Dave Brandon on The Huge Show
http://www.thehugeshow.net/FlashPlayer/default.asp?SPID=23371&ID=1817890
Rather encouraging interview of DB on the Huge Show.
Mike Schofield's dad also called in to defend the program, and Rich. He is a pretty charasmatic guy. I am glad that he called in.
He basically said that himself, and the parents that he knows thought the initial FREEP report was ridiculous, and that he didn't feel the player were overworked. He loves Rich Rod as the coach, and says that the team is pretty close to turning it around. Michael had excellent grades, and the staff pushes the team to value the education, and excel in the classroom.
What's not "rediculous" is Dave Brandon. He is tactfully dealing with a shitty situation as best as anyone could. Brandon, who wasn't even on the job while the violations occurred, without equivocation, stated that he is at fault. I love this quote:
- - Asked earlier today who is ultimately to blame for the violations, Brandon replied, "I am. The reality is we had failures across the athletic department and I take full responsibility." -- taken from here
That can be contrasted with RR's statement in his own defense, "Coach Rodriguez is surprised and disappointed that violations occurred in his program." In fairness, RR likely has to look out for the NCAA digging into WVU as well, but I sure wish he took Brandon's path. "Violations occurred"? Passive voice. Eek. Reminds me of "mistakes were made" rather than "I made mistakes".
Brandon seems to have a good eye on not just today, or this season, but the entire program moving forward. He appears to be the right guy for the job.
that deserves to be negged? Sorry folks but on occasion Rich Rod will not get, nor does he deserve, unmitigated praise. Rodriguez would have done better to take the Brandon approach of accepting blame whether it was deserved or not.
Maybe there are a few fans here who feel that RR has been dodging a shitstorm he doesn't deserve since he got here, and the last thing they want to see is UM "fans" continuing to rain feces on him. There are plenty of MSU, OSU, and WVU fans who will continue to perpetrate low blow after low blow to RR, and I, for one, don't like it very much when UM fans help them.
As always, your mileage may vary.
Tater, I would love to see the freep hire you to kinda balance things out, you'd set some people straight. You are a good wordsmith, small potatoes compared to DEX, but still damn good.
How can we make this happen, I'd read your stuff on a daily basis, shit I already do, you need to get paid for this skill. We could set these Mofo trolls on the path to extinction.
Tater360 coming to a newspaper near you!
imma take that as a compliment no matter how you meant it
Oh yeah, big time compliment. You are still the Yukon Gold standard, but you have to admit, Tater is a pretty sweet potato in his own right
I agree. I would love a day where "shitstorm" and "rain feces down on him" appear in a Freep article. :)
My thoughts exactly. For how great our fanbase supposedly is, I am appalled at the way Rich Rod has been treated. He was an awesome coach at WVU, and there is no way he could not win BIG here given the opportunity. He stepped into a crappy situation and had to make the best of it. This, alll while dealing with fans who dislike him because he is from a "hick" state, and they have a diploma from U of M (which obviously qualifies them to make character judgements about others). I DON'T CARE how many games Lloyd would have won in '08; this program was going nowhere fast in a rapidly changing college football landscape. Rich Rod can do it, and it makes me furious that the only thing standing in his way is the fans. That is crap, and I really hope it ends.
dahblue is full of shit on this one. Sorry, that's just the way it is. Whaddya say we give Rich Rodriguez's Response a better, fuller quotation?
To wit:
Coach Rodriguez is surprised and disappointed that violations occurred in his program. He has strived throughout his carrer to follow the rules. Rodriguez recognizes that as head coach, he has a heightened responsibility to monitor his program and promote an atmosphere of compliance. Rodriguez embraces that responsibility. He regrets that he did not adequately monitor certain aspects of his program in this case. Rodriguez has learned from his mistakes and will be a better coach and compliance leader going forward.
...
In summary, Rodriguez acknowledges that violations occurred and that with respect to some of the violations - but not all - he could have done a better job of monitoring the activities of some members of his staff. However, Rodriguez did not fail to promote an atmosphere of compliance. He and his staff attended rules education meetings, he invited the compliance staff to his Hideaway ["Hideaways" are noted and defined in a footnote] meetings, he ran a transparent program and he encouraged everyone, including the compliance staff, to bring any concerns directly to his attention."
Please note, everybody; David Brandon is accused of nothing by the Enforcement Staff. He has nothing to defend. Rich Rodriguez is not accused of most of the violations in this investigation. He is not in a position to defend those.
Rodriguez IS accused of a failure to promote an atmosphere of compliance. Rodriguez rejects that allegation. The University agrees with Rodriguez and rejects that allegation. Dave Brandon rejects that allegation and agrees with Rodriguez's defense.
