Coach Envy
OK, I'll admit it. I have coach envy! I would really like to have Chris Petersen (Boise State) as the coach at University of Michigan.
1) He is a good recruiter and seems to get the most out of the talent he has.
2) His players make plays UNDER PRESSURE...something UM players DON'T. See: fumbles...
3) His offense and play calling is as innovative and unpredictable as any out there.
4) He seems like a stand up guy that the players, media and other coaches really like.
Was he ever considered for the UM opening after Carr? It's entirely possible that UM could be searching for a new coach in the next year or 2. Not hopin', just sayin...thoughts?
January 7th, 2010 at 11:34 PM ^
No, but one of us just might push him.
January 8th, 2010 at 8:53 AM ^
I didn't say the same things about RR before he came to UM. But, to be fair, that's because I wasn't familiar with WVU football. Since coming to UM I've heard more comments like this about RR:
"Rich Rod is hoping that ____________ will be his Pat White."
...than the type of stuff I was mentioning. While it's a nice nod to his recruiting eye, it's not exactly a ringing endorsement of his coaching.
Nobody is jumping off wagons of any sort. I want RR to succeed as much as anyone. I just think Petersen is a better coach.
January 7th, 2010 at 5:05 PM ^
The ND game and the comeback in the MSU game wasn't producing in the clutch? Is producing in the clutch the same against against Idaho and Nevada?
January 8th, 2010 at 8:58 AM ^
That was clutch against ND and MSU. Very impressive play. I'm referring more to the mental mistakes UM has made the last few years: fumbl-itis on punts, snaps over QB's heads, etc. I don't see Boise doing that as much.
Could be that I'm just much closer to UM and that clouds my judgement. Admittedly, I have much more personal investment in UM outcomes...:)
January 8th, 2010 at 11:42 AM ^
A lot of the mental mistakes all of which you listed above can be attributed to having the majority of our offense loaded with first and second year players. All said I catch your meaning, mental mistakes need to be taken care of in order for Michigan to take the next step forward, and with one more year of maturity on the team I think we will see that happen.
January 9th, 2010 at 4:07 PM ^
FWIW, BSU's QB is a true soph. However, point taken. It sure didn't help to have Molk get hurt. Then we had inexperienced center snapping to inexperienced QBs at UM. Not a good combo.
I'm looking forward to better play (and really believe we'll see it) from RR squads next year. I just hope it's enough to keep him there. I think he is a good coach and can have great success at Michigan given time to recover from the awful start.
January 7th, 2010 at 3:11 PM ^
please!
January 7th, 2010 at 3:26 PM ^
I am sure the OP was envious of Bob Stoops and OU last year until they lost a couple games this year.
January 8th, 2010 at 8:59 AM ^
It's more than about W/L records. It's about fundamentals and preparation. But, thanks for the accusation of me being so shallow.
Apparently, it's against the rules to criticize.
January 7th, 2010 at 3:26 PM ^
that when the coaching search began RR was not even on my radar, but only because I didn't think he would leave WVU in a million years.
I watched a lot of WVU football while RR was the coach and I oved the games. It was some of the most exciting football I had ever had the opportunity to watch.
When they announced that RR was the new coach I was beyond excited and I still am today.
I would put almost any one of RR's WVU teams up against any of the past Boise State teams coached by Peterson and say with confidence I think WVU would kick their ass.
Soon, UM will be looking very similar to those WVU teams if RR is given the chance he needs. I think we will see a big improvement this year and in '11 we should be contending for the B10 championship again.
January 7th, 2010 at 4:14 PM ^
My thoughts exactly. I was about to go for a run (I live on the west coast) when I saw Brian's post.
I proceeded to download Peanut Butter Jelly Time and played it on a loop for six miles. Totally worth it.
January 8th, 2010 at 9:01 AM ^
I think you're on the right track. I believe that if UM sticks with RR they will be successful. Hopefully, as soon as you predict (2011).
January 7th, 2010 at 3:46 PM ^
I still am all in for Rodriguez, but if things go sour - and at this point, I honestly have no idea what the next year or so will hold - I'd like to see Gary Patterson get a chance at Michigan.
He's a fantastic defensive coach, and they'd keep the spread offense here intact.
Here's to a good 2010 season though.
January 7th, 2010 at 3:51 PM ^
I am convinced that given the right personnel and depth on both sides of the ball Michigan will be heading back to Pasadena (or better) in the near future.
January 7th, 2010 at 4:12 PM ^
The only problem is going to be developing that depth. Things should get better in general next year (not starting a true Freshman at QB = YAY!) but Michigan is still paper thin on defense. I felt like they would have been much better last year with the same defensive starters--despite their struggles--if they had some capable backups to give the starters a breather.
That said, the upward trajectory was obvious watching the games compared to 2008. Another two years with that trend and we may be looking at a BCS bowl.
January 7th, 2010 at 5:26 PM ^
the 'paper thin on defense' problem. Time might.
