Bates, Urban Meyer and Dan Mullen; and also other less-discussed guys with UM ties like Scot Loeffler and Chuck Heater.
If Boston College's Brad Bates were selected as AD, Addazio's name would obviously vault to the top of the list by default, and this wouldn't be a bad thing. Having an AD and HC who have worked together before would be beneficial.
Addazio cut his teeth on the ND staff as OL coach, abeit during Bob Davie's tenure '99-'01. He then went to Indiana for a couple years and was DiNardo's OC. Neither program had much success but they at least give him some familarity with the midwest.
Addazio then became the OL coach for Florida. It looks like he started with Zook and remained on staff with Meyer, where he eventually became co-OC with Dan Mullen and eventually assistant head coach to Meyer, including the (edit) '06 and '08 NC years.
The rest of his career up through Temple and Boston College are all documented here of course, so no need to keep loading up this post http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Addazio but he did lead a mild turnaround including a bowl win during his brief stint as Temple HC and is now holding his own in the ACC, including a nice home win against USC. He did get, however, housed by RichRod's Wildcats in the bowl game last year, fwiw.
I'd love to see Addazio's name added to another edition of Ron Utah's "where we stand" and also to Alum96's ultimate matrix. It seems like he'd score solid B's on track record, recruiting, and roster fit; probably lower than B on Michigan ties but if you factor in Brad Bates that becomes an "A" -- and his former DC Chuck Heater is a former Wolverine and is currently DC for undefeated Marshall, which is tantalizing. His familiarity with Urban Meyer can only be of help, as well.
Also factoring in Bates, I think he'd score an "A" for chances/loyalty, and I also really like his tough and smart demeanor from what I've seen. Below are some video snippets including a pregame speech that evokes a little bit of Hoke (not a bad thing, from the current players perspective), and a LOT of Bo Schembechler at the end.
And this clip is your moment of Zen: Addazio is a former big-time OL coach and OC...
What do we think?
October 19th, 2014 at 10:23 AM ^
Michigan Man.
October 19th, 2014 at 1:45 PM ^
Saw Addazio's Temple years up close.
Gibson might be a better choice, sadly.
This about explains Addazio:
October 19th, 2014 at 10:30 AM ^
Do we really need five new coaching candidates every day, especially when we don't have an active opening? Can we please just put all this nonsense into one thread so it doesn't clog up the board?
October 19th, 2014 at 10:58 AM ^
but I thought about that but I thought I made it obviously clear that I, in my honest opinion, thought we missed a well-rounded resumé. This isn't just "Hey what about Chuck Heater, he played running back for UM..." I search for previous posts and did some research. I thought he belonged on Ron Utah's and Alum96's diaries.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:05 AM ^
It's a dead weekend for Michigan fans and the board is not the least bit "clogged up." I know it's "unacceptable" for the CC posts to be in between one of yesterday's nine threads and the inevitable Lions thread today, but it's not like anyone was forcing you to click. If you don't like the CC threads, then don't read them. How difficult is that?
October 19th, 2014 at 11:06 AM ^
October 19th, 2014 at 11:19 AM ^
if you believe that the internet is a series of tubes.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:39 AM ^
Well then, what would you suggest the internet is?
October 19th, 2014 at 1:27 PM ^
Everybody knows that the internet is a series of threads, many of which originate here at MGoBlog. We're what keeps the internet upright.
October 19th, 2014 at 3:27 PM ^
Threads/tubes. Potato, potato. (Imagine that word sounding different.)
October 20th, 2014 at 9:47 AM ^
October 19th, 2014 at 4:33 PM ^
2 weeks ago it was out of hand...it was CC: Everyone.
Now, not so much.
I think people just need to use common sense. Every thought doesn't need to be it's own thread. In this case, it's a Bye Week, it's dead, there haven't been many new threads, there's no new news on Michigan. Go for it.
I see no problem with this one or the one below it.
However, 2 weeks ago when everyone was posting every CC thought, it was clogging up the board and pushing relevent stuff off the first page.
Right now there's still threads from 2 days ago on the first page. Before we couldn't even keep something on for 2 hours because it was CC: Most unrealistic candidate ever vs. CC: Nope, even more unrealistic candidate.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:13 AM ^
"while there's no open position" is asinine and pointless.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:15 AM ^
October 19th, 2014 at 10:32 AM ^
October 19th, 2014 at 10:56 AM ^
Under Armour.
October 19th, 2014 at 4:17 PM ^
yep all BC sports switched to under armour in like 2011, unfortunately several years too late since we were stuck wearing reebok like dan vs dan
October 19th, 2014 at 10:39 AM ^
The fact that you put a (?) next to "good" in the title makes me think we can probably do better than Addazio since being a good coach is hopefully a requirement for the next head coach.
October 19th, 2014 at 10:53 AM ^
because now I can see how it was misinterpreted from my intent. I meant "like, could this one be ACTUALLY good, and we missed it?" as in the majority of these lists is not good.
October 19th, 2014 at 1:23 PM ^
Not at all.
I lived through the Addazio years at Temple. He went to a bowl with the great Al Golden's players (well, he was great when he was at Temple vs. Miami now (YTM). Addazio's offense was boring, predictable, run heavy manball on crack uninspired.
So the guy beat a depleted USC team at BC...he also managed to get lose immediately thereafter to Colorado State.
Steve Addazio, as a head coach, is a winner of the Gildan New Mexico Bowl. As a Temple alum and, sadly, a regular victim of watching his years in Philly...I'd hope Michigan aims a lot higher.
October 19th, 2014 at 10:40 AM ^
October 19th, 2014 at 1:04 PM ^
October 19th, 2014 at 10:44 AM ^
October 19th, 2014 at 10:56 AM ^
hence the "no." But why "hell no," especially if Brad Bates was the AD? Did I miss something in my research that disqualifies him? He's a Power 5 head coach, has championship coordinator experience, he appears by all accounts to be well respected, seems about the right age and overall just seems ready and wiling for a challenge like this.
But if "hell no" is all you got...
October 19th, 2014 at 12:39 PM ^
October 19th, 2014 at 10:46 AM ^
That speech was actually much more coherent than anything I've ever heard Hoke say
October 19th, 2014 at 11:00 AM ^
Obviously he's a far better orator and hopefully a better motivator, but he wouldn't be a complete 180 for the current players in terms of the interpersonal style that they and their parents apparently recognize in Hoke.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:15 AM ^
hoke is not eloquent. the content is about 100% the same as what you'd expect out of his mouth
October 19th, 2014 at 10:54 AM ^
I think what plagues Michigan is deeper than a coach and won't be cured by just a HC change. That's all I am going to say about that.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:05 AM ^
Rich Rodriguez didn't do himself any favors in many aspects of taking over this challenge but there were broader factors involved in him inexplicably not being in his seventh year here, now with Casteel and a blazing offense led by Denard (with Watkins) and then Devin. To say it another way, RR + Denard & Devin would have worked ANYWHERE else.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:16 AM ^
It's not "inexplicable" that a guy with a 6-18 B1G record would get fired.
Saying that he would have succeeded with upperclass Denard, Sammy Watkins et al is nice but beside the point. He needed to succeed with the guys he had from 2008-10 and didn't. By "succeed" I mean make a bowl, not win national championships or anything. Missing a bowl two straight years, at this school, in an age when you only need 6 wins, is unbelievable. He finally scraped in the third year but got destroyed three straight games to end the season and to most observers appeared to have lost his team.
OK, Casteel didn't come, but why couldn't RichRod make it work with Scott Shafer - who succeeded everywhere he was DC, except the one season he worked with Rich?
October 19th, 2014 at 11:32 AM ^
as some of us often have. Part of my point was that if RR had greater support in the beginning along with helping himself out a bit more I think maybe he wouldn't have gotten as bad as 6-18, etc., etc. Been down this road many times, but the theme of these sub-comments is that what ills this program is more than just the HC position. Maybe a different direction in AD will help, too.
At the end of the day, although the Bates-Addazio connection seems like a no-brainer, Addazio's only been there a year and maybe the interpersonal connection's not that strong. It might be a bad culture fit at UM for those two guys to come in and seem like they're going to show everyone "the BC way." So yeah...
October 19th, 2014 at 11:05 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
October 19th, 2014 at 11:09 AM ^
?? Is it something in the water supply? Is the food at the training table contaminated? Will antibiotics get rid of it? Is like an STD?
October 19th, 2014 at 11:19 AM ^
And please just keep this between us but I have it on good authority that the water being pumped into Schembechler Hall is sourced from Bolivia. THE HORROR! THE HORROR!
October 19th, 2014 at 12:36 PM ^
washed out with a bar of soap if you mention "The H*****" again!
October 19th, 2014 at 10:55 AM ^
I am starting to warm up to the thought of Mullen being on par with Miles, Harbaugh and Harbaugh. In fact, looking at his background I think Mullen would be a homerun. Like Bo under Woody, Mullen was under Urban. He has done an incredible job with MissSt. and he was the OC for Urban's two NCs with Florida.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:08 AM ^
I suppose he's kind of a "Mullen lite," which isn't good, but if none of the four "Mount Rushmore" candidates are willing to come here, I'm looking for candidates who are better than just trying to stabilize the ship and stay with Hoke or interim Nuss, which I'd like to avoid. Addazio while not perfect, seems like he could -- with the right coordiinators and especially with Bates as AD -- provide that.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:13 AM ^
October 19th, 2014 at 11:34 AM ^
so you're saying he'd fit right in. Thanks for the info...
October 19th, 2014 at 11:14 AM ^
... be one helluva OL coach at Michigan.
I know that's not what you're suggesting, but IMHO our OL suckitude is the #1 issue with our program. If you can't teach your OL how to block, your offense is going to be consistently in the dumper, which then puts your defense in consistently bad situations. A head coach who is unable to recognize how to fix this fundamental problem is probably also not going to be able to fix problems that other units have, which appears to be what our situation is.
October 19th, 2014 at 1:29 PM ^
Maybe you just had to actually be in a town where Addazio was head coach to not respect his capacity in that role. The guy's ceiling is maybe, maybe a poor man's Kirk Ferentz.
Addazio had excellent coordinators at Temple in Loefler and Heater. Listen, maybe he's perfect for OP's vision of Michigan: he's got the Toledo loss on his record and he's a New Mexico Bowl Champion.
Jesus Christ, Allah and the Buddah could be his coordinators and Addazio would still not offer what Les Miles, Dan Mullen, any Harbaugh bring to the table.
Aim Higher, OP.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:24 AM ^
I agree but, why would Mullen leave MissSt? I may have missed it in all of the posts about him as a potential candidate, but I cannot see one strong reason why he would give up his current hero status there to take over in Ann Arbor. Certainly not money, the boosters there will make sure that isn't a factor, to a reasonable extent, and I don't see UM offering him unreasonable compensation. He's achieving unheard of success for MSU in the toughest division in the best conference in the country.
He also just accepted an extension with not only more money, but also a new termination clause that MSU is requiring of all head coaches, which calls for potential termination if the team's APR leads to a postseason ban. Very few schools require this of their coaches. And so far, MSU is above average on APR under Mullen. So why would he come to UM? I see no upside to him making a move.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:43 AM ^
I thought I read somewhere that Mullen had Midwest ties. It's true he has a good gig in the SEC. Maybe he would be interested in bringing back a storied program along the lines of Saban with Alabama.
MissSt is a great story, but he will always be fighting with the other SEC powers, which will limit the heights he can reach.
I know people don't want their hopes dashed and it is easier to assume that we can't get a top notch coach, but Alabama sure didn't settle when they went after Saban. I know he was struggling at the pro level, but he was already a proven NC winner at LSU.
I don't want to consider midling coaches and hope their ability somehow morphs into championship caliber!
October 19th, 2014 at 11:44 AM ^
The fact that he's in the best division in the country is reason to possibly leave. He is never going to out recruit Saban and Malzahn.
I think Florida comes calling Mullen will be there. I can't see him turning down the Gators.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:59 AM ^
If/when MissSt regresses towards the mean, he might jump ship, because of the pressure to perform in that division. But that's not happening right now, probably not for a couple of seasons. I actually see him, a Pennsylvania native who played ball in Pennsylvania, as the next HC of PSU after Franklin crashes and burns.
October 19th, 2014 at 11:06 AM ^
at Temple and BC is just a bit over .500. BC's win over USC was impressive, but their loss at home to Colorado St. was to another CC candidate Jim McElwain, who was Saban's OC during Alabama's 48-6 run from 2008 through 2011, winning two NCs along the way.
Maybe McElwain is the better former Alabama guy for us than Nussmeier is.