Dave Brandon Story/Interview at Crain's Detroit Business

Brandon is the man and could possibly be the best hire for Michigan in a long time.

Hopefully a coaching search isn't required in the near future, just saying I feel much more secure with DB at the helm of of the athletic dept than Bill Martin.

Martin may have been the architect of the Big House renovations, but his coaching search after Lloyd Carr retired was a complete cluster f*&K.  

Nicely formatted post, even with the video issues. I love Brandon as our AD and think he is the right guy for the job. The future is bright, and that is a future with Rich Rod at the helm.

The tone this guy is setting will impact the football program immensely. He is not only smart, he is wise. If he makes a coaching change, it will be the exact right thing to do. If not, same.

I love how he remembers his days with Bo and respects him.

Michigan man through and through

" I tell people I graduated from the Bo Schembechler school of leadership"

so classy and intelligent about Brandon. Media people are so fucking stupid when it comes to sensationalizing every little thing and it is great to see him put them in their place even if they don't realize they are being owned. Do any media outlets do any research or know any facts before they run with stories about M athletics of any kind? I know this is venting and not exactly relevant to Crain's but ESPN and the like have gotten way out of control. Who gives a shit what Brett Favre had for breakfast or which of his teammates came to give him a tug, report some real, credible, original sports news for god's sake.

Nice Post...I cannot wait for the new Scoreboards in the Big House...that will just take it over the top!

he was CEO of Dominos and engineered/orchestrated a complete turn-around of that company and its product?

I like where he's looking to head and I am thrilled for the future of our athletic department with him at the helm.

Also... this is Diary worthy... Mods... what say yee?

Talks about how Bo never won a national championship, at one point was 1-6 in bowl games

Actually, Bo was once 0-7 in bowls.  He never won one in the 1970s. 

i truly wonder sometimes if we do not have the best AD in the country.  old-school Bo lineage, fortune 500 experience, and maybe best of all -- a former regent... we are really fortunate to have this guy, and perhaps moreso when you consider what he walked away from to take the job.

no matter how conflicted i ever feel about whether to fire or keep RR (and ill admit ive regularly considered both options), i feel like brandon is the perfect guy to make the decision, and im confident he'll make the right choice regardless of what it may be.  we've got the right guy with the right experience there to make the call.  and frankly as optimistic as i get at times -- with denards success, a few big commitments, and the occasional victory -- it's cause of DB that i honestly beieve one way or another we will climb back to dominance.

of both an Oscar and a Heisman, his comments make it abundantly clear that he is not going to fire RR, regardless of what happens against Wisky and OSU. The only scenario that could lead to letting RR go after this season would be if he pulls a Woody Hayes and punches an opposing player or some serious NCAA-level scandal erupts.

Thanks for the link, Shoe.

It's quite shocking that the AD did not have any priority in marketing itself and did not even have a business plan. Isn't that Business 101? Anyway I'm glad we have Brandon, especially with the current issues facing the football program

There is a new strength at the top.  It will not be for lack of Mr. Brandon's leadership if Michigan does not quickly rise to the top.

If you have read any of my (many) posts regarding tOSU program, you know that I believe they are the template for successful programs of the future.  I do not know the Texas program as well, but I think it would be a worthy model to look at as well.

Not copy, just look at.

Bill Martin was able to push through an extraordinarily sophisticated -- and, from all preliminary assessments, successful -- stadium and athletic campus overhaul without a business plan for his "company" (that being the Department) is remarkable. 

I know that Martin is getting hacked on here a little bit, and some for justified reasons, so I shall offer one counter-point: Tom Goss.  In hindsight, we've been very, very fortunate to have consistently good Department leadership throughout two recessions and several NCAA investigations in the 2000's.  Even through all of this, we have perhaps the most robust coaching staff in the country if you consider the entire spectrum of Michigan athletics.

This isn't an attempt to discount DB's pimp-handedness, rather to ensure that Martin gets some credit where it's due.

The new CMO position and the priority of a clear business plan are great examples of DB understanding the importance of the Michigan brand. He would probably have made this move regardless of the current climate, but the timing here is awesome.

Right after the NCAA findings, he will coordinate and launch what I anticipate to be a solid campaign of positive promotion for Michigan. You can see that the aggressive negativity towards the program from the Freep has really clarified the importance of correcting this wrong doing, and DB it going to take up this cause with vigor.

Michigan couldn't be in better hands.