Defensive Coordinator: 2011 and beyond

Submitted by artds on

Who would you guys want to be Michigan's Defensive Coordinator if, for whatever reason, there is a vacancy at the position at some point in the couple years?

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michgoblue

September 27th, 2010 at 1:34 PM ^

Why?  We are 4-0.  Why would we be talking about vacancies in coaching positions.  Yes, we all know that the defense sucks.  How is this in any way GERG's fault? 

I very much doubt that Nick Saban (regarded by many as the best D coach out there) could do much better with the youth, lack of depth, and in some spots, lack of talent that we are fielding on defense.   What our program needs is consistency over the next few years.  GERG is not exciting, but he is fine. 

This is not a criticism of our D players.  They are hustling their asses off - except against UMass - but there are limitations. 

Joined: 11/16/2009

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Still in AA

September 27th, 2010 at 1:34 PM ^

I hope this isn't one of those "If Troy Woolfolk were to encounter a season ending injury, which freshman would step up to fill the void at corner?" type threads.

Joined: 08/07/2009

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Captain

September 27th, 2010 at 1:34 PM ^

I'm going to meet this with the same response I offered to all of the "if RR is not our coach next year, omgz who do you want?" threads.  We have a DC in Greg Robinson who is piecing together a functional defense littered with more freshmen on the two-deep than any other D-1 team I can name at present.  He's been here a little over a year.  Let's give the guy a modicrum of a chance before we name his successor.

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artds

September 27th, 2010 at 1:43 PM ^

Who knows, maybe GERG will split if offered another HC position or decide to finish out his career as a coordinator on an NFL team.

I'm just asking, who are some of the sought after or up and coming coordinators out there who might do well in our program if a vacancy arises.

Joined: 09/04/2009

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MGoShoe

September 27th, 2010 at 2:26 PM ^

...Robinson has already stated he has no ambition to be a head coach again.  I think he's happy where he is now and would like to stay a long time. 

I'm rooting for max stability at HC/OC/DC and that the RichRod/Magee/GERG team stays intact for some time to come.

Joined: 04/23/2009

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gremlin

September 27th, 2010 at 1:48 PM ^

Anyone but Gerg.  I'm certainly not in his camp.  You guys can make all the excuses you want about having young players, only two years in the system, etc, but he's not a good DC.  Heck, learning a new defense is not that difficult.  Offense is always more complicated.  Not to mention what track record does he bring?  He only had success at the Broncos.  Even then, we all know the arguements regarding successful NFL coaches having success in college.  Our defense has regressed significantly since Shafer...  I'm willing to bet quite a large amount he'll be gone by the start of next season. 

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ypsituckyboy

September 27th, 2010 at 1:54 PM ^

gremlin is right. This board stays pretty reasonable on most topics in my opinion, but the love and defending of GERG just seems unjustified. The man has nice hair, but a terrible track record. He has never given me consistent reasons to believe that he is a good coach.

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madtadder

September 27th, 2010 at 1:54 PM ^

I'll certainly take you on that bet. Just like head coaches should see at least their third season to get a good evaluation, so should coordinators. Even if you doubt his ability, we need to see what he can do with guys that he's coached for three years and aren't all true freshman.

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gremlin

September 27th, 2010 at 1:58 PM ^

Giving a defensive coordinator 3 years to see results is ridiculous.  As I said, defense is much easier to learn than offense.  Not to mention Gerg doesn't have RR's track record of a significant jump in production after year 2/3.  Not to mention, it will be almost impossible not to improve given how bad our defense is once again.

Joined: 01/13/2009

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tenerson

September 27th, 2010 at 2:27 PM ^

Judging a coach or coordinator after just two years on the job with numerous deficiencies still existing from former staff's recruting decisions. Look at the two deep. After you have completed that task please tell me how a team like Michigan cannot have any seniors capable of playing the safety position. Then explain to my why Jordan Kivacs was the starter last year and Kevin Leach started a significant amount of the season. Those aren't excuses, those are reasons my friend. There is a bunch of inexperience there. Another problem is the fact that the experienced players (Ezeh primarily) are not good. Is it Gergs fault he makes terrible reads on PA and runs in place for six seconds only to gut in a shoving match with a blocker at the second level? No, it isn't at this point. Is it his fault Warren left, Woolfol was injured and Cissoko couldn't stay out of trouble? I wouldn't think so.

 

At the end of the day you have to look at our defensive roster and say to yourself, "How in the fuck could that have happened here?" It shouldn't have. This kind of situation can and should exist at Iowa State, but not at Michigan. If you cannot recognize that fact then I'm sorry.

I'm not saying GERG is the answer. We don't know that yet. What I am saying is that it is ridiculous to call a DC a failure with two years of proof when his roster consisted of walk ons and busts if you will.

Joined: 10/04/2009

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cincyflintstone

September 27th, 2010 at 3:18 PM ^

This is 100% correct. He has started a new scheme change that was similar to last year but still new. We also are extremely young in our W deep. Just like this years offense, next year we should be allowed to judge if our defense is going in the right direction. There is no quick fix to our situation right now. Maturity, physical development and experience will make our defense improve.

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icefins26

September 27th, 2010 at 1:57 PM ^

Sooooo, you're saying we fire GERG, hire someone else, and do the same thing all over again?  We already tailspinned from Shaffer to Robinson.  I don't care if Moses is coaching our defense right now -- it wouldn't be successful with the lack of depth and experience. 

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gremlin

September 27th, 2010 at 2:03 PM ^

100% yes.  I actually blame Gerg for a lot of the players we're losing on the defensive side of the ball.  Guys sign the dotted line to play for RR, then realize head coaches rarely spend significant time with defenses, and they're stuck with Gerg, who IME is an odd guy. 

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