So if you think, as dahblue apparently does, that Rich Rodriguez is somehow letting down a lofty standard set up by Dave Brandon -- that's wrong.
It is a big difference. We are not -- the University is not, Dave Brandon is not, Rich Rodriguez is not -- admitting to those "atmosphere of compliance" allegations. We are defending those allegations. Rich Rodriguez ought not to be apologizing for shit that he has good reason to deny, and with a solid basis for his defense.
Not sure how my completely accurate quote makes me "full of shit". As an attorney, I can tell you that the passive voice is used to minimize the potential impact of a person's actions or inactions. I realize that some folks can't separate an honest assessment with an attack on the coach, but (no matter who the coach is) it's unfortunate that our coach has to have a lawyerly defense written for him in the passive voice. It's understandable given the circumstances, but a bummer nonetheless.
But ... Rodriguez's official response was written by an attorney. Isn't equivocation, (as a matter of risk mitigation) a part of the job?
You're right. That's essentially what sucks. Again, not an attack on the coach, but it's unfortunate that the coach is in a position where he has to have his own counsel (separate from, I believe, University counsel) to write a CYA letter in his defense.
The simple, lawyerly reason that the University and Rich Rodriguez would logically and properly have separate counsel, is that they are the subjects of different charges in the Notice of Allegations.
As I've already noted, their responses are substantivley the same. That is because, I presume, they are both telling the truth and are in essential agreement on the response(s) to the charges. But still, the charges against the two parties (one, the U; the other, RR)
But don't infer guilt or anything closed to guilt by virtue of there being separate counsel. That's nonsense.
Also, if you'd read the actual response, you'll have noted that Rich Rodriguez was giving testimony under oath; yet another reason for him to have separate counsel to advise him on testimony and to interject objections if needed in the course of the deposition.
that you pulled a few words out of an entire statement to serve your purpose in your 'honest' assessment, which of course paints RR in a negative light.
You can cloak your agenda all you want in pretending to be honest and objective and acting like you are the only reasonable person on the whole board that doesn't see the world through maize and blue colored glasses, but it is quite clear where your opinion lies with regard to RR.
The investigation has concluded, like it or not, that this was not the result of RR and staff acting in careless disregard for NCAA regulations and unequivocally placing blame across an entire compliance organization, of which Rodriguez is surely a part.
So, just to be clear, on the same day that he is almost entirely exonerated of wrongdoing and the accusations leveled at him are rendered all but false and he is given a substantial show of support from the AD in the face of the media that attempted to smear him, you are going to provide your 'honest assessment' and call RR out for using the passive voice in his response. Did I get that right?
CYA? He was accused of fostering an environment of non-compliance, the investigation has shown that to be false. He can use whatever voice he deems necessary to object to that and he should not have to cop to it if it is untrue. David Brandon, bless his heart, wasn't accused of anything, so it is indeed a grand symbolic gesture to accept responsability for all of it. I can guarantee you that if he is accused of financial impropriety while the AD at M and a subsequent investigation proves that to be patently false, he will not be accepting responsibility for it and will only too gladly provide a response indicating as much.
Can I ask you an honest question? I am not trying to be coy, I honestly want to understand your rationale, but what exactly do you have against Rich Rodriguez?
I really liked Brandon's assertion, also. The guy is pure class. But he's right to take that position: anything that goes on in the athletic department is his responsibility. There can be only one AD at a time. And there's no way Brandon is going to cast aspersions on his predecessor.
At the same time, Rodriguez can't make the same kind of proclamation, if only because the infractions originated in part through the actions or inactions of Compliance personnel, who are not under RR's jurisdiction. (They'd better not be, anyway!)
It's best for RR to be/appear chastened and humbled, and Brandon to be, well, Brandon.
(From now on, I'm always going to ask myself, "What would Brandon do?")
I think you are "winning" the Tom Hagan Memorial "Tournament" with your posts re RR today. I hope you can find it in your heart to be "all in" by September.
I am "all in" for Michigan. I was born "all in" for Michigan. There is no player or coach above the team. It's sad that the phrase "all in" has come to indicate for support for one person and not the team, the team, the team.
You listened to the interview, right?
Regardless, listen to the question and answer at 4:50. Brandon provides his interpretation for what "all in" means. Of course, you're free to your own interpretation, but you're decidedly off on your own island here.
Huge: …[Away from the investigation] Do you think [Rich Rodriguez] has been treated fairly in Ann Arbor and outside of Ann Arbor?