January 7th, 2010 at 3:55 PM ^
Ok, I'll admit it. I have poster envy! Have you ever seen ChitownBlue's posts?!?! I would really like to have Chitown be my poster.
1) He is insightful and witty
2) He always makes people laugh
3) He will disagree with you but not be too mean about it, so everyone has a jolly good time.
Thoughts?
January 7th, 2010 at 4:06 PM ^
When the kids at the WLA decide to let the shit fly, they're the best.
It's just that they've really been stuck in "KILL for Rich Rod" mode for awhile.
January 7th, 2010 at 3:58 PM ^
I think we should all be jealous of not having Kirk Ferenz even though we all thought that was a terrible idea just two years ago. Yes, we always take a long-term view here about coaches.
/sarcasm
January 7th, 2010 at 4:05 PM ^
...it looks like we will no longer have to endure similar "coaching envy" posts that refer to Paul Johnson, or the "why can't RichRod turn us around like Johnson turned GT around" posts.
Now maybe people realize RR is superior. He took a bunch of walk-ons and 18 year old kids into Kinnick Stadium and came within a couple of plays of beating Iowa; whereas Johnson took his group of more-experienced scholarship players suited perfectly for his system into a much more favorable venue and got slaughtered (yes, I will not back away from that characterization of the game even in spite of the "close" score -- anyone who watched that game knows GT got embarassed in what really should have been a blow-out and was only an exciting game for people who enjoy watching the GT punter).
So the sole metric used in the argument that Johnson is better than RR (i.e., he has won) has proven to be misleading as winning in the ACC is not the same as winning in the Big Ten, especially this year.
January 7th, 2010 at 4:27 PM ^
I miss the good old days of following flight paths, speculating who was and who was not on the plane. Jesus, enough, Rich Rod is our coach. Like it or not he is our coach and to me that makes him a Michigan Man. I am tired of wondering who would be a better coach, who cares! Get behind him......Harbaugh?
January 7th, 2010 at 4:53 PM ^
But did you (OP) wake up this morning and say, "boy, I feel like getting negged to oblivion today..."?
January 8th, 2010 at 9:05 AM ^
No. :) Just looking to bounce some ideas off some folks. So far, it hasn't been that bad.
January 7th, 2010 at 5:46 PM ^
I'm content with our current head coach, but feel free to speculate when the Michigan job becomes available again. Until then, thread = FAIL.
January 7th, 2010 at 11:38 PM ^
1) He is a good recruiter and seems to get the most out of the talent he has. 2) His players make plays UNDER PRESSURE...something UM players DON'T. See: fumbles... 3) His offense and play calling is as innovative and unpredictable as any out there. 4) He seems like a stand up guy that the players, media and other coaches really like.First (as has been pointed out), these are all things that were stated about Rodriguez at WVU. Second, how can a guy "win with inferior talent" and be "a good recruiter" at the same time?
Third, guys like Pedersen and Brian Kelly don't win with inferior talent. True, Boise wins with mostly 2- and 3-star guys, but they're mostly beating teams with 0-star guys.
Fourth, I think that guys like Rodriguez and Hawkins have perhaps fallen prey to their own positive press about being able to win consistently with 2- and 3-star guys. They also seem to have forgotten that they weren't going up against 3- and 4-star laden teams on a weekly basis.
Follow along with me here:
coaching = overachieving
talent superior to opponents = winning
coaching + talent superior to opponents = championships
January 9th, 2010 at 4:03 PM ^
Thanks for the comment - got a chuckle out of the pic.
First = I believe you when you say all these things were said about RR when he was at WVU. I'm talking about his tenure at UM, where these things have decidedly not been mentioned.
Second = inferior talent vs. good recruiting. BSU does not have the same amount or highly ranked recruits on their team as some of their opponents. Especially in the bowls. Where Petersen and BSU have had big wins (as well as in the regular season, Oregon this year, etc). Winning against Oklahoma, Oregon, TCU, etc constitutes winning with inferior talent.
Third = the conference opponents of BSU have roughly the same talent level as BSU. They are not "mostly beating teams with 0-star guys." That's a blatant exaggeration and patently false.
Fourth = I don't know what this means, "fallen prey to their own positive press." I'm guessing that your point is that because they have had success in the past they feel like they are entitled to success at a different school. You'd have to elaborate and clarify.
Follow along with you? Could you be any more condescending? I don't think it's overachieving to have a smart game plan, timely play calling, well prepared players. Neither is it considered overachieving for players to succeed in the limelight and not fold in pressure situations. Furthermore, winning does always come to those with superior talent. That's why they play the games. Using your metric, this conversations/thread would never exist due to the fact that teams with superior talent always win. The BSU/Hawaii/App. State/Cinncinati teams would not exist.
My point was simply that I believe Petersen to be a great coach. In addition, IMO (apparently, a minority opinion on this board), he appears to be a superior coach to RR, especially recently. HTML usage and clever, photoshopped pictures of fictional alien science fiction characters aside does not a good argument make.