Brandon: Not in all cases. I don’t think there’s any question about the fact that the search process was riddled with complexities and created somewhat of a divided Michigan family. I think anybody that would suggest otherwise is not being truthful.
We came out of the search process and I really believe that there were people that were so disappointed that they didn’t like Rich Rodriguez before he even set foot in Ann Arbor. My sense is that there have been some people with an agenda, as it relates to Rich, that has been unfortunate and, I think, detrimental to him and his family. It’s not the kind of stuff that I’m particularly proud of particularly if any of it comes from people who purport themselves to be members of the Michigan family. He’s our coach and we should support him and do everything we can do to help him be successful. That’s why he was brought here and that’s what I intend to do.
[Discussion about expectations at Michigan]…
[HC at Michigan] is a job that going into it you know there is pressure, but I think there have been additional pressures on Rich just based on some of the politics that were involved when he came to the University.
I didn't get a chance to listen to it, but I did read some quotes...which left me with a very positive impression of Brandon. Reading the quotes you present, however, I don't see him defining "all in". Instead, it's a discussion of whether RR has been treated fairly. I was raised with Bo, so for me, Michigan means "the team" and not a person. I guess some people will interpret "all in" to apply to just that one person. Anyway, It's late, so maybe I'm missing the "all in" portion in your cited quote?
and met him on several occasions.
Quite frankly, I think he would be ashamed of the way some fans have treated Rodriguez. He received much the same treatment when he arrived and about 30% of the team disappeared through attrition. He seemed to turn out okay in the end.
What's your point?
Rich is the coach of 'the team, the team, the team', so he is included right? Or do you interpret it as meaning just the players?
Bo went 8-3 his first season. 9-1 his second. He lost 6 games only once. He never had a losing season. He "turned out okay" in the beginning. What's your point?
Bo was disliked by many in his first few years due to player attrition and a new culture of hard work and dedication to the progra. It sounds familiar.
You invoked him and his mantra, 'the team, the team, the team,' please define for us who is included in that?
And again, you indicate that your basis for liking RR is solely based on W's & L's and nothing else. Go aead and talk about that, i respect that, but don't mix that with discussions of his ethics, character, etc., as they are two different things.
I actually saw this "fail to see" routine coming. When Brandon talks about helping the coach be successful and of being disappointed with--you'll like this word--detractors, he's defining "all in" to me. If you don't see it, fine.
The coach is part of the team, right? So, if someone treat a person unfairly, then that's a problem, right? I agree with you that if someone screws up (Justin Feagin, Boubacar Cissoko, Kelly Baraka, Garland Rivers, Bob Perryman, Gary Moeller, and so on), then peace be unto them; We've got no use for them. I fail to see where Rich Rodriguez has screwed up.
I'm as disappointed as you are in Michigan's record so far under his guidance. But, given the circumstances, I understand the struggles and am willing to, just for you, hold the rope.
It's not a routine. You said he defines "all in", but you don't list a "what does 'all in' mean to you" question, nor is there any response where DB says something like, "All in...". So, if you read that in to his comments...ok....no problem. He just doesn't discuss it.
You ask where RR has screwed up. I think RR has screwed up by presenting the worst 2-year record in...eh, fuck it...we'll all been over it. This practice/supervision thing does not dramatically affect my opinion of RR. Let me try another tact...let's say a player performed poorly on the field...perhaps a RB with lots of fumbles? Maybe not playing that kid is what's best for the team? Maybe he gets another shot and holds the ball, runs well, etc. That's all the better. I see RR that way. I hope he gets better, but think it perfectly fair to be bothered by his on-the-field performance.
Is the press treatment of RR unfair? In some instances, yes, but he's the coach of Michigan football. Fair doesn't always come with the position. You think the NY media is always fair to the Yankees manager? He gets paid plenty to put up with unfair treatment.
I remain "all in" for the team, and hope that RR turns it around asap.
Sure, sure. Argue semantics...that's convincing. He clearly states what he thinks members of the Michigan family should do in regards to Rich Rodriguez. You're too entrenched in your own opinion to see that very reasonable people disagree with you in droves.
Your analogy is decent. Personally, I'd honor that player's contract; scholarship as long as he's in good standing academically and with respect to his conduct and I'd admonish anyone who suggested that the kid was worthless just because we are disappointed with his performance especially if there were reasonable mitigating circumstances, like a bone fracture in his arm, or rainy weather, or crappy O-Line. You get the picture, I hope. Obviously the head coach is different from a player situation is a little different and the analogy breaks down a bit. I'm also not suggesting we give him the full extent of his contract, either.
Whether heat comes with the territory, isn't in dispute. But I think the heat should not be based on trumped up non-sense. If you believe that Michigan should go to a bowl no matter what then that's your prerogative. However, your suggestion that people who support Rich Rodriguez are somehow elevating him beyond the importance of the greater good of the team is silly.
First, it's not semantics! You said he "defines" something...but he clearly doesn't. If I say that I ate a tasty burger, you might think it's a Big Kahuna burger, but that doesn't mean it is unless I say it is or show you the wrapper.
Anyway, while I do love the banter here, and think some of the insight obtainable is great...I also think that posters here vastly overestimate the number of people who support the same opinions in the real world. I have not spoken with one alum who feels the way the majority here does about RR or "All In" or whatever. Frankly, I'm usually the one who supports RR the most in those discussions (I know, sounds crazy given how I have my knives ready for him and whatnot). The "heat" RR feels is due to losing. Losing that Michigan has not experienced in roughly 50 years. If Lloyd lost 9 games in a season, the heat would be just as hot. RR might say, "DETRACTORS NOT ALLOWED", but I prefer an old t-shirt slogan, "No Excuses".
I remain "all in" for the team as well.....except for that Vinopal character. His arms are too short. I hate him. But the rest of the team....I'm "all in" for them!!!! I just hope Vinopal grows some longer limbs by the time he plays for us. Let's go Blue! I'm "all in" for all but 1 of you!
I am glad that RR is speaking his mind and the truth as he sees it. If he accepts more blame than is his due, you would be writing a different post crucifying him for his prominent role in the current debacle. Unfortunately, because you and those of your ilk, he cannot win. You have your knives sharpened and will stab him whether he is facing you or has his back turned and you know it.
It is easy for Brandon to accept all the blame because no one in their right mind would point a finger in his direction. Don't get me wrong, I love Brandon and quite literally everything he has done, but falling on a grenade is much more noble when you aren't wearing a bomb-proof suit.
The reality is, you and people like you are turning an unfortunate sitatuation into a 'shitty' one by attempting to use the negative PR generated by a wildly inaccurate 'expose' in the Free Press as currency to purchase tar, feather and pitchforks with which to run RR out of town. You are going to have to come to grips with the reality of what the investigation turned up and the fact that you can't lay this all at the feet of Rich Rodriguez or his staff, no matter how much you want to.
Furthermore, take a cue from Brandon. It is obvious from his actions, words and demeanor that Rodriguez has his full support. Brandon has certainly had enough time to get to know RR and delve into the workings and machinations of his program and clearly is behind him as Michigan's coach. Rich will be judged by his results on the field, pure and simple.
C'mon dude...Did you really just write, "...because of you and those of your ilk, he cannot win. You have your knives sharpened and will stab him whether he is facing you or has his back turned..."?????
I don't affect RR's ability to win. He can win by putting a team on the field that can compete nationally, motivating them, calling the right plays, etc.
Beyond that, RR isn't "speaking his mind", he's reading a statement written by his own attorney. Get a grip. I, like every Michigan fan, want to see RR win now. I have zero desire to have to wait another year, whether with RR or anyone else at the helm. Frankly, you're clueless, but your excessive flair for the dramatic is funny.
At least your last sentence is accurate, "Rich will be judged by his results on the field." You just don't seem to realize that already has been. Folks just don't like 3-9 and 5-7. Fingers crossed for a return to winning this year!
I'm not relating this in any way to winning on the field. That's ridiculous and if we ever get around to discussing on the field stuff, we might agree on a lot.
What I meant was that there are people, yourself included, that will jump on anything he does and rip him for it, no matter what choice he makes. He is therefore in a position where he can't win situationally. Having 'knives out' for someone is a common phrase, I fail to see the drama in employing it.
You actually responded to today's revelations by criticizing RR for using the passive voice in his response????? (yes, that's 5 question marks, talk about a flair for the dramatic). You would come down on him for putting butter on his toast, unless he didn't in which case you would surely lambast him for eating dry toast.
Let's face it, you have all but admitted that your opinion of him is colored solely by the number of W's and L's in their respective columns and that it has little or nothing to do with the substance of the accusations against him nor his character as a coach. Are you saying that if he had won more games you would be behind him and thusly not so concerned with absolving the poor Free Press of any culpability and so consistently attempting to paint RR as scandalous? They are two separate matters. There is the case at hand, and the record on the field. Just because the program has had two bad years doesn't make it allowable to slander the coach AND the program without regard for tricky little things called facts and such. Does his character improve for you if he wins?
As for speaking his mind, a few posts ago you ripped Rich for using the passive voice in his statement and now suddenly it is just a prepared statement from his lawyer that he had nothing to do with. Make up your mind. I can imagine that while not wordsmithing the entire response himself, he was certainly intimately involved in the decision as to its content, just as surely as David Brandon and Mary Sue approved it. Me get a grip? If you think that the statement went directly from the attorney to the podium without a review of everyone involved, then you are surprisingly naive for an attorney. More likely they were all intimately involved in deciding the content.
So I just want to be clear on your stance....
You want Rich Rodriguez to win more games, so therefore you are going to attempt to vilify him and question his character until he does so? Should a media outlet initiate a smear campaign during that time that has a negative impact on 'the team, the team, the team', you will be okay with that as long as it serves to, right or wrong, impugn the character of the coach of 'the team, the team, the team,' because he has not won enough games to satisfy your quota for W's. Should a thorough investigation absolve RR of wrongdoing with respect to the media source's allegations and the University response indicate a substantial show of support for the coach, you will pick through all that information and find a few words in his response statement that use the passive voice and you will critize him for that. Okay, great, now I can relate to your position because it sounds a lot like what my 5 year old son would do if he had a law degree and he wasn't getting ice cream when he wanted it. Can't you just write UNACCEPTABLE! in big letters like the rest of them?
Fingers crossed indeed. Please Dog let's get some W's so I can stop eating scarlet and grey sheet cakes from my relatives in Columbus and please, please, please let us beat MSU, so I don't have to get bombarded with misspelled emails/SMS messages from all my freinds in East Lansing.
Your comment was super long so I might miss some points in my response, but the main point is that you should stop treating RichRod like he's a 10 year-old blind orphan singing in the slums of India of pocket change. He is a highly paid coach of one of the nation's most prominent football programs.
I praised DB because he accepted responsibility. RR (yes, his statement was prepared for him and obviously cleared by him and the AD) chose to spread the blame. That's not the way I think a true leader operates. The "scandal" was clearly not a giant deal, but such an answer shows RR has concerns on multiple levels (personal and program) whereas DB's concern is the program alone. To say that RR (or Michigan) was "absolved" of wrongdoing is one of the homerist statements I've read. We did wrong. It wasn't big-deal wrong, and much the heft of the Freep's reporting was discredited...but we weren't absolved. Unless you think DB lied when he admitted to the violations....
In short, I do not accept a 3 or 5 win season. I expect my generously paid coach to win games and be able to tolerate a media ready to pounce on any misstep. I hope he does that this season as I'm not eager to wait any longer.
In short, I don't think anyone gives a flying fuck what you accept or don't accept, IMHO.
UNACCEPTABLE!
Brandon = pro and class act.
I went on a Domino's Pizza employment excursion put on by the UM Career Center. We took a group photo with DB and a few weeks later received a very nice card and personalized autograph from DB on the group photo picture.
Gotta get that picture framed up now.
I notice that RR was not present. I hope Rich is currently on an airplane destined for a remote island somewhere. After receiving some closure to the constant stream of largely unwarranted dying-newspaper-last-ditch-effort-to-remain-viable bullshit, he deserves a big fucking margarita and some alone time on the beach.
Coach Rod, you've earned it.
is populated by beautiful topless women and 5-star recruits
I think you mean OMG shirtless 5 star recruits.
You're thinking of a different island. I like his island better. See you there, coach.
I'm liking the no homo logo yo.
A trip to American Samoa works for me.
... recruiting weekend?
a Tennessee weekend.
here comes the freep saying that 5 star recruits mixed with the topless women.
nice to hear from someone close to the program. Only a few months left till this team starts destroying all in thier path.... Go Blue!!
I was very surprised and impressed with Huge today. I thought his interview with Brandon was very good. I liked when he asked in essence, have you called the editor of the freep. Brandon said no, and it sounded like he didn't even want to dignify that newspaper with acknowledgment their existence. As has been said many times, he is the perfect man for the job.
Huge also stated that he will have not have any free press writers on his show, and in general, he will have no association with the newspaper. I have criticized him often for his lame opinions and the way he runs his show. However, I must give him credit for what I heard today. (Though I’m slightly surprised he didn’t promote some kind of business during the interview.)
Totally agree. Normally about 5 minutes of his program is all I can stand, but given the topic of the day, I stuck around longer... mainly to hear the DB interview. Huge was pleasantly dismissive to all the haters that called in just to be Sparty-ish.
DB is the man. Very classy and has the Athletic Department headed in the right direction in the future.
Brandon was also on the "Sean and Terp Show." I like the guy. He's bringing order to a place that gravely needs it, not because it was necessarily a weak point before, but because that type of leadership brings people together and locks dissenters